Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board The chute

I am just curious how steep the chute is and the length of it.

In a recent post I believe its 1600 vertical feet and some where around 30 degrees in steepness.

I went up and down it on Memorial day weekend.

I know this will sound stupid, but what does 30 degrees steepnes mean--would a wall be 90 degrees--and the floor -0-degrees?

A 30 degree slope equates to a slope steepness of about 3,048 feet per mile.

In a nutshell, we are talking about the angle made between C and A. C is the slope you are hiking/climbing/walking up. B would be the elevation change.

--Amin

Here is the link: http://emweb.unl.edu/math/mathweb/trigonom/Image289.gif

thanks--a little knowlwedgw always helps

Or, to put it in a different perspective, if the Whitney Trail were 30 degrees for the entire 11 miles, you'd finish at about 42,000 feet elevation instead of 14,500 - about 2.5 miles higher than Everest.

Conversely, at a constant 30 degrees you'd make the Portal to the summit in a tad over two miles.

Both are scary thoughts . . .