Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board what is the grade of the whitney portal road?

My wife will be staying at the campground in our trailer and I need to know the grade of the road before I pull it up there. I have been there a number of times, but did not pay attention since I was just in my truck.

From "The Complete Guide to Climbing by Bike" by John Summerson:

'[It] starts out tame and ends up tough. The grade increases as you climb so that the average grade over the last 5.5 miles is 9%. The hill lets up just before the finish at Whitney Portal and the parking/hiking area.'

Steepest section listed in the book is 11% between 8.5 and 9.5 miles, average grade is 7.7% after the first 5 miles of relatively flat area out of Lone Pine. And its considered one of the top 10 bicycles climbs in the USA; White Mountain Road, Onion Valley Road, and Horseshoe Meadows Road are also on the book's top 10 list. Hope you've got a solid 'granny-gear' in that truck!

Have you seen:
The Long, Long Trailer (1953) Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz
at:
http://www.videosurf.com/video/the-long-long-trailer-1953-lucille-ball-desi-arnaz-1318543846

It has genuine Whitney Portal Road footage.

Does your wife collect rocks, too?

Dale B. Dalrymple

That was hilarious! Was that Doug in the car they passed? hahaha