Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Whitney last week of MAY 2005 ?? Newbie needs Help

We plan to summit Whitney on last week of May (22 -24).

We plan to stay one night at the portal and another night at trail camp before summit attempt.

This is our first trip to the mountain. What kind of condition are we going to face ?? We have crampons and ice axes but no snowshoes nor skis.

What about avalanche and rock fall dangers ? Should we bring our helmet and/or rope ?? I assume there are no crevases on the mountain ??

Thank You again for all your help

Help Please ?? anyone ... thanks

More people probably have more extensive knowledge than I, but I'll post my exp and views. In late May, especially this year you will have quite a bit of snow, prob not til after Trail Camp. If you plan on summiting via the main trail early in the morning I would def recommend crampons, you may even be able to skip the switchbacks and head straight for Trail Crest up snow. If you stick more to the trail then rockfall should be minimal(always a possibility) and avy danger the same. So personally I wouldn't take a rope or helmet. Oh and no crevasses. That's my take, good luck.
Eric J Lee

When covered with snow how hard is it to figure out the route ?? I assume we will not be encountering a lot of other people on the trail in May, and this is our first time up the mighty mountain.

I have been up in the area many times in late May. Usually the snow path is well worn by then and easy to follow. In a heavy snow year (like this year) there could still be snow down to about 10,000 feet. Early in the morning the snow is hard enough to walk on top. During the middle of the day sinking in can become a problem if it is warm and sunny. If you don't have snowshoes, do your travelling early when the snow is still frozen. Only one year when we had June temperatures the second half of May did we wish we had snowshoes.

Above trail camp you will probably take the snow field up like every one else. On the back side of the mountain (above trail crest) there will be drifts but often not that much snow.

Crampons/ Ice axe and perhaps even snow shoes can be helpfull, depending on how warm it is. I would not think a helmit and rope would be necessary. There are no crevasses on the trail to fall into. Falling through is not usually a problem, unless you are walking off trail over a snow bridge covering one of the rivers.

It is a great time of year to be up there. Take a look at Bob R's photos, taken in middle May up the regular trail.

http://members12.clubphoto.com/robert634908/1310304/guest.phtml

Here are pictures taken on your weekend three years ago: http://members12.clubphoto.com/robert634908/1407150

I would bring crampons and ax, but not snowshoes or skis. No helmet or rope; unless you get way off route, there is virtually no avalanche or rockfall danger.

I looked at the pictures from 3 years ago - the "funny plane" is a Rutan Long EZ or one of a few variations on the same design. Just FYI.

I am kind of amazed at how many people fear the regular trail which has been "humanized" to the point of no longer being a wilderness experience. There were no cables after Trail Crest when I was there last and you were on your own from there. An ice axe and crampons are definitely essential gear this year. The year I was there last there was 250% of normal snow. I was on the summit July 4th, 1995 and there was snow covering the switchbacks from Trail Camp to Trail Crest. We kicked steps straight up the snow, no switchbacking at all. In those conditions crampons and an axe helped a lot.

As a point of safety, hiking or climbing with a helmet is encouraged even when no rock fall is likely from nature, since there is always the chance of rockfall from people above and around you. If the Park Service deems cables necessary up there, do yourself a favor and protect your head while you take the stroll across the man made route.

Just called the Lone Pine Ranger station and they recommended ice axe and crampon and self arrest skills.

However, forgot to ask them about snowshoe.

They also mention about route finding skills after Trail camp. Considering the worst, snow covered all ground and we are all alone, how hard is it to find the proper route ?? This will be our first time experience up Whitney.

Thanks Again and please pardon the stupid questions, jsut trying to be as safe as possible

It is so obvious, that you don't really need a map, although I'd never advise anyone going into the wilderness not to have one. Think, "superhighway".

Some of the advise here begs me to ask if a spring snow of several inches (or more) could cover the main trail sufficiently to making route finding skills a necessity. I have hiked in forested areas where tree blazes assisted us in route finding but this isn't possible on Whitney.

Living in Colorado, I have seen frequently traveled routes buried and indistinguishable after a heavy snow. If one is not familiar with the route and area, they could get lost and/or waste a lot of time and energy.

Didn't some guy doing a solo get "lost" in a whiteout up there last Spring or was it early this winter. He posted his trip report. I don't know what the west side is like and whether it becomes totally covered with snow. But I would guess that it could look just like a steep or very steep hillside of snow and no route showing at all. One would need navigation skills, no?

It is hard to say it any other way: anyone heading into the winter wilderness environment should understand that navigation skills are an absolute requirement, no matter how easy a route may be.

I don't know of any map that does much good by itself, in whiteout conditions.

In case you're interested in reading the <a href="http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002046"story</a> Fred referred to.

Thank You so much for the link to the story. That will help us get more preparation up.

As of now, pending work schedule and permit of course, we are still planning to do the ascent at the end of May.