Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Training for MR

I am going to do the MR in Mid May and with recent events, I feel like I want some extra self arrest practice. Does anyone know if there is still enough snow in Baldy Bowl for that or are there any other suggestions. Thanks.

Last report there is still quite a bit of snow up there. Though there was an accident involving well known Mountaineer RJ Secor possibly glissading down the BaldyBowl . Here is a link to the story,
http://www.summitpost.org/show/mread.pl?f_id=22&t_id=15519&page=1
If you do go up there, be careful.
Eric J Lee

The weekend before last the conditions in the bowl were perfect for glissading/self arrest practice. I did both. Based on reports from this past weekend things may have changed. Also note that conditions change quite a bit throughout the day. In the early morning the snow can be hard and icy -- pretty good for crampons but not for glissading. Late in the afternoon things can get too soft. Conditions can also differ from the top of the bowl to the bottom. The bottom is usually softer.

-Rick

I Climbed the ridge yesterday. It snowed and the wind howled. I took the short-cut to the Backbone, via the hut route, and droped in at the north saddle. The top 500 feet of snow was firm, but the closer to the hut the softer the snow. It is still in excellent shape for snow skills practice.

Thanks to all for the info. It sounds like it should be good.