Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board First timer: Downclimbing Trail Crest and Chute

1) Trail Camp to Trail Crest
2) Trail Crest to Summit

I am interested in the conditions of these two streches of Whitney. I have summitted the main mtns in California without problem. My main concern is doing Whitney in the snow-particularly coming DOWN Trail Crest and the Chute.

I am not a confident downclimber. Will this/How will it impact coming DOWN the mountain, particularly with the snow and/or ice

Is an ice axe necessary? what is the difference between this and trekking poles?

Any other advice for first timers?

I am sorry if these sound like elementry questions, I am new and want to be very thorough regarding my decision to attempt whitney in the snow.

Thank You in advance!

I wouldn't worry too much about the stretch from Trail Crest to the Summit; yes, there's snow on the trail but the climbing is gradually dispersed over a couple of miles, unlike the chute. Once at Trail Crest, I found the biggest challenge to be mainly the effects of the elevation. In regards to the chute, I would highly recommend both crampons and an ice axe. The chute is very steep and you will need the axe in order to safely climb the chute. When coming down the chute, you will want the axe in your hand in case you need to perform a self arrest. You can't self arrest with trekking poles; I've tried it...they'll snap like matchsticks, hah!. I would recommend (if comfortable) glissading down the chute...you will need the axe here as well in order to control the speed of your descent (by dragging the shank in the snow). You don't want to lose control since there are several large boulders near the bottom of the chute. Last week, it took me an hour to climb the chute and 2 minutes to come down. You can YouTube both glissade/ice arrest and it may be a good idea to practice these skills before your looking down at the chute from the top of Trail Crest. If uncomfortable, you can always strap on your crampons and slowly heel-step down the chute...I noticed several people doing this. I hope that helps, be safe and have an awesome time.

Hey Todd,
Thanks for response! Very helpful! How fast would you say you were going down the chute? And how hard was it to stop? Thanks

I'm sure I thought that I was going faster then I really was...good times! It's not too hard to stop. You can either dig your heels in to the snow, drag your axe deeper in the snow...or both. Of course, I slid over a couple solid chunks of ice which I felt the next day. You don't have to slide down the whole chute at once, you can glissade a ways, stop or slow down, then get going again. Let me know how it goes.

flyby250,
Please DO NOT make your first glissade ever, a glissade down from Trail Crest. Several people have died there doing just that. If you value your life, purchase Freedom of The Hills and read it. Then take a course in snow travel with Sierra Mountaineering International. Then practice glissading on slopes less steep than the slope from Trail Crest. Once you are able to understand what conditions not to glissade and what conditions are safe, visit Whitney and determine for yourself with the knowledge you've gained whether it's safe or not and whether YOU have the skill to safely glissade and save your life should you need to self-arrest.

On this past Saturday evening we descended the slope in the shade. It was too icy to glissade and we plunged-stepped. Had we tripped, a self-arrest would have been mandatory to stop a slide on the hard snow. You cannot self-arrest without an axe.

Don't allow your first visit of Whitney to be your last. Snow skills and snow gear are necessary right now.

Thank you Norma for speaking up, I agree with you. Here is a newspaper article from 2005. Many of us will remember hearing about that tragic accident, we won't forget the lesson.

"Hiker's caution turns into cautionary tale
East Bay man's death points to danger of sliding down snow

Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sunday, October 9, 2005

Shortly before he died on the icy and rocky slopes of Mount Whitney on Monday afternoon, Stephen Tom told his hiking partner that the conditions were too treacherous to reach the mountain's summit and he would descend back to the base camp.

"He said, 'I have nothing to prove,' " said Jim Kramer, recalling the words of Tom, a 45-year-old El Cerrito resident, after they had finished a section of the trail that ascends more than 1,700 feet up switchbacks from Trail Camp to Trail Crest.

But Kramer continued to Whitney's 14,497-foot summit, while Tom -- whom friends and family describe as a cautious and calculated risk taker -- and another hiker they had met on the mountain decided it would be safer to sit and slide down a snow chute used by some people during their descent.

The technique, called glissading, could cut an hours-long hike to Trail Camp to as little as 15 minutes and avoid the nearly 100 icy and treacherous switchbacks on the trail. They had watched a hiker glissade the chute earlier in the day, and Tom was an experienced skier and snowboarder.

But the early fall snow was shallow, and after sliding on their backsides for a few hundred feet from the 13,777-foot crest, the snow-covered top portion of the chute gave way to ice.

