Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board THE LOTTERY BLOWS

what a bunch of crap!
my time got turned down why? because I faxed it in
on the right day at 6:00am all I want is 4 same day hiking passes.
the system should be changed first come first served.well dont get hurt on the I-5 by magic mountain our hospital works the same way and I hope im the one you have to see!
maybe the wilderness gods will grant me another day.

Ah, what a shame - you can't go up the mule trail with a crowd of tourists on the day of your choice... there are lot's of other trails and mountains

You Got It!
¡Hijos de la gran Puta!
Before I said, "Sons of Mt. Whitney!"
Not any more.........
blows is sort of nice.
Gonna bag Whitney;
¡permiso o no permiso (p****t)!

Nextdrink:

The lottery system is in place as an effort to limit the impact from hordes of tourists who don't understand (and sometimes don't care about) the impact their presence exerts on a delicate ecosystem, namely the Whitney Zone. Perhaps it is time for you to step up your commitment level and become a 'mountaineer' instead of a hiker...

To the best of my knowledge there is still no permit required for 'day-hiking' the Mountaineer's Route on Whitney. You could even descend the Main Trail afterwards...What will the 'park employees' (ray-n-ger seems to be a bad word on this site) do anyway, tell you to get off the mountain?

In my experience, even an 'unplanned bivy' is understood on the part of the authorities if you are practicing 'leave no trace' ethics, carrying a bear cannister and being respectful of the land and the law. Your milage may vary though so no promises. =) I have learned over the years that the 'park employees' have that job because they generally share our love for the outdoors.

If you address them with respect AND openly demostrate your willingness to put the preservation of the environment BEFORE your own personal comfort...Then you should have no problems this season.

It's a lottery after all, folks. That means that not everyone wins the prize of a permit. It took us two years to get a 2-person overnight permit. First time, we had about 6 or 8 possible dates, didn't get a permit. Second time, a year later, we had more flexibility in our summer plans, 20 possible entry dates, and we got our first choice, so go figure.

You didn't mention how many dates you had on your application, nor whether they were prime holiday weekends, regular weekends or mid-week. There are lots of ways to improve your odds, but if you put down a limited number of highly-competitive dates, your odds go way down.

The "collect a bunch and draw randomly" method is a way of evening out things for people who don't have access to a FAX. After the first rush, though, it turns effectively into a first-come, first-served process for everyone else.

When the initial permits are all issued, go back to the USFS site and check for dates with available permits. You may still get in this summer if you have the flexibility to choose a different date.

I can certanly empathize with the feeling of not winning the lottery, this includes both the Lotto or the whitney permit lottery, but to blame it all on a FAX is humorous.

Having spent a career in customer oriented businesses, the FAX has developed a reputation similar to e-mail spam. People often send FAXes unsolicited and expect that just because it is a FAX, it will get immediate attention and head of line priveleges. I fully understand that a FAX is now an option for applying for a permit but it should not guarantee priority or yield a permit. As previosly stated, giving the lottery system options is more effective.

Anecdotally, I recall a colleague's method for securing a permit back in the early 90's. At that time, permit applications were handled based on the post mark on your envelope (no faxes accepted). It could not be post-marked prior to February 1st otherwise it would be returned. My clever colleague would go into the corporate mail room and have the operator adjust the meter so his envelope would be postmarked on Feb 1st but actually mail the envelope on January 31st thinking that it would arrive ahead of other mail actually mailed on Feb 1st. The method had limited success, we got our preferred dates 2 out of 3 years. I have no doubt similar strategies are employed today.

I take no issue with creative methods for gaining a permit, it's a form of gambling. However I do take issue with people that pronouce their intent and promote amongst others to forego the system and enter these protected areas without the proper permit.

You will still be able to get permits after the lottery. I'm not sure what the website is, but the Forest Service lists a calendar that shows permits available by the day. All you have to do is check the calander to make sure permits are available for a specific day and then fill out an application and fax it to Lone Pine ****** Station. You can call the ****** station for more info.

Most of the permits available are for dayhikes during the week, but some weekend and overnight permits will still be available. I have obtained permits this way for the past two years.

