Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Information for Winter Attempt on Main Trail

Hello to All- First-timer contemplating Whitney. I know there is a plethora of info to comb through on this board, but I thought I would post quickly.

I am wondering how feasible either a solo or two-man attempt on the main trail would be during the middle of this December (17th/18th-ish)?? I am fully aware weather will dictate many things, but I am just wondering people's thoughts.

I am an "intermediate level" mountaineer/climber with numerous climbs in and out of the US, up to 6000m. I am from Minnesota and have plenty of cold weather camping time.

Would one use stiff-shank mountaineering boots for the whole trail (ie: Nepal Evo equivalents)? Could you get away with micro-spikes on hiking boots or are crampons and an axe necessary? What are most people bringing up in terms of equipment and sleeping bag ratings? Is there a gear rental outfitter nearby if I bring a friend? Would I need a shovel and avy beacon? Any recommended plan for an itinerary and places to camp?

Thanks for any information or nuggets of advice. Highly appreciate the help!

Yes climbing Mt. Whitney on those dates in December is feasible. As you point out some of what you bring and how your prepare is going to be dictated by what our weather does between now and then.


It could be either. I'm a fan of using a bigger boot for a couple reasons: (1) I know that regardless of conditions my footwear will be fine, and (2) my feet get colder easier than most. I've been a Lowa boot guy for years now and would choose either the Lowa Weisshorn or Latok. You can look at those models and find your equivalent if you need another brand.

If we don't get much more new snow between now and mid December chances are the trail will be mostly dry until Trail Camp. Light hikers and micro spikes would probably be enough if that was the case. Again, it's difficult to say as of now so you should prepare for both and wait and see.

If we get more snow the slope above Trail Camp called the 97 Switchbacks is north facing and will hold on to snow because it doesn't get much sun. I'd have an ice axe and crampons. Even if we don't receive any snow and you decided to go with micro spikes I'd still bring an ice axe. It's a steep slope with a couple icy spots. With a good trail and no ice trekking poles are sufficient.


I'd bring a sleeping bag rated to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Some would argue bringing a warmer bag while others would bring something lighter and wear enough clothes to sleep in. Inside a tent a 0 degree bag should be fine.


In Lone Pine you'll be limited to what you can rent. In Bishop there are two shops: Mammoth Gear Exchange and Eastside Sports who rent a few things plus our guide service Sierra Mountaineering International Inc offers rentals on some items. Where you rent gear will depend on what you need.


Yes bring a shovel. If we get a lot of snow I'd highly recommend a beacon and probe plus the knowledge on how to use them. The shovel will be useful for lots of things including leveling a tent platform, gathering snow for water, building walls around your tent, making a kitchen, etc. The avalanche gear would be a great idea if we get some good snow between now and then.


If there's snow your progress will be significantly slowed versus a summer dry trail. Figure on a day to Outpost Camp, another day to Trail Camp, a summit day, and a descent day. You also may need to start below the summer parking lot at Whitney Portal if snow prevents you from driving the entire way.

Kurt-

Thank you so much for all the wonderful information and insight! I really appreciate you taking the time to give such detailed answers.

If I could, I just want to shoot you a few more questions. Again, I do understand that things are highly weather-dependent.

--The only two set-ups I could go with are LS Nepal Evo's with a BD Sabretooth crampon -OR- LS Synthesis Mid (almost a cross between hiker/trail runner) with Kahtoola microspikes. I will bring both. But, what do you think would be the safer play? (I am assuming mountaineering boots, just for safety/warmth).

--Would a three-season tent suffice? I have a Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2. I did pretty well in some gnarly wind on Shasta, but that was in summer. I DO have a 0f bag.

--Would a helmet be overkill?

--Would snowshoes be required in most cases?

--If I am reading your itinerary correctly, you have day 1:hike from the portal to outpost camp, day 2: outpost to trail camp, day 3: summit and back to trail camp, day 4: trail camp to portal. Is this correct and what do you think would be approximate number of hours for each leg?? If so, would there any way to shorten the schedule?

--Any major route finding issues (assuming the route has decent amount of snow)? And, would this warrant the use of GPS with loaded route file?

Thank you so much for your help and insight. I know it's a pain to answer all this stuff over and over for people. I am just trying to be safe!

Kind regards,

Nate

Hi Nate,

The safer play is going to be the heavier boots and crampons. You'll need to make the final call as the trip date approaches though. I personally would be hard pressed to get away with a trail running shoe. My feet would get too cold.

A 3-season tent would work if the wind doesn't kick up too much. A 4-season tent is the safer bet since they're designed to withstand stiffer wind, will shed snow a little better, and the lighter colors on 4-season tents are purposeful. They stay warmer and psychologically are nicer to be around.

A helmet in my humble opinion is mandatory for the Mountaineers Route. For the Main Trail you could justify it for the 97 Switchbacks slope. If it's full of snow and you took a long fall and lost control it would be nice to have your head protected. Most folks would not bring a helmet.

You should plan for snowshoes.

You can shorten the scheduled as you see fit. You know your fitness level better than I do. If we have some solid snowfall you'll be hard pressed to pull that trip off in less than four days. If you did it in 2-3 days you'll be looking at super long days. Some folks would even allow for 5 days during December. It's a much bigger project climbing Whitney in the December than it is during the summer.

Route finding will be more difficult with snow. You'll be in a large canyon so getting truly "lost" is difficult. Finding the best route and where the trail exists will be hard without a GPS with plugged in way points.

Thanks again Kurt. Very kind of you to help out.

It sounds super committing and maybe not the brightest idea to solo it. I guess I could put a posting on 14ers or SP for anyone interested. Not sure if you guys operate a board for potential partner climbs...just wouldn't want to be out all alone on the mountain for a solo.

Maybe Mt. Baldy would be a good alternate if I did chance it and fly out and the weather looks sketch.

Kurt, how many cases do you know when a person got into an avalanche on a main trail?

If you stick entirely to the main trail, you'll steer clear of any trouble spots. The problem is that once there's enough snow, most people take the direct path from above Lone Pine Lake straight along the Candlelight/Irvine slope to Consultation/Trail Camp. I have several photos of serious late season avalanches that have buried the track in quite a bit of snow and rock. (I seem to remember someone getting caught up in one of them years ago, but I may be confusing that with a North Fork episode. Memory ain't what it used to be...)

That Dude who did the 3 trips up the MR in less than 24 hours got caught up in an avi off of the SE side of Thor Peak. That seems to happen on a fairly regular basis.

Candlelight and Irvine will also slide. One trip up in Spring one year had the path disappear between the time I headed up in the morning and came down a few hours later.

I've seen 1 case of a slide off of Muir towards the bowl on the direct route to Trail Crest in hundreds of trips on that terrain. (Doesn't mean it can't happen.)

Looking for a partner to climb in Jan2017, Anybody up to start the New Year out right?

Have you gone up the MR route in winter before?

Hey Bill, my wife and I are planning an ascent of the MR around Jan 10-13 (weather permitting, of course). We're not planning on a summit bid unless we're feeling very strong at Iceberg Lake and conditions are clear and favourable. Probably camping one night at the portal and two nights at a high camp near UBSL.
T

It's not a super common occurrence but as some of the responses above suggest it is a possibility. The biggest area of concern is the hill above Trail Camp and below Trail Crest. That area is north facing and can load up with a lot of snow on a big year. That'd be the area of biggest concern with a couple areas lower that get into potential run out zones.