Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Main Trail, Mini Trip Report, Sept 16th 2011

Sept 16 Mini Trip Report

I hiked up the Main Trail this morning (Sept 16), and thought some folks would be interested
in the current conditions after the recent snow.

After having some meetings in LA this week, I was fortunate to have a couple days to come
up to the Sierra again before heading back to New York. I was planning on attempting Whitney
again in September sometime, so the timing was perfect.

As I was watching the weather yesterday from Lone Pine and saw the Whitney area covered in clouds by 10AM, I figured this would be a good target time to be at and then soon off the summit for today's anticipated climb. I got my permit yesterday and aimed to do another dayhike up (after my first one in October 2007).

I hit the trail and started walking at 2:40AM, had a pretty uneventful hike up, (which was good). I got to Trail camp to filter some water and watched the awesome alpenglow on the
Sierra Crest and a great sunrise.

Feeling pretty good today, I summited at 10:10AM, hung out a bit, took in the spectacular views, ate my summit snickers and soon started down. No clouds were around, skies were clear. After chatting with several folks coming up and taking a ton of photos, I got back to the portal at a bit after 3:00PM to scarf down one of Doug's burgers, a welcome treat after eating bars and gels all day.

There is no snow on trail at all below Trail Camp though given the recent colder temperatures, there is ice on several rocks that have water normally running down them.
All stream crossings were ice free below here.

Roughly half way up the switchbacks, there is some ice but didn't cause much of an issue
to circumvent. Water is available at and around Trail camp and the lakes were not frozen over, despite the cold. There is also some still water running down a few of the switchbacks, but would be a bit more difficult to filter from here given the tight location.

The area leading up to the cables had a little ice and packed snow, but it was fairly
easy to move around. No traction was needed this morning. I packed crampons but left them
in the pack the whole day and never felt I needed them.

The only real precarious sections are around and on the west side of Trail Crest, where
there is some packed snow and ice, which takes some care to walk across. Poles would be helpful on the more slippery sections of the trail. No axe is needed at this point, at least today on the main trail. Interestingly, there was plenty of snow in the "chute"
to the right of the switchbacks, but I have no idea what shape it is in for potential climbing and doesn't reach all the way to Trail Crest.

There is a small snowfield at a little above 14,000ft before turning right to get to the
summit, but there is a well trodden path through it, so no crampons are needed (at least
from this morning).

There is snow from there up to the summit, but it was fairly easily traversed. The snow
that remains on the trail from that point on was pretty well packed, but not icy, at least around 10AM. Perhaps earlier, it might be.

I also saw some bear scat filled with berries in three places on the trail below Outpost Camp. I didn't see any bears.

All in all, it proved to be a great day, met some good people on the trail, and had
a thoroughly enjoyable outing all day. This is such a beautiful area and I was lucky
Whitney provided a window of opportunity for me to climb today.

Thanks so much for the update!! It's super helpful for planning my return to Whitney next weekend! Hopefully folks will have some more reports in the coming week too!!

Oh and congrats on your summit =)

-tif

Ditto on the thanks to all who post the recent trip reports... I'll be down in a couple weeks and appreciate the trail condition reports.

Great report! This is useful because I will be there next weekend for my first time!!

thanks for the update! and congrats on the summit!

I'm bringing 3 other first timers with me next weekend! You'll be in good company =) Perhaps we'll run into you!

=) tif

Sure, glad to help :-) Just make sure to watch the weather, as conditions will change pretty quickly in a couple of hours if another storm moves in. Good luck for those going up!

Norman and I day hiked on 9/16 as well. He made it to the summit and took these photos.

Here's a photo of the west side just beyond Trail Crest:



And the snowfield near the summit:

wow - that's a bit more snow accumulation than I was expecting to see! I'll definitely be bringing my yaktrax this weekend!!

Dobemom, I remember seeing you

Because of my multi-colored mohawk?

Kristine

Wow!! Where's the picture of that!!

Yes actually, that was a pretty unique cap!

Thanks for posting the pics Kristine! Was there snow on the switchbacks, or was it mostly at Trail Crest and beyond?

Just for you, Rosie, :



I didn't go all the way up to Trail Crest, stopped and waited for Norman at 13K. Saw just a bit of snow on one switcher, I think.

When are you going up? I'm thinking of going back on Sun 10/1.

Congrats!! on the summit...Myself and 3 of my friends plan to hike the main trail on 23rd (Friday). This is the first time for all of us and we are very exited..any tips will be mucu appreciated..I am bringing my yacktracks just as a feel good factor..

I really hope mother nature gives us nothing but sunshine ...

This is an amazing forum!!!..

Cheers
Stemmedhorse..

That first picture looks like the spot where a novice like me should turn around... Seeing that makes me a little discouraged for my Oct. 4 summit day. Would microspikes be sufficient there?

I hiked the trail on Sept 18th and it looked nothing like the above pictures. The trail was completely clear. Any newly fallen snow melts fast this time of year. Even above 14K.

Kristine, I LOVE the hat!!!

I'm hoping for an October 8th summit. I've never gone this late in the season, though, so I'm a little nervous about the snow as well. I keep torturing myself - looking at the Mt. Whitney weather site... knowing that it could, and probably will, change a lot in the next two weeks

I always wear the same stuff, but I think I'm gonna get a fun hat for next month! There's a great store in Olympia that's got a lot of wonderful things from Nepal... I think I'm gonna get something new to wear!

You have no idea how happy I am to hear this!! haha =) thanks