Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Winter Access Forum First timers in June

My boyfriend have been wanting to do the day hike. We are in decent shape and the only available dates for us are in June. Last year we did half dome on a whim, drove there early morning, hiked it in 8 hours and drove home (about 3 hours away).

My question is what has been the weather experience for June? I was hoping to not need any special equipment for snow. We just want to do the popular day hike and go home.

Hi Amber,

So far the Mountain has had quite a bit of snow this year. It has experienced much more than in 2015, but less than 2017. June is still a month away, and it remains to see how the Winter/Spring plays out.

In early April 2015 there was a short period when the switchbacks were being used by hikers, then it snowed and my ascent on April 30 necessitated use of the Snow Chute (Trail Camp to Trail Crest).

In 2017 I had to hike the Snow Chute on June 21 and June 30, but was able to use the switchbacks on July 11. Throughout the summer of 2017, much of the trail below Trailside Meadow remained flooded from snowmelt, which slowed progress some.

The Mountain continues to witness a fare amount of Morbidity and Mortality each year. Remember the Mt Whitney Trail Head is nearly as high as the Summit of Half Dome.

Let's follow the snow melt/weather and see how things develop over the next 4-8 weeks.

We hope you and your boyfriend have a great hike.

Jim