Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board MR trail conditions 3/19/13

Happy Spring. For those of you who are interested in some MR beta, enjoy.

http://gocarine.smugmug.com/Category/Mt-Whitney-MR-31913/28532327_QPkRWc#!i=2418388682&k=wwH2mkK

I'm planning on taking two colleagues of mine up the MT in two weeks. I'll be sure to post trail pics as well.

Thanks so much for the pictures, I am going up MR next week, and its great to get an idea of what the conditions are on the upper mountain.

Thx a bunch happytrails for the pics and report. Unbelievable how little snow there is up there this year!

Much appreciated! Berne Mettenleiter

Nice pictures! Thanks for that. Now I want to go ;-) .......

-cat b.

A friend and I have been planning to go do the MR. I guess I'm getting lazy because 1) I don't want to post hole and 2) I'm worrying about the snow sliding out from under my feet in a couple of choice places... and 3) sunburn. did I mention sunburn?? 2 weeks ago the list would have been 1) freezing and 2) wind chill and thus freezing.

and then the rest of the list.

Okay so this was a worthless post but something to consider nonetheless.

It appears that from the notch you traversed a ways to the top rather than scale the "Final 400". Is this correct?

Happytrails,

Thanks for the TR, how did the ice between Thor and UBSL look? Was it still nice and blue and holding up well? I was thinking of heading up there later this week for some ice climbing, but wanted to make sure there was still climbable ice.

Thanks

RenoFrank: Yes that is correct. Although either way would have worked.

Scott: As of 3/19/13: dense, abundant and beautifully blue. (I remember thinking as I passed through that section, "I should take a photo..someone will ask about it...") My recommendation is to go very early.

You mean this? Pics from March 9 (two weeks ago).

Very nice MR conditions on March 24, 2013

Regarding the frozen waterfall near Clyde Meadow, they were looking pretty wet on Sunday in the sun and some sections had broken out; see photos in the link below
Notes:
1. Used micro-spikes after the first stream crossing to the E-ledges. Took them off for the E-ledges
2. You need to use the E-ledges now, the willows in the stream bed are not covered with enough snow
3. Put the micro-spike back on at LBSL and used them all the way to Iceberg Lake
4. used crampons for the MR main gully and final-400

Photos at:
http://grahamcracker.smugmug.com/2013/Wh...17834&k=KQsSsz3

Graham,

Thanks for the beta. How was the snow/ice/rock above the notch (and at what time of day)?

Aiming to summit 4/13. Not sure whether to hope for more snow or not. Probably not, but Howard of MammothWeather says get ready.

Hi Graham,

Thank you for the updates and great pics. That traverse really does scare the bejeebers out of me.

Thanks JQP and Tracie!

JQP, the final-400 is (currently) pretty dry for this time of year. Here some additional notes/beta;
1. There’s a good amount of snow at the base which allows you to get up the initial rock wall from the notch more easily than if it were completely dry. The extra snow seem to shorten this initial wall by 3-4’ (this short wall is generally consider the technical crux of the final 400). You can see the snow bank just below Aidan in this photo

2. the bottom ~2/3 can be climbed on the left side (east) on almost snow-free rock. You’ll get more snowy stuff if you veer towards the center. I generally like to stay on the left side (east) to avoid any falling rock/ice that tends to come down the center of the final-400 chute. I don’t have a clear photo of the left side, but it’s mostly snow free
3. Over the last ~100’, there's a decent amount of snow at the top of the left side (east) and that forces you to cross over the center section to the right side and head up a final snow bank over the last ~75 feet. Here’s photo of Aidan climbing up this final snow bank

4. With mixed snow and rock, it’s easier to keep the crampons on the whole time. Crampons grip rock pretty well
5. the final-400 is much quicker and shorter than the traverse
6. It's trickier to downclimb than to upclimb
7. Recommend wearing a helmet
8. Take lots of photos
9. Have fun and be safe
10. I forgot what #10 was/is, but there is always something else