Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mt. Whitney trail, June 22 - 23

Lots of questions, PMs, and emails, asking about the latest conditions and readiness of the 97 switchbacks as an alternative to the snow chute up to Trail Crest. I did a repeat, with a friend, of the climb reported in Mt. Whitney trail, June 18 - 19. Things were essentially unchanged in the intervening four days. It was warmer, so the snow in that chute was softer and a little safer for travel up or down.

Warmer, so I was cozy in my 40° sleeping bag with only light clothing and no long underwear. My buddy used his 30° bag and slept in his skivvies. Neither of us took bivy sacks.

My statements about the switchbacks are no different from last weekend, except that the three switchbacks after the cables are even more melted now. Someone told us that a couple of guys did manage to go that way, but I could discern no footsteps in the snow. I wanted to try it, but my buddy (a superb backcountry skier) said he much preferred the snow slope to hiking on a trail.

I think the switchbacks are ready. What is required is a few mountaineers with at least moderate experience and skill to forge the way first. Once a few bucket-size steps are in place, others can follow. The cables and the next three switchback corners will still require a lot of caution, because the sloping snow is quite steep and you will have to arrest quickly in case of a slip. Below are a couple of pictures from a prior trip, to show what you might expect very soon. Additionally, you can look here, especially pictures 52 - 61.



So, for the casual hiker—even those with some snow experience—I would say to watch the reports. After a few people have gone up this way, you can probably safely follow. Be sure to take crampons and ax, and know how to use the ax for climbing and arrests. Above this section, there are a few snow slopes to traverse, and they will get your attention—especially the last one before Trail Crest. If you don’t want to experience snow at all, you may have to wait a few weeks.

Oh, the mosquitoes are out, even as high as Trail Camp.

On descending the chute in the afternoon, I found an article in a stuffsack. If you lost something, email or PM me.

Pictures, with added details about the climb.

Bob, thanks again for your excellent, conscientious reports on the trail. They're very much appreciated, especially your focus on the switchbacks. I'll be up there in about 3 weeks and snow ain't my thang, so I'm watching these reports with enhanced attentiveness.

Thanks for the report. Not as encouraging as I was hoping for, but much appreciated.
References to similar condition pictures are greatly appreciated.

a

I am assuming this was at Trail Camp? No tents either?

Thanks Bob for the updates and your thought on the trail, Being this my first time up and reading what you have to say goes a long way on how I plan my trip.

Mark

Right on both counts.

My friends and I never bring tents in the Sierra between about April and November, and we are always amazed to see that so many others do. Why would you want to be in cramped quarters, when you can spread out under such a beautiful night sky, in awe? Of course, if your pack is so light the extra weight isn't a problem,....

For insurance, I always have an emergency 3 oz. bivy sack along, even on day trips. It's my 11th essential. I haven't gotten it out in well over ten years. If rain is anticipated, I'll bring my 5' x 8' Siltarp (7 oz) or equivalent. This time of year, however, it's dead weight.

Thanks Bob for the great pics! I work at Adventure 16, and TRs like this are invaluable for me to pass along info to my customers regarding conditions up there. Thanks again, this info really does help keep people safe. Or, at least, I tell them what it looks like on the mountain, and they take it however they will...
Cheers,
Katie

3oz. bivi sack, can you share some information.
What brand or did you make it, how and with what?
Got a picture?
Was it an AMK Item?

We hiked up to Trail Camp on 6/23, then went up the chute on 6/24 and on to the Whitney Summit (first time to the summit). The evenings at Trail Camp were not below freezing when were there (even had rain one night), though some surface ice did form on the water at Trail Camp due to clear sky cooling.

We left Trail Camp at 7am and were starting up the chute with ice axe and crampons by 8am and the snow was already pretty soft (sunrise is at 5:30am so it starts getting warmed early). There were reports the day before from a Forest Service guy that 3 people had made it up in regular boots with no crampons, just an ice axe for safety. We really appreciated having the crampons. We had no issues with traction with the crampons.

I saw a couple small groups of people starting out on the switchbacks and ascending in the boulder field to the left of the chute (looking up), but I never got a direct report from any of them or saw how it worked out for them.

We also saw several people turning around part way up the chute because they didn't have the right equipment and several other people coming up were just planning to stop at Trail Camp because they weren't prepared for the snow in the chute.

Coming down, there was a glissading path worn so deep in the snow, it had side walls 3-4' high at the top and the snow was so soft that it was hard (but possible) to get good traction with the ice axe to slow yourself. Others were walking down with a combination of big steps in the soft snow and boot skiing (particularly on the lower half of the slope which isn't so steep). Our first hand experience was that the top of the chute is so steep that it is not easy to control your glissade speed, but from the middle on down, it's much easier (and quite fun). Once you're in the middle, you can also position yourself so you have a safe runout at the bottom (which is not possible from the top).

The snow in the chute was still very deep (you could tell along the boulder field in the middle of the chute). I'm sure it's melting fast, but there's still a lot of it.

The trail from Trail Crest to Whitney was mostly clear. There were a couple patches of snow to cross, but nobody bothered to put on their crampons for those, you just walked carefully in the trodden path. There were also a couple snowy areas to cross on the trail below Trail Camp, but we also just walked carefully in our boots with poles for balance.

Trail Camp is clear of snow.

We had two bouts of rain in Trail Camp the night of June 24th. The first lasted about 15 minutes, the second a bit longer. I had to get up in the middle of the night to cover the packs. We were quite glad we were in a tent. The tent was quite wet in the morning though the sun dried things out quickly.

I spent the last night at Horseshoe Meadows (10,000', i.e. lower elevation than Trail Camp), and I have to warn all newbies who read this. The above advice is highly misleading, you absolutely can NOT overnight at that elevation without a tent unless you have high tolerance for cold or you've been hiking the Sierras for 10+ years like Bob. We had a tent, and yet I felt some of the effects of the cold (it was 45° at 2 AM, according to the temperature gauge in the car... though it certainly felt colder than that) and my wife got so bad that we had to scrap and reschedule the entire trip. The problem is not so much keeping your body warm, as breathing cold thin air.

I would advise spending some extra bucks to rent a proper insulated 4-season tent at REI or some such place.

And yet at the same time last weekend we spent with unzipped sleeping bags at 10k and were warm all night. It was a comfortable 40d in the evening. Which was nice considering it was the g/f's first overnight trip.

My bag is a 40d marmot and I had socks and shirt off.
Hers was a 20d bag - women do sleep colder. But she did not need the extra clothing she was prepared to wear if the temps dipped down to freezing.

It does not matter what your bag is, unless you can zip your head inside the bag. Sleeping while breathing the 40 degree air when your body is already weakened by the altitude, is a recipe to end up with a runny nose, probably a sore throat, and possibly pneumonia.

If we'd had zipped our heads in our bags - we would have been overheating. Dry air is much better - but it was a bit humid last weekend.

FYI, you are not supposed to zip your head inside the sleeping bag.

FYI2, there is no such thing as a insulated 4-season tent.

This should be on the front page.

It is my observation that this particular aspect of mountaineering is as individual as acclimatizing (my friends hack the night before in a tent at the Portal, while I remain snug at the Hostel....we both have a good day). 45 degrees is a balmy night to some (I acclimate all winter by not using a heater at home while others would not dream of temps below 70F. My buddies use tarps & bivvys in snow storms, and I *gag* use a tent all year. Perhaps, with more experience I will adopt their method....maybe not. Experimentation is the key.

And of course there is that problem of never being able to sleep the first night out, no matter what elevation.

I am afflicted with that problem, and from the number of people who recommend sleeping aids, I see I am not alone.