Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Main Trail conditions thread 5/13-11/13

Thanks, Jim.

Turns out you were right about the weather.

I wound up going to Shasta instead.

system yesterday put about 4 inches of wet snow in the Portal and Temps in the 20's pond froze during t the day. clouds breaking up last night and this AM.
upper elevation will be trackless for.the next few days and expect ice below the snow coverage.
Portal started to melt out late yesterday but give the upper areas a few days.

Hi Repeat of last report about 4-6 inches in the Portal Meysan canyon test hole upper canyon solid coverage, so I would think 1' plus at trailcamp and more drifting above. Groups walking around the Parking lot for the last 2 hours so if they head up tracks will be going somewhere?

I went up the Main Trail today Wed June 17. Some observations:

Lots of water. Spring at 23rd Switchback now flowing strongly, even at 7 AM due to warm temps.

Many hikers on the Mountain, and I saw nobody ascending the Snow Chute to Trail Crest.

One can easily hike the Cable Section without touching snow. The area just past the Cables can be negotiated with out traction devices, but some attention is still need in this area.

Overall, from the lower Switchbacks to the Summit, there is a fair amount of snow, but traction devices did not seem to be needed due to the warm temps. ( My Micro Spikes never left my pack.) Hiking poles were really nice to have.

Many PCT hikers summiting from the West.

The current great weather on the Mountain will not last forever, and the conditions/game will then change.

Have a great season.

Jim

Thanks Jim for the update, I will be hiking the High sierra Trail June 21-27th, and was concerned about ice on the East side of Mt. Whitney. One report I read was that hikers without traction were turning back.

Elise

We summitted June 22nd, coming up from Guitar Lake as part of our High Sierra Trail Hike. Here are some photos of the MWMT from the summit back to Trail Crest, as well as one pic of the cables. Clicking any of the photos will bring you to a page with larger photos:

Hey everybody I'm heading up for a MT summit atempt on Friday July 10. Any new info on weather/snow/ice/wind would be greatly appreciated. Thx!

HH

Homer,

I descended the Main Trail today July 6 (after ascending by the Mountaineers Route). There was no snow or ice on the Main Trail when I came down. However, when I got to the Portal it was raining there, and when I peered back at the Mountain it looked stormy.

While I was at the store after the hike, Jack said he might be heading up the Mountain tomorrow. If he does head up, hopefully he can give an update.

In light of the recent weather, my strategy was get to the summit early and then to be ready to head down with appropriate gear and a knowledge of certain key locations along the trail where shelter can be found if necessary (i.e. have plan for deteriorating conditions).

Jim

thx a lot Jim I'm thinking wind and rain gear, poles and spikes JIC.

I appreciate the report, hope to hear more before Fri!

HH

Report for 7/18 (Saturday)

-no snow whatsoever anywhere on the trail. But that may have changed (see below).
-no summit snowfield whatsoever
-no water above 12,500'
-freezing cold climbing to the summit. I climbed in a down jacket, which I never do (and never had to do before).
-summit itself was sunny and mild. Stayed up there an hour.
-no summit marmot visible. I fear that the three-legged fat marmot really has bit the dust.

As I descended, it started to snow. Rumor has it that some of it stuck on the backside. Flash flood warning now in effect.

Thanks for the update, Akichow!

I'm hiking my first time on 8/5 and I'm starting to get nervous I'd appreciate if anyone could post trail conditions or expected weather - I'm reading that there's some thundershowers & possibly snow coming in by the end of this week (7/31).

I've been following this thread for a couple of weeks now and it's awesome that the hiking community goes to great lengths to disseminate information - I've seen pictures, detailed trail reports etc. Kudos!

Boilerdam,

I summited yesterday ( Thursday 7/30) at 10:45 AM (after coming up from the Miter Basin cross country earlier in the morning). The summit had much fog and I experienced a few rain drops going back down the Main Trail in the afternoon. As I watched the final finishers of the Badwater to Whitney race at the Portal, a steady rain started there at 6 PM. Leaving Lone Pine in the evening some rain was encountered along the 395.

So here we go again with another storm (and Jack and Betsy were not even seen at the Portal!) The good news for you is that by your hike 8/5 this unsettled weather might be on the way out.

Like you I will be following the WPSMB weather link carefully the next week.

By the way, there was no snow or ice on the Main Trail. Excellent water is still flowing from the spring at the 23rd switchback above Trail Camp, The flow from the spring is starting to subside, but it will certainly still be going on 8/5.

Best of luck on your outing.

Jim

Thanks, Jim. Congrats on your summit! Fortunately, it looks to be a clear day on Wednesday... Fingers crossed

Btw, I'm new to the Whitney world & the forums... Who are Jack & Betsy?

Boilerdam,

Crazy Jack and Wildflower Betsy are a nice couple who are Mt Whitney enthusiasts. They are strong athletes and are frequently on the Mountain during the summer season.

The data shows a strong correlation between their presence on the Mountain and miserable weather conditions up there. Hence, before starting a trip to Mt Whitney, some of us wisely first inquire to the whereabouts of Jack and Betsy!

Jim

Is it really as smoky these days as the webcam makes it look?

No need for concern!! Crazy Jack and Wildflower Betsy are not arriving at the Portals until Sat. Aug. 8. We will be staying for 2 weeks, if any trip will be affected by our stay we do apologize.

Betsy will be doing Williamson/Tyndall during the stay and I will be monitoring the main trail conditions on a regular basis.

See you on the trail.

Crazy Jack

Sounds like I'm screwed.

HJ

Jim,

Thanks for all the info. Summitted Whitney yesterday.

FYI for everyone:

The weather was as close to perfection as possible for hiking. The Sun was playing peek-a-boo with the clouds, which meant it was never hot or sunny. We had a nice breeze up the switchbacks and then slightly strong winds behind the needles all the way to the peak.

We reached the peak by 11am, started at 3am - we took it nice and easy, stopping for a lot of pictures It started to drizzle a bit after a couple of miles down from Trail Camp on our return and the clouds became a bit more ominous.

Trail Conditions (8/6):

Perfect! No snow or any hindrance all the way up. No water after trail camp. Cables section was dry. Counted 97 switchbacks

Yay for my first time up Whitney!

Boilerdam,

Awesome!

Thanks for the followup.

Jim

I descended the Main Trail yesterday Monday August 10. The Trail conditions were perfect. There was superb visibility and air quality. At 1:30 PM the spring at the 23rd switchback was running adequately and I collected a liter of water.

Enjoy.

Jim