Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board swtich backs

trying to get some info on the 99 switch backs to see if there open and or in good con. to go up.And how is trail camp looking is there still slushy snow.Going june 1,2,3 can't wait!

David:
There are a lot of posters heading up there most weekends, including myself today-tomorrow. I'll hopefully get some good shots of the switchers from the MR/summit (gawd-willing!), and depending on conditions we may descend that way. Keep your eyes on the board the next few weeks, as conditions are ALWAYS changing, and even what is reported now may be completely obsolete by the time of your trip!

-L

ya I just want it to clear up so i can do them safely.

Take the side trip to mt. muir, you can get great pix of the switchbacks from the summit.

bj

david101, if you would like to know where you are on the switchbacks, check out this map. There used to be 99 switchbacks, but two were removed years ago. Makes two less to walk up. Have fun!

We met a group who had come up to the summit from the MT side. They stated that they had to bail off of the MT at the cables due to icy conditions (same story we heard on the summit two weeks ago) and head up the slope below Trail Crest.

So instead of doing the MT go up the slope.Would i be able to dicide then from trail crest to do either switch backs or the slope.

Most people find it more difficult to climb down ice/hardpacked snow than climbing up it, so if you head up the slope instead of the switchbacks, I would advise climbing down it also.

You also might want to take a look down the slope a few times on your way up to decide in advance whether the "exposure" scares you to the point that you'll not want to descend the slope from Trail Crest after reaching the summit.

Thanks,Cool Deal I'll give it a shot,well depending on the others and how they feel.WE GO AS A TEAM,WE LEAVE AS A TEAM.

David, although your trite phrase about teamwork is nice, you must be very cautious about "groupthink". This is the process where people, especially guys, don't want to disappoint the other members of their group, or appear weak, or appear a pansy.....so agree to do something "for the group" that they would never do on their own. These are the makings of a disaster. It is REALLY important to elicit reservations of participants, and not be in a state of mind where you are trying to get someone to do something they don't feel they can safely do.

You talk about climbing as a team, but you are not. You will not be roped together, as this climb is not done that way. If they fall, they fall by themselves! If someone in your group does not have the skill, they SHOULD NOT do this climb. When they fall and get hurt, and they went because they felt they had to.......

The "RAH, RAH" stuff just doesn't sound so rad, at the funeral.

Great job Wayne of putting that Map up! And you are absolutely right, there are only(!) 97 true switchbacks. You've mentioned in your posting that originally there were 99. When I added the "pop-ups" to my video I'd decided to keep it at that magic (99) number and included the first two "bends" (before the beginning of the switchbacks) as switchbacks, even though they are not. However, it also causes the count to be off by 2, where the cables start after the #47 switchback and the last one is the "99".

Anybody who wants to see all the switchbacks on video, can now click to my YouTube
postings where I show this part on clips #20 to #26/27 of the Whitney Trail.

One more thing: This filming was done late in the year (October) before the first snow arrived and under most favorable weather conditions. At most other times, this trail can be extremely treacherous - as one can read up on under Ken's posting of: "DANGEROUS CONDITIONS on the Main Trail"

I'll bring back an update 5/20, and another 5/24. I'll then project what things should be like for your trip. We may meet on the summit 6/3; you can then tell me how I did.