Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board HELP! Confusing Message (Permits & Fees)

I had a conversation with a individual at the R****r station to try to understand the permitting process. I stated that we are planning day hikes to (1) Mt. Whitney (by MR) and descend by Main Trail and (2) on the following day do a day hike to Mt. Russell. He stated that for day hikers you do not need a permit or pay any fees if you do not ascend using the Main Trail to Whitney even though you are in the Whitney Zone. This is very confusing since the lottery form and web information states conflicting information. Can anyone substantiate this no permit/no fee for day-hikers answer?

That was the deal last year, no permit for a one day MR up / Trail down. Previous years you needed the permit for trail down portion.
Never has been a permit required to my knowledge for day hikes up North Fork (Russell)

I second mtn_climbr001's response. On a phone call with the Forest Service last year I was told that they want to promote the use of the main trail as a relatively safe walk-off for people climbing Whitney via the MR or any of the technical climbing routes. Their thinking is that an exhausted climber should not be forced to down climb the MR because he ro she lacks a permit. The risks to the climber and potential rescuers are too great should there be an accident during the down climb. (Climbing statistics suggest 85% of climbing accidents occur on the descent.) We are planning to do some climbing in the North Fork canyon this summer and I have spoken with the FS about permits recently. You do not need a permit for a one day trip in or through the canyon. You need an overnight permit if you plan to camp. The overnight permits, which are not part of the Whitney lottery, are available 6 months prior to departure and go very quickly.