"It was mind-boggling to me how quickly he could pick up speed. He went from in control to out of control almost instantly," said Michael McEntee, 44, a Mountain View resident who was descending with Tom.

Tom had hiking poles that he tried to use as brakes. He turned on his stomach, facing up the mountain, and tried to slow himself with his feet. At the bottom of the chute, Tom was moving so fast -- at least 50 miles per hour, the accident investigator estimates -- that he could not stop. He hit a refrigerator-size boulder on the edge of the snow meadow and died from the impact.

"You're up so high your perspective is skewed," McEntee said. "I don't think either of us imagined it would be possible to slide across that flat part into rock."

McEntee climbed to a rocky area after he saw Tom lose control. He called for help, and other hikers on the trail guided him to safety. He was uninjured.

The next day, two other hikers glissaded down the chute and lost control, said Sgt. Randy Nixon of the Inyo County sheriff's department. One hiker broke a leg, and the other was knocked unconscious after hitting rocks; both were rescued by helicopter.

"(Glissading) is one of those things that experienced climbers probably won't do," said SP Parker, an internationally certified guide who is a partner in the Sierra Mountain Center, a guiding company in Bishop. Several years ago, Parker led a group on the trail and saw five people injured -- two seriously -- in one day from sliding down the chute.

"It's tempting because it looks so easy," Parker said. "But it's one of the most dangerous things in mountaineering."

Anyone attempting the technique, which can also be done while crouching or standing, should be experienced and have equipment, such as a helmet and an ice ax for braking, Parker said. Tom, who had glissaded once before, 20 years ago, had no equipment besides the poles, his family said.

In the past 12 years, three people have died while glissading on the chute, and about a dozen have suffered injuries requiring helicopter evacuation, Nixon said. He said he does not know how many people have suffered minor or moderate injuries.

Many people have been known to perform the maneuver successfully. Kramer, who descended the chute later in the day, is one of them. He avoided injury by going slowly down the mountain -- it took him an hour -- though he sped up at the bottom and caught air off a boulder. To his horror, he said, he landed near Tom's body, which was not recovered until Tuesday."

Most noobs only think about the latter, unfortunately.

It's going to be an interesting summer in the Sierra this year...

I apologize if I wasn't clear; I certainly don't want to minimize the risk when one is descending from the chute. This is a very treacherous...even deadly part of the mountain. Everyone has provided sound advice...please take precaution. Acquire the necessary skills and equipment, weigh all of the factors, and most of all...be careful. I hope you have wonderful time!

I am , sure this is a stupid question also but I was always taught that it is better to ask the question and seem a fool for 5 min. than to not ask and be a fool for life. I am doing a day hike on the 21 with my daughter. We are from Alabama I need to know is with all the snow is the trail easy to follow? We are going up the switchbacks and have experience with crampons but not an ice ax. Will we be ok and will the trail be easy to follow? Thanks so much for all the info.

JRS1960,
the trail you are referring to is the summer trail. it is under snow above Lone Pine Lake, so it is not visible. a boot track in the snow is visible. when the snow is heavy as it is now, most people leave the trail for the winter traverse to the south of the trail that makes a beeline for Trail Camp. this traverse is on a steep slope and when the slope is in the shade it becomes icy. icy snow = winter skills.

nineteen days from now the switchbacks above Trail Camp might be partially melted out, but until it is melted out well the most discernible ascent is up the slope to Trail Crest. the slope can also be the safer route when the switchbacks are still very icy or under snow. as the switchbacks begin to melt out they become icy every evening or while shaded. i can't tell you not to try hiking on icy snow without proper self-arrest skills, but be warned that it might be more dangerous than you bargained for.

this is a heavier snow year than last year. look back at posts from mid-June 2010 and see what condition the switchbacks and trail were in then. also watch for Trail Reports from this day forward and make a decision as to what you and your daughter should do. if Whitney keeps getting snow every week, the summer season will begin very late and will be short.