I suggest you take the long view. Keep trying, put as many dates as possible, stay away from weekends and hoildays. Wait until they post the lottery results, there is usually a few open spots. Ask if anybody has a cancellation in the group which happens all the time. If Whitney is really important to you, adjust your schedule. Hike and climb on other trails, there is a lot of fantasitc country out there including other ways to Whitney summit. Enjoy it all.

The permit system is for suckers. Go up whitney via shepherd's pass. YOu don't have to see any fat slobs from LA carrying way too much crap and you can go whenever you want. You can still buy an "I hiked mt whitney the only mountain in the universe" t-shirt and tell all your friends how tough it and you are.

Be patient everyone ...
People on this board are very generous w/ extra slots and cancellations. Your chance to breathe heavy and vomit will come!

Brunodog shepherds pass?
where is it to the portal camp ground and how hard
is the hike?

"Can't we all just get along?"

when does the lottery end???

Shepherd's Pass is north of Whitney. YOu catch it just outside of Independence. Any map will have it. The hike to the pass is reasonable, but hot; there are two camping areas just below the pass: anvil camp and the pot hole. Once on the pass, you can bag 14er Mt. Tyndall. Or you can descend to a valley. You catch a trail going south to the West Face of Whitney. Me and a middle aged woman did the whole thing in 2 1/2 days. It's not hard, and you can get a pass just about any time you want. It's nice to have two cars...one you leave at Whitney and one at shepherd's pass trail head. Clean your cars well with a steam vacuum before you go and don't leave anything even gum wrapers or tortilla chip crumbs or anything valuable in the car.

You can also get to the West Face of Whitney by hiking from Cottonwood Lakes. Cottonwood lakes is just south of Whitney. You get there on a paved road out of Lone Pine. You hike any number of routes. One takes you to Mt. Langley, another 14er you can do besides Whitney. You hike West and then eventually catch a trail heading North.

THere are also numerous ways to get to WHitney besides the main trail. The ******s have always told me I could exit out of Whitney. I choose not to go there anymore, however, because there are millions of great hikes in the Sierra, loads of cool mountains over 13 or 14 thousand feet, and so why deal with all those people? If I want to go to a party, I go to a party; when I go hiking I want to GET AWAY.

Thanks for the heads up.
I will talk to the group im going with and see if there up for it.
I remember back in the 80s when you didnt have to get a permit it seemed to move a little quicker on the mountain.
But who im I just another person.waiting for the wilderness gods to grant my request.
what they should do is give the permits to the people that already have there portal camp ground reservations.and that have already requested the time off.

Thats the dumbest thing that I have heard all day!

I'm conservative and have a general dislike for environmentalists...

However, I think the lottery is just fine. If anything, it's a gauge of how bad you really want to be out there, and riff-raff will creep into the system, but usually not. I haven't met a single person out there who wasn't having fun. Maybe a bit beat up, tired, sick, etc. but still having fun. That's what you sign up for. I'm a little sick of reading about how things "used to be," and being a right-winger I use the phrase often.

You can hike the main trail without a permit if you can afford the ticket. Ever drive in Texas?

Now thats the dumbest thing I have heard.
Hike the mountain w/out a permit to pay for a ticket goes against what I am talking about.
Its not a money issue its about the GOD issue of they will tell who is going on there mountain.
Go back to when you would raise the camp site charges.Charge for over night parking.
If you want to hike the mountain or hike to the first lake you can but the wilderness people have to much say.
FREE THE MOUNTAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Before you guys resort to weapons...

I too think the quota system is ratcheted down way too tight. So I started <a href=http://www.mt-whitney.info/viewtopic.php?t=367> a poll here </a> to see if I was in the minority or not. Currently it is 2 to 1 in favor of the current numbers. Check out the replies, and add your own.

It seems most people like taking a shot at the lottery and are happy to wait until next time if they miss out.

Steve C
<a href="http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~stevec/" target=_new> Mt Whitney web site </a>

Well Steve
I dont want to wait untill next year.I dont know if you had hiked the Mnt.last year but,you could see the numbers are wrong.I go up every year somtime in Aug.Its busy but, Not like the rangers make you think.Even the camp host last year said "it seems more people are not comming up. Camping is not as popular as it used to be."

Thanks for all the replies