Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Best book or map for hiking up Whitney

Hi. I'm new to the board and am planning to camp and hike up Whitney next weekend. Can anyone recommend a good map or book that cleary shows the routes up the mountain. Just trying to get all the info I can as I am unfamiliar with the area, ie campsites, where to park, etc. Thanks so much. It's really been entertaining just lurking in here, reading everyone's posts. Everyone seems really friendly.

The maps of the area show the Main Trail and that's it, personally I like the USGS maps, Mt. Langley and Mt. Whitney. If you own TOPO! California software there are some area maps on their website detailing some of the routes to the top.

There are other routes you can do from Whitney Portal but they are not on a map. The most popular of these routes is The Mountaineering Route which starts at the Main Trail Trailhead. Most descriptions of this route still leave me confused but with all the snow up there this year there will be a beaten path at least as far a Iceberg Lake.

My favorite guide book of the area is Paul Richins, Jr.'s but there are many good ones.

The road is closed at the ~6,500' level but this sign is universally ignored. Just go as far as the road allows within your comfort zone. We parked at the first switchback a month ago because the road was block by a couple of slides.

It is winter on the mountain so you can camp anywhere you want, depending on the route you take.

Thanks for the reply. How technical is the Mountaineer's Route? I'm bringing crampons and an axe, but didn't plan on doing any climbing with ropes.

Obviously you are talking winter mountaineering if you are going up next week. I read a recent report you can drive past the tree debris on the road to up around the campground area.

You can easily camp at the portal in the snow, or up at Lower Boy Scout Lake, Upper Boy Scout lake, in the morraine area below Iceberg lake and Iceberg lake itself.

The terain is not that technically difficult up to the notch @ 14100 feet. From there you can take the easy traverse straight or turn left to go up the chute, depending on what you feel is best.

Coming down the chute to the notch is where the gentlemen fell and died a few weeks ago. He apparently slid down the chute 1000 feet on the north side after he fell. Some use ropes on that area to be safer.

Be carefull and enjoy.

This link has a bunch of reports and photos of the MR>

http://www.mt-whitney.info/viewtopic.php?t=126

This is a photo of the easy traverse going west from the notch area to the summit plateau.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/76935795/78053354VZuZww

Walking across a 40 - 50 degree slope is not my idea of safety, especially if it is icy.

People use ropes going up the chute to the summit, not because it is a rock climbing area, but because it is steep and falling there can be dangerous in the winter.

GoneHiking thanks so much for all the info, it is really appreciated. This is the first time for me in the Sierra Nevada's and really don't know what to expect.

Fullcircle,

Expect winter conditions. There is a lot of snow up there and it will be there for a lot time this year. A heck of a lot more than I've seen during trips my trips in mid-March the last 4 years.

Just bring extra gear and clothing. You can always leave it in the car but you can't take what you don't bring and it might limit your trip.

Fullcircle,

best of luck for the weekend. You mind posting afterwards how you found it, or PM me? I'll be trying the MR in 10 days so it would be nice to know what the conditions are like at the moment. Take care and have fun up there!

Thanks to everyone for all your help and information. Thanks for the heads up on the snow, I wasn't expecting much, so now I'll pack accordingly.

Take a look at these photos from Richard. Even though they where taken in January, the pictures on page 3 to the end show the snow conditions from the portal up into the north fork.Even though the snow on the road lower has melted, up higher it would still be fully covered.

http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/gallery/358930/3

I haven't seen a book that I thought was bad.

I've recently, finally, picked up a copy of Doug's book. Very entertaining, with many examples produced by his experience. I recommend it!

Jason posted these photos this morning, on his trip up to Thor Peak, which is just southwest of Lower Boy Scout lake. It gives you a good idea of the snow conditions up the north fork.

http://everythingoutdoors.org/gallery/Thor

The report is here.

http://www.mt-whitney.info/viewtopic.php?t=490

Thanks again GoneHiking. Is anyone going to Whitney this weekend? I'm probably headed up Thursday.

FullCircle -

I'm driving up to Lone Pine this Thursday from San Francisco. I'm doing the MR starting Friday morning with Kurt Wedberg. There's a ton of snow up there at the mo, though avy conditions are said to have stableized within the past week. Also, there's a warm front coming, so expect a bit of melt. Even so, it can be brutally cold on whitney - as I'm sure others will confirm - so make sure you pack appropiately. not sure where you are based, but if you need a lift, let me know. Also - the Dow motel has cheap rooms ($53) for 2 beds, if you don't want to canvas.