Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board MR Tomorrow (early am) - Anyone Interested?

I've been in Mammoth Lakes skiing the resort while waiting for a weather window. Tomorrow's forecast looks promising, save the potential very high winds. I'm planning to start early (around 5 AM) from the road closed sign. If gusts are too strong, I'll retreat.

Since I'll be travelling alone, I plan to carefully evaluate the terrain and proceed very cautiously. If anyone is interested in joining, let me know!

Can't imagine what the wind is doing up there... It was howling and making things chilly at 6k down south.

I started at noon yesterday (not the early start i had initially planned, as I had to drive from Mammoth Lakes).

I drove roughly 2 miles up the road past the closed sign to drop my skis and pack. Drove my car back down and parked below the closed sign. I quickly hiked up to my pack, put on my skis, and skinned the remaining 1.55 miles to the portal trailhead.

I then skinned up the North Fork approach, and caught up with a large SMI group about .60 miles below LBSL. They were kind enough to let me draft behind in the steeper portions of the gully, which allowed me to boot up, rather than cut switchbacks on my skis (when they stopped to rest I started "switchbacking").

I arrived at LBSL around 4:30 PM. As I arrived, the wind began kicking up, so I immediately dug in a campsite about 500' above the lake. The wind became increasingly powerful throughout the night, with regular gusts in the 50mph range.

This morning, I awoke at sunrise to find that the wind had erased all trails and covered the entire area with a hard wind crust. My plan was to ascend to Iceberg Lake, then up the MR chute, hopefully reaching the summit by mid-day.

I proceeded approximately halfway up the ridge below UBSL, where I dug a pit to conduct avalanche tests (ECT). I found a hard, heavy wind crust sitting atop several inches of fine, light snow. Not liking the results of my test (ECTP#9), and having a smaller margin of safety due to travelling solo, I decided to turn back.

I packed up at LBSL and skied down at 8:00 AM, and arrived at my car a few hours later.

What was the status of the SMI party?
I think they had planned to stay at LBSL, then move camp today to Iceberg lake area. Do you know if they retreated as well?

tdmorgan79,
I'm not familiar with the avalanche test you mentioned, can you elaborate? I would be interested in reading up on this subject.
Thanks!

When I left, the SMI group was still at their campsite at LBSL. I'm not sure, but I believe they planned to ascend to UBSL or Iceberg yesterday.

As for the avalanche test I conducted, it's called an Extended Column Test (ECT). A good description can be found Straightchuter here.

As for my test, I chose a roughly 35-degree west, northwest slope between LBSL and UBSL (approx. 10,800'). My test results were ECTP#9, 1, meaning that on the 9th tap (from my wrist), a fracture propagated across the entire column. I found a hard wind layer sitting atop several inches of light, soft snow.

While my test is in no way definitive, and I'm certainly not an expert (those leading the SMI group have far more knowledge about avalanche conditions and tendencies in the area), I decided to turn around because I intended to ski the slope and was traveling alone, thus had a much smaller margin of safety. Also, I didn't have enough time to stay on the mountain another day to wait for better conditions.

I suspect that conditions will stabilize quickly, if they haven't already. It looks like the SMI group and others are finding better weather/conditions today!

Hi Thanks for the trip report. Looks like most turned back. The wind was strong over the crest late afternoon.

With the weather we had last week I would watch the lower elevation for rock fall and slides bringing down trees and mud, this happens from the road closed sign to the Portal. The south facing slopes were wet before the storms.

Above the Portal (North Fork) stay clear of the toe of slopes, look for slides and rockfall lines. Stay in the middle of the open areas, away from the AREA WHERE SLIDES MAY COVER! Study the picture off the webcam , see the areas that are snow free and the slopes holding snow. Pick your route that stays clear of slopes that could slide, very rare but with luck and not looking around you could get caught in a rockfall/avalanche condition. Walk alert! Thanks Doug

thanks Doug for the descriptive warning. excellent info. i saw 2 avi's on Baldy yesterday. one just left of the middle bowl at approx 35 degrees that came way too close to hikers. my first time watching one and i was blown-away by how fast and large it became in an instant. the other was on a very steep slope in San Antonio Canyon lower than the ski hut and on the west side. one of those slopes that has no trees, and for good reason. the massive rock and snow debris that slides every year wipes out any chance of tree development. will post videos soon.

You're right on, Doug! As I came down Sunday I noticed frequent slides (due to warming) coming down along the northern edges (south facing) of the gully below LBSL.

Also, rocks and dirt were coming down like rain on the south facing slopes adjacent the portal road, just below the portal. After watching several basketball-sized boulders tumble onto the road ahead of me, I almost ran to the top of the switchbacks.

Finally Doug, I'm grateful for the Hostel. It's so nice to have a place to go and shower before the 5-hour drive home. Thanks!