Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board First Time on mtn- what to expect/ideas?

Max,

Drive up to Mt. Baldy take a walk up the Ski Hut to the summit.

If you can make up and DOWN the Ski Hut Trail this coming weekend without ice axe and crampons, you should not have a problem with Mt. Whitney.

If you can do summit Mt. Baldy without winter tools this month, you are a better climber than I.

I'm sorry, but this smells more like troll with every post Max writes. Forgive me if I'm wrong, Max. How much hiking have you done? Have you at least summited Baldy? San Gorgonio, Jacinto? If you haven't even done those, then I don't care what kind shape you're in. Hiking a mountain is harder than running on flat ground.

A few of my friends tried Whitney a few years ago. They were in far better shape than I am, and they had a heck of a time doing it in the summer. The altitude nearly did them in. You need to give this mountain the respect it deserves. Forget the winter trip, straight up. Unless you go with a respected outfitter like Sierra Mountaineering Int.

Jeff

Question. Why is this troll being indulged? Answer. Because it is there.

Hello there

I was in your shoes last year. My boyfriend and I wanted to climb mtn. whitney for the first time on the main trail the 2nd week in May. We went up a few days early to horseshoes meadows which had just opened (very nice to have the camp ground to yourself). We stayed there doing day hikes for three days came down picked up our permit (rented axels and crampon which we had never used before) and we were off the next morning. We are both in good shape and have hiked other mountains with out snow/ice before and we did great up until trailside meadow which is the picture bulldog posted. Let me tell you it looks completly different with snow. It was at this point were the trail began to get hard to follow if you didn't know where you were going. There are lots of footprints and that is the problem which ones to take for the "easy + right way". We spent the night at trail camp and in the middle of the night my boyfriend got sick with AMS( he lives in indio which is close to sea leavel) so in the morning we came right back down. I enjoyed our trip a lot more then he did:) During our hiking we saw a total of six people and 4 were right at the start coming down not looking to hot. This year we got a permit for the end of July 25-27, and I am looking forward to summiting for the first time but not the crowds everyone talks about. My only advice dont do it by yourself.

Thanks for the real world response. Your point is taken, for sure. I think the routing will be the toughest part. I have maps and GPS, but doubt that'll keep me on the right trail. At the end of the day.....one can always turn back. It's not like we're talking about K2 here (although some people on here seem to think so...I mean, if I'm doing a late spring climb/hike of Whitney, I'm certain to be blown off the mtn by 120mph winds and -45 temps, lol .)

Anyway, I bought crampons (in case the summit ends up being possible) and will get an axe. I have snowshoes. Thanks again. And again, turning back is always an option on a 14k'er in spring.

Settle down ...it's a proxy hub.

I didn't know what a "proxy hub" is....kind of nefarious. Googled it!

Anonymous Proxy

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What is wrong with some of you people?? I mean, really???

Last I checked, this is a forum on Mt Whitney and mountaineering.

Hmmmmmmm, Not sure about this. Whitney can be a "bitch". I don't suggest doing Baldy from the Hut as these's LOTS of ice and snow. Two experienced hikers died within two weeks of each other a few years back on Baldy in the Winter.
Maybe it's just me, but ice scares me :-)

If you really want to do Whitney, then wait for late Summer, take your time and have fun. Plenty of books and plenty of help on this forum.

Here's a formula: Get Dougs book. Read it. Get Richins book. Read it. Use a Yellow Marker and underline everything your need to remember. Get a map of the area and study it. When the snows off of Baldy, San Jacinto, Gorgornio.....hike them. Then hike them again. Get in shape, get acclimated to high altitude. Hiking at 5000, 8000 or even 10,000 feet is not the same as hiking at 12 to 14,000 feet, especially after already hiking for several hours just to get to that lovely altitude.

Then ask serious questions from the hikers/climbers on this site. These guys, gals are very supportive of beginning hikers and want to help. They did with me and I see them help numerous first timers every year. If you are sincere and ask genuine questions from this forum, they will bend over backwards to inform and help.

Then when you have finally reached the summit of Mt Whitney, share your experience as we all like to live through others adventures on the mountain.

If this sounds like something you would like to do, then by all means do it. You have the experience of some of the best hikers anywhere on this forum.........

And Richard, If I didn't love you before.....after the project honey pot.......You never fail to amaze me, from your hikes to your photographs.....to your information gathering. Look forward to all your posts.

Gillian,

Ice/snow isn't inherently scary. It is if you do not have the right tools, skills and experience for the job. This takes a lot of time and hard work...IMHO.

Mt. Baldy is a place one should go in SoCal prior to attempting the MMWT during the spring. If you can't climb the bowl there, you have no business attempting Trail Camp to Trail Crest chute. They are very similar length and slope angle.

Ken has the pitch perfect signature line on the subject of gaining experience.

Max I think your initial post spooked a lot of people (including me) and that's why you're getting cautionary responses. You know how things are on the internet, if you don't specify, people assume. You may want to elaborate on your experience level and winter mountaineering abilities. A climb of Whitney during the time period you're looking at definitely would be considered winter mountaineering, not a simple hike.

Okay, so I'll stay "on topic" by going off topic a bit.

Early next week, I'll do Baldy, to see how I handle 10k, snow and ice? (not sure?). So, I'll ask anyone with experience on Baldy this; and, lets also assume nothing changes in terms of weather between now and then (no monster snow dump or anything):


* If Ski Hut route.....what equipment will be required in mid-April, beyond the basics? snowshoes? crampons? axe?

* If from the notch route, same question.

Keep in mind it has been warm, and should stay very warm through mid-next week.

Well I don't know about the "notch" route but here are some pics from last Saturday from a trip up the Village trail. Basically, although it is melting out, there's still plenty of snow in the Bowl and on the summit and I would definitely bring crampons, axe, and helmet. I wouldn't bother with snowshoes though. Hopefully we've got a couple more weeks of coverage up there, depending on temps.

Mt. Baldy pics

Personally, this is what scares me. Whitney is a damn big mountain, that is taken far too lightly. The reason we warn you like this is because some of us pull bodies off of these mountains every year, most of us lose friends in these mountains every year. I really hope you are trolling.
Don't go do Baldy by yourself, owning 'pons and axes doesn't mean you know how to use them. Go with someone experienced.
Hell, come up here and I'd be happy to teach you before you do something if you want.
FYI, I've seen Whitney with 100mph winds and temps well below -10.

This is a real world response from a real world climber BTW.

Dig the boots Mr. Irving. I have a pair of those as well (Asolo's right?). Not as warm as I expected. I've done Baldy and White Mtn. a few times in winter and they work ok. Took them to Colorado a month ago and man they about lost me a toe...

Mark,
Did you ever figure out why the lack of car traffic on the road?

Really no idea, maybe because all the snow play people are gone because Manker is drying out, or maybe the ski resort is closed (is it? I don't know). Or maybe Easter weekend diverted all the usual participants to family activities?...I'm just glad I didn't have to dodge too many cars on the way down that twisty road!

Yeah those boots are Asolos and I like them alot already, after spending all day in the snow they seem warm enough but there definitely are warmer boots out there. They're pretty stiff boots but they have enough rocker in them that they walk really smoothly, not much clunk to them. Overall, so far they're great!

Agreed. I don't know why people are on their high horses. Just be cautious, bring crampons and an Ice axe (they don't weigh much anyways), and you will be fine. I just did the MR 2 weeks ago and snowboarded down and had the time of my life.

PS...Baldy might be ok training, but use your ice gear....you will need it anyways. Don't let these people get you down, If you wanna do something...then do it.

B