Wow, that sounds like a great trip; the eastern sierras are absolutely beautiful. If you plan on reaching the summit in a day, keep in mind, you will have to leave the portal at 2 am. The first 3 miles of the trail are relativley snow-free and easy to follow but the trail is completely covered in snow from Lone Pine Lake to Trail Crest (with more snow expected this week). In most places the trail is highlighted by footprints in the snow. However, I would highly discourage someone attempting this at night; unless they are very familiar with the trail. The reason this is difficult is that there are a number of places where you find a trail of footprints in the snow splitting off from the main trail, making it extremely difficult to follow. An addition, it may be snowing during the night; which will limit your visibilty. For day hikers this time of year, any time lost route-finding puts additional pressure on you to reach the summit before your turn-around time. Given the current snow levels, a day attempt for the summit is very difficult, even with great weather. I day hiked last Sunday, left at 2 AM...encountered heavy wind/snow from Lone Pine Lake to Trail Camp...and eventually had to turn around about a kilometer from the summit due to the weather and time of day. In regard to the switchbacks-they are completely covered in snow-you can barely make out the tops of the cables. Unfortunately, the chute (located to the right of the switchbacks) is the only other option and anyone attempting to climb it will need an ice axe. Furthermore, descending the chute is extemely dangerous (see above article) and anyone attempting it will need the proper training and gear. If you are set on a day hike, why not leave at daybreak with the goal of hiking to Trail Camp and then back? That's managable, and you still will be able to appreciate the beauty and majesty of Whitney. If you still want to make the summit, then hike up to Trail Camp, spend the night, then summit the following day. You will have a safer and better experience this way, I promise!

There only a route when snow is on the ground. The nature of these highly traveled trails is that people try to follow its exact path. Eventually, people will force a path all the way to the cables, where they will be blocked for a while. Once hikers break through the cables blockage there will path all the way to the summit.

Couldn't agree more, I just came down on Thursday and in my mind the chute is far too hard and the lower portions fary too icy in the afternoon to even consider a glissade. There is a decent bootrack to follow which makes plunge stepping a far safer alternative.

I have to add that I was actually on the mountain in October 2005 at the time of the tragic accident and I would not wish that experience on anyone. We had made it to Outpost Camp to find the waterfall partially frozen and the trail conditions not suitable for first-timers. At that point we knew we had gone as far as we could.

During the afternoon/early evening a hiker came rushing down the trail saying someone had fallen. I remember that so clearly to this day. Then we soon realized Stephen Tom's hiking friends that did not go up the trail were standing right next to us. As the reports came in, it became obvious the impact this event was having on so many.

We helped his friends pack up camp and encouraged them to get down to the Portal Store to wait for more information. The person that had also glissaded down with Stephen arrived at camp assisted by other hikers in a daze. Rescuers were heading up the trail and a helicopter attempted to fly up but was turned around by the weather conditions. Stephen Tom's body was not able to be removed from the mountain until the next morning.

Trying to sleep that night was difficult knowing that someone had lost their life on the mountain. We all hiked out the next day with a new respect and understanding of life.

I ended up going to Stephen Tom's memorial service. Even though I had never met him, there was a connection on the mountain in spirit. Many others that had been on the mountain that day attended and we were able to heal a bit from the tragedy.

In 2007 I accomplished my goal and made it to the summit with my nephew. Passing by the chute for the first time, I paused and reflected lifting a prayer up to Stephen, his family and friends.

This August I hope to make a second attempt with my niece, who in 2007 knew her limits and stopped just above the switchbacks and headed back to Outpost Camp with my brother.

Be smart, be safe, know when to turnback. The mountain will be there in all it's glory to greet you whenever it is meant to be.

JRS1960 - Following the trail that's buried under snow is what
you're asking I think. And doing it by headlamp for a while until the sun comes up if you are starting after midnight.

The answer is yes, but give your daughter and yourself an edge by together studying winter pictures of the area between Lone Pine Lake and Trail Crest and mentally link them to the map you'll be carrying.

Google pictures of the switchbacks -cable railing section- buried in snow and decide if the chute is not a better choice
depending on how much melting occurs between now and your climb.

That decision will best be made when you are standing
below the area and can judge for yourself.

Sound advice, I put up a Trip Report earlier that has some pretty comprehensive pictures of this area that may aid in your decision making.

i am not being dramatic when i say, it breaks my heart when something bad happens on the mountain. thanks for sharing a hearfelt account and making me feel a little bit deeper.

Be smart, be safe, know when to turnback. The mountain will be there in all it's glory to greet you whenever it is meant to be.
Amen.

I witnessed 3 people slide by me down an icy slope then off a 4' embankment into a creek. It has a profound effect on you. You really don't want to see or read about this happening to anyone else. This is the primary reason I hate see people going up this trail without the requisite skills in the spring.