The short of the skinny:
From what I can observe, the MR route cannot be safely ascended at this time. There is too much snow/ice on the EB Ledges for a traverse and not enough snow on the rock faces to be cramponed. What snow there is shows signs of avalanching. Upon close observation, a 4-6" layer of highly consolidated, faceted snow sits atop a layer of powder. As the temperatures rise, this layer will become unstable.
Not knowing the full picture of the 99 switchbacks and beyond, the MMWT is a definite option. Be wary that there is a mixture of ice on many parts of the trail, and that ice is usually hidden by a thin powder of snow. You will definitely need crampons/ice ax for the 99 swithback section and you might want to consider roping up for that section. The snowpack remains characteristically the same: a very firm, styrofoamly layer of 4-6" snow over a layer of powder. Be observant of this snow and watch for signs of instability on the slope leading up to Trail Crest.
Trip Report:
For two months I planned this weekend trip up Whitney with a fellow mountaineer buddy of mine from Ohio, and I found this webpage and invaluable resource so I thought I share a bit of knowledge and some observations from this past weekend.
This weekend trip reminds me of a quote from Lou Whittaker: "Just because you love the mountains doesn't mean the mountains love you." Unlike any other sport, with mountaineering you're playing with a dynamic partner: the mountain. Some days it's in the mood and some days it isn't. This weekend, the mountain wasn't in the mood to be climbed.
We started out on the morning of the 12th, about 1/2 mile from the Portal. That morning it was about 10 degrees. We veered off to the North Fork and the climbing was good. Even and steady --- the snow a crunchy styrofoam. Reaching the EB Ledges, we sported our crampons and began an ascent. Huge drifts of powder snow draping over the ledges made the going unbearably slow and the climbing extremely exhausting, but we managed to gain the first steppe and skirt over the first ledge. There we met a rather sketchy situation. The trail (if you can call it that) narrows at a point and on one end, a very exposed 250 foot drop. We crouched and assessed the situation, painting a picture of the worst case scenario should we slip at that point and fall with 50+ pound packs on. We had a modicum of protection with us, some pickets (which were of no use here), and some slings that we could have feasibly anchored around a seemingly dead tree stump. Hmmm ... didn't seem too solid, especially holding a 250 pound pendulum fall. But the cherry of it all was that we would have to come back through this area in a couple of days and we had no idea what the conditions would be like --- or what our options of protection (if any) would be. We then turned our backs on the ledges and looked at other alternatives.
It is feasible to bushwack up the North Fork. Feasible. But with a mixture of snow and ice, rock and our gargantuan packs, the option really didn't seem enticing. Who wants to twist an ankle?
We then turned our sights to the rock faces that had a bit of consolidated snow that could be cramponed up. But the snow pack showed signs of avalanche (it made a WHOOMPF when walking on it). Upon close observation, the snowpack was literally a 4-6" layer of highly compact, consolidated snow over a layer of powder. Be wary of this snow when the temps begin to rise!
With a bit of chagrin, we then decided that the MR route was not safe and not possible at this time. We hit that window where there was too much snow on the ledges and too little snow on the rock faces to be safely ascended.
We then decided to try our hand at the MMWT. We ascended as far as we could on that route before we were completely torched and had to pitch camp. We pitched right beside the trail, after the log bridges. Dark fell, and we sat in the cold waiting for some water to boil when we saw what we thought was at first a mirage. We were the only souls on the mountain for the entire day and here was a headlamp approaching, in pitch darkness and in what had to have been 5 degree weather. It was Tina.
She chilled with us for about a half hour and I joined her to go and find Richard P. It was an honor to meet the legend! His posts and beta on this webpage were invaluable to me and I was glad to meet someone who was so familiar and intimate with the mountain. We trucked back up to our campsite and not soon thereafter, HikerLaura came whizzing up; her speed was very impressive! We chatted a bit and they set out for Outpost.
That night was a cold night. According to our thermometer, the temps hit -10F. It wasn't so bad during the night --- our tent and bags did the job --- but in the morning the going was extremely arduous. Everything took 3x as long as it normally would. We finally got packed up and met the trio again on their descent.
That day we snowshoed up the route towards Trail Camp and the climbing was perfect. Not a cloud in the sky. At 3p we made it to about 500 feet below Trail Camp --- and from a distance I could see some pretty fierce winds hurdling over the ridges and whipping down through the valley. At 3p with the sun out, my thermometer read 5. We discussed what possibilities the night might bring at Trail Camp and reasoned that we really didn't want to suffer through putting up camp in the wind and trying to make water. And, not to mention, what the summit ridge would be like the following day with the Arctic front now in full position over the western U.S.
We trucked it back down to Outpost and set up camp for another night. The night was much more manageable than the first. The temps only reached -5 below. The wind was whipping through Outpost that night, shaking the tent in violent bursts but snug inside, we were barely phased; we were thankful to have the gear to help us through the night.
We rose that morning after a cozy night's rest, and packed up to head back down to the portal. At about 9a, we saw quite a sight. Trucking towards us was a lone hiker sporting nothing but a pair of tennis shoes (with plastic bags hanging out of), some parachute pants, a sweater and a scarf wrapped out his head. His name was Daniel from Germany, and he was a very nice fellow. And confident. I worried about him a bit when he left us and continued up the trail, postholing through some of now and following what was left of our tracks from the following day. He mentioned that his turn-around time was 1p. I didn't think that that was conservative enough considering the amount of daylight he had left and his lack of gear, but I really didn't want to push my own agenda on him. We thought about him from time to time on our descent and mentioned him for the rest of the day and hoped that he made it down ok that night.
Once we got off the mountain and had a much needed burger at the Lone Pine restaurant, I checked my messages and several friends called concerned. One of them a fellow climbing buddy from Spokane who saw on the news that Los Angeles hit a record low.
We were very pleased with the outcome of the trip. We learned that a JetBoil stove doesn't perform as well as a liquid fuel in those kinds of temps. It was also affirmed that one must be very flexible on a climbing trip. Our itinerary changed twice. Time and time again I remind myself that I cannot go into the mountains with an agenda. I have to listen to the mountain and let it set the agenda for me.
Please contact me if you have any questions about the conditions of the route.
Be safe.
Nathan
