Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Switchback Photos 6/18

For those wanting a look at the condition of the switchbacks right now, I took some photos of them from Mount Muir and on my way back down. Though it doesn't seem like it when looking up from below, most of the switchbacks (above the cables) are clear of snow. The trouble is that the area where the cables are is still packed with snow and thus is difficult to get around. Though there are some tracks leading up the snow to the cables, it doesn't really look like anyone has attempted to go further. Everyone is still using the snow slope.

<a href="http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewer.asp?FolderID=401">Switchbacks 6/18</a>

It's probably also worth noting that the snow slope next to the switchbacks (at least on 6/18) had become rather hard and icy. This makes things more slippery so be careful! If you slip you could pick up velocity quite quickly. If things don't change I wouldn't be surprised to hear about some accidents.

-Rick

Rick, thanks for the update and very nice pictures BTW.

Thanks for the the great photos, Rick. We're going to try on the 30th; and your photos--while discouraging--are proof that crampons are needed.

Terrific photos, Rick. Thanks for taking the time to document those sections of the Trail (especially the Switchbacks) for the Board. Looks like we'll need some sort of heat wave up there before the cabled section is clear!

Thanks for the pictures. I was one of those on that snow chute.

Pat

Great photos! This is very helpful to those of us who will be arriving in the next few weeks. Thank you for taking the time to post your photos. Two questions:
1. What time of day was it when you headed back down from Trail Crest and encountered the hard sun-cupped snow?
2. Was anyone using the cable section yet or was it still totally unused?

Thanks!

Thanks, Rick. Great photos and very helpful to those of us going up soon. I'm taking 3 others this weekend (hiking Friday-Sunday) and it's helpful to see the conditions we'll encounter.

Awesome pics, Rick! I, too, was one on the trail on 6/18, so they brought back some good memories!

And to add my $.02: First, there was a lot more snow up there than even I had planned on. Still deep in spots and TONS of suncupping, some holes as deep as 5' (of which I snk into one on the way back near outpost camp, so be watchful of where you're stepping). Crampons are a MUST! If you don't have 'em, you can rent 'em from the small sporting goods store near the corner of Whitney Portal and 395 in downtown Lone Pine. If you haven't used them before (I hadn't), it only takes a few minutes to get used to them. And we got down the chute (or "the poop chute" as my friend and I began calling it after the twitchy descent you need to undertake without an ice axe!) by wearing the crampons while sliding down on our butts...I found a good, althouh certaily not best practice, technique that worked for me of stretching my left leg in front and keeping my right leg bent...if I started to get up too much speed, I simply leaned forward slightly and started slowing by putting a small amount of weight on the right crampon. Seemed to work for me, but just be careful when trying this as if you pitch forward too far and catch the spikes too much, you'll go head over arse in a hurry! Focus, Danielsan!

Second, it was a tad colder on the trail crest portion than I had read about as well. Make sure to bring some really good mittens or gloves in addition to some thinner ones for the lower portions of the trail.

Third, we got a bit sidetracked coming down after Outpost Camp. Don't stay on what seems to be the main set of tracks through the snow, but make sure to bear towards the left-hand side small valley rather than the right. You can get back down to the meadow camp either way, but there's a lot more snow on the right-hand route and the stuff becomes slop in the afternoon sun...very slippery if you aren't in crampons and even then I skidded a few times.

(P.S. And good news...not a single run-in with 'virus-ridden poo' like we've all been reading about in those recent articles on McKinley and Everest!)

All in all, we went up and down the entire 22 miles in 14.5 hours...9 up, .5 at the summit, and 5 down. A tough, but very rewarding day!

Rospenda,
Are you in good shape? Are you experienced in the snow? What time did you leave? You said 14.5 hours. Is that from the Portal and back on a day hike?
You wouldn't happen to have the name or # of the store in Lone Pine, would you, so we can rent crampons?
Thanks.

Marmot,

>1. What time of day was it when you headed back down from Trail Crest and encountered the hard sun-cupped snow?

It was about 5:15pm when I headed back down from Trail Crest. By that time half of the slope was in shadow though the snow that was still in the sun didn't seem any softer.

>2. Was anyone using the cable section yet or was it still totally unused?

A few tracks went up to the cables but
it didn't appear anyone attempted to go further.

Rospenda,

I too found myself trying to come up with some non-standard technique while glissading due to the hard snow. It was too hard to use the axe handle to effectively slow the descent. I resorted to using the pick until I simply gave up on glissading.

-Rick

Rick, congrats on your super pics of the switchbacks. You sure caught the right light. The switcbacks above the cables (47-81) have an amazing glow to them. Thanks for sharing.

Rick:

Looking close at those pictures, you caught me at trail crest. When you look close, I am in the red jacket. Thanks for posting.

Pat

Wayne,

Yeah the lighting was great. The last time I took photos of the switchbacks from Muir (last Septemeber) they were all washed out. These were good.

Aqua,

Glad you made it. I think I have a photo of your <a href="http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewphoto.asp?ID=53026">summit register</a> entry too.

-Rick

Dveleas -

>Are you in good shape?
Fairly good shape...have run a couple marathons in the past couple years and summited Kilimanjaro last November. Still I did get a slight headache from trail crest to summit @ Whitney, the price of living at sea level and summiting less than 24 hours from leaving the house on Friday! Make sure to bring advil and tums as safety nets for Whitney.

>Are you experienced in the snow?
I have actually never done this type of hike in the snow before. Like I said, the crampons were extrememly easy to use, so definitely no worries there. Just be careful on the chute later in the day when the snow is sloppy!

>What time did you leave? You said 14.5 hours. Is that from the Portal and back on a day hike?
Yeah...14.5 for portal-summit-portal. I think me and my buddy could have done it in about 11, but the snow definitely slows you down a ton, so if you do the 1 day trip, make sure to leave yourself more time than you'd think.

>You wouldn't happen to have the name or # of the store in Lone Pine, would you, so we can rent crampons?
I believe it was this place:

Lone Pine Sporting Goods
(760) 876-5365
220 S Main St
Lone Pine, CA 93545

We rented crampons and ice axes (your call on if you want to lug that around...I'm not sure it's absolutely necessary) and the total was about $24 (although they do add in a $220 deposit on your card -- way more than the equipment is worth -- that's reversed when you return the items, so don't lose anything!)

Good luck on your hike!

BTW...Rick, I gotta ask...how the heck do you get out there so much? By your photo album, it looks like you're taking some amazing trips every weekend! Fantastic archive of pics!

Yeah I get out just about every weekend. It's become habit. It just feels wrong to let a weekend go by without doing something.

Rick:

I really like the quality of your pictures, which requires two elements, one of which I can copy. What kind of camera do you use?

The other element, which I cannot copy, is the skill of the operator, but I can work on.

Pat

Rick,

Thanks for the pictures! Some of them have my son, me and a buddy in them.

Presently I'm using a Canon S70. I also have a Canon Digital Rebel (with some nice lenses) but only use it on shorter hikes or driving tours. I've been quite happy with Canon equipment. I've gone through quite a few digital cameras over the years. I started with a Kodak DC210 (1 megapixel) back in 1998. After that I had a Kodak DC280, Canon S40, Canon S60, and now the S70 and the Rebel. These cameras have yielded a staggering number of pictures. I have over 52,000 on my web server.

-Rick

It is a surprise how much of the switchbacks are now clear. It doesn't seem like it would take too much to work a path through the remaining snow.