Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Rock slide on new road

Went up Sunday 1/29 with a friend to survey a significant rock slide on the road for the Inyo County road department. At approximately 7800' rocks ranging in size from VW Beetles to Chevy Suburbans have completely covered the road. The pile is 20-30' high. We took off our skis and slipped around the narrow path left on the down slope side to ascend. No one is going to be driving up that road too soon after the snow melts.

Hi Scott. I was thinking of hiking up and spending a few nights at the Portal,maybe at the hikers campground or there bouts and was hoping to pull my stuff up on a sled (pulk). Is there enough room do you think to get around the boulders pulling one of these things behind me? Thanks for any input.

You may want to have a haul line available (maybe 10+ feet), move past the narrow spot to steady ground and haul the sled up to you. It will not have a wide enough path to stay level. The narrow spot is loose snow and soft muddy soil just about a foot wide. I don't mind exposure too much but was glad to use my ski poles to steady a step or two around the narrow spot.

Pictures were just posted on the Inyo County Sheriff's Facebook page if you care to see them. You can get a pretty good idea of how wide the pass-by point is in the one where my skis are leaning against a boulder and I am heading up on foot.

WOW thanks for the note about Inyo Sheriff's facebook. Really neat photos. Hoping to get my first winter view of the area this weekend/ from way lower.. looks like you were able to squeeze by without too much trouble that's good.

Wow that's a big slide! How long do you think it will take to blast all of that away? When do they start? When will the store open? When can I get my cheeseburger?

Just askin'

-Dan

From a joint press release:
Initial assessments by Inyo County, Cal Trans, and Inyo National Forest indicate that there will be approximately two months of work that include blasting and clearing the rock, and stabilizing and re-building the road bed. Road construction will not begin until after the permitting process is complete.
They indicated they would aim to have the work done by May 1.

Posted on the Inyo Sheriff Facebook page Thursday 2/16/17:
Inyo County and CalTrans will be performing rock demolition operations on Whitney Portal Road today (7:00am-3:00pm). We are asking the public to please stay clear of this area; the demolition operation cannot be performed if there is a threat to public safety.
Additional demolition days are: Wednesday February 22nd through Saturday February 25th, weather permitting. We will keep you updated!

Thanks Scott I moved this topic to the top since it will be the main focus .

Another thought anyone applying for a May or early June permit day needs to understand that the trail will be gone above Outpost camp until after mid June then I would expect snow /ice on the switchbacks till late June.So don't waste you time or money if you are not ready for full winter mountaineering. Most years conditions like this many only reach trailcamp or lower due to very slow moving over the broken trail and can't find the trail above Mirror Lake. I hope this helps picking a date.

Any prediction on when snow will be gone from the Mountaineers Route gully? I was planning on doing the East Face route on or around 7/31. I'd rather wait for another year if we will have to descend though snow and need to carry extra gear (axe/crampons/etc).

Thanks.

After the East Face late July early August if we still have snow it will be on the east side in the chute, My thoughts are you will have rope and gear and if needed you could protect that section with running belays, The ice will be very hard after many melt freeze cycles and just a ax/crampons would not be enough anyway.

Crews working on the road so Please stay clear.

Good to know. I was going to head on up, but suspect that Lone Pine Campground may be included in the evacuation area.

Next weekend, maybe.

paul

Information from Inyo County Sheriff's Office Facebook page

"Caltrans District 9, Caltrans District 8, and Inyo County are making significant progress on Whitney Portal Road. Rock demolition operations are expected to continue through Saturday (weather permitting). However, the demolition operation cannot be performed if there is a public safety concern, so it is essential that the public stay clear of this area.
The road is currently gated just above Hogback Road on Whitney Portal Road to prevent both vehicle and foot traffic. This closure is in place for your safety.
We will keep you updated!
*Picture of this morning's blasting"


Here's the link to see their page https://www.facebook.com/InyoCountySheri...7172287/?type=3

Busted! if you go to the link look above and slightly left into the ("V") opening you see the switchback area from just above the cables and to the last long switchback before trail crest.

Most often we can make reports about the trail from this location, and many times I will post a picture showing that view so people understand the snow coverage or lack.

So add the snow/no snow on Thor ,the chute above Iceberg and the saddle above Lower Boyscout Lake you can see from the webcam it gives us a good coverage of the Mountain.

Road work and blasting, still posted closed, Blasting till Friday Now some may read into this that the area will open , I don't think that is the case road work will be be active clearing rocks,snow and repair of the road bed for some time. I would wait at least a week before driving up and finding the area closed.

We may get a solid report late Friday or next Monday about opening the area but again I would wait for "Official Notice" Staying out of the area and Not bothering the workers will speed the repair work.

Check the link above for the details from Inyo County Sheriff

Update I called the Visitors center for the road update as of that call report is ROAD IS CLOSED option is use Lonepine Campground and the NRT Trail, this will add about 3 miles and 3000' elevation for the hike but would make a good first day hike to the Portal camp and then up.

Some comments on the NRT In the shadow of Lone Pine Peak and Candlelight Ridge so conditions will be very deep soft snow until you hit the very icy sections ! The trail gets little to no sun in the canyon proper and at times the snow can be chest deep . Please stay on one track this will make a hard surface for those that follow and for you as you come down.

The Road work is moving forward quickly , still may be blasting so check for closures www.facebook.com/InyoCountySheriffsOffice facebook page and Stop at the Visitor Center South of town for your permit and details.

Went up the NRT yesterday , 3:15 to reach the Portal. Snow starts from the mouth of the Canyon say about 6000' since the trail is on the north facing side of Lone Pine Peak.

Several sections had no trail so I put a boot track into the Main Campground then up the Road the last 1/2 mile. Last storm was light but drifts I would guess 2-10 inches very dry snow but covered most of the old tracks in the Portal.

Slides across the trail , at least 10 small slides some rock others wet slides About 1:45 yesterday rocks let go off the Portal Buttress . So things are starting to let go .


Each year we heard I'm going up the main trail I don't have the gear or training for the Mountaineer's Route . Whats the difference? Main trail 11 miles solid snow, no trail, steep slopes and more water crossings . Don't be fooled into thinking the main trail is any easier than the North Fork. Ask about the section after Trail Crest the "narrow window areas" and the 2 miles at 13,500 to the summit.

Until the trail opens an honest goal should be trail camp or Iceberg for most without some years of winter mountaineering.

Make that your goal and see how you like the snow travel and then work up for the higher elevation.

So, are you saying this isn't all the information that I need?
https://rootsrated.com/los-angeles-ca/hiking/mt-whitney-trail

(These guys contacted me about adding one of my climbing areas to their "media platform that connects users with the best outdoor experiences, hand-picked by local outdoor retailers and their networks of local experts." Basically, a bunch of indoor kids in Chicago who are building their website/app/experience/branding/etc. One of the many reasons for people going when and where they have no business going. They say: "We are NOT another website full of crowd-sourced trail reviews," but they are basically the best example of exactly that.)

Let's hope for a safe season, even against all the odds...