Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Whitney - 2023

RE: petty thefts, is anyone aware of any problems leaving their gear at Trail Camp or Trail Crest for the final push to the summit? (I do know about marmot-proofing them first). Thinking about doing that if my energy is low when we go in August...

I don't think you'll have to worry about your fellow hikers taking your gear up on the mountain...at the Portal is probably a different story...although still unlikely.

I've seen gear on the mountain for weeks... at which time, I'll usually take it down to the Store...

This video just popped up in my feed...
Well worth the 4 minutes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDTIISdWr_8

Portal Store opened yesterday Friday May 26 today was the first day we started with cooking Hours the next few days 9-6 . a kink wth the internet so cash only till Tuesday afternoon.

Now the trail stuff snow still at the first turn at the Portal short trickie section slick and steep then dry trail to about the Major stream crossing , some are rock hopping others turning back others waking in the water patchy snow after the stream crossing then soild to trail crest boot track as groups of PCT hikers coming down , some this is the end point for the season a few are re suppling and going back up, Next supply ??????? all road closed north of the Portal road for many miles long walks into town for resupplies?

North Fork getting ski traffic since these are experienced backcountry folks and only going to ski down don't care much about the summit , North fork first canyon a mess trees, rocks and should start hearing of snow bridges breaking.

Main trail many some where are hearing easy hike switchback may be open, coming with city clothing , shorts and tank tops , saw a young man that lost a large section of flesh sliding down with shorts seems this system would work until one runs out of flesh.
Have had many questions about spikes , Vs crampons it is the time of day and the weather , how cold is it? will the slope freeze on the way down and then what do you do?
Had a chat with one of the weather forecaters for our area seems the limit they work with is 9000' , no radar coverage , I said I feel that most often the wind and temperatures are close to what we will experience but the moisture is very seldom correct. This also follows up on a meeting several years ago with both the Vegas and Reno staff , but still my thoughts are you can glean the images and see weather patterns from about 2000 miles out and see the amount of moisture , this will give you a slight chance of where a system will hit the west coast or gulf and then watch the movement as the system hits land.

Now quite on the rescue front till today . Rescue in progress this afternoon no details .

Winter conditions , wet slide, rock fall are still a risk ! Bring all the gear extra socks , sun screen sunglasses, gloves you know the basic stuff Gaiters would help and plan for a turn around long before the summit on a day hike.

Jacket and snacks?

Got a report from a hiker said he watched a person do the big slide thought it could of been 1000' , person got up but reporting party said he didn't want a repeat event if he slipped. Came down and had lunch

Slow period this aftrrnoon so I did a trip up to the first major stream (North Fork of Lone Pine Creek) up the closed old trail and down the main trail. Old trail has three steep deep sonw fields to cross the first section making the loop I would say 70-30 main trail is the choice BUT you need to follow the track into the downed trees and snow field about 150 ' then you join the dry main trail, trail is dry to and above the above stream crossing.

I waited for a test case hiker to cross the creek but they looked and looked and went back down , the rocks are showing and little to no water is flowing over the rock NOW , I crossed using poles and focus .

Talked with many hikers that went up and turned around at various points Outpost for many, and some not reaching Lone Pine Lake before turning around.

Next walked down with 2 BC ski guys that had day hiked to the summit and skied down about 6 hours RT , report of stalled start B/C fire report or rescue that was maybe not needed.
These guys are on the last day of a 40 day tour so very hard core and work the Resorts in Colorado all winter.

Footware is a major problem , trail runners or Mall ware isn't getting it now. Warm enough to surface melt and make the surface wet and slick.
Melt is strong now I woud think the 500' a week guide I use is happening now. So far streams are staying in the banks and not flooding over the roads. I would expect major water at the Outpost area , the log bridge area and random small drainages starting to flow, rock fall will follow as the snow melts out, this is normal and most often will stop before the trail area , from Lone Pine Lake area to trailcrest you are in a scree field so listen for movement and watch the slopes (south of the trail).

North Fork is a mess trees /brush popping up now so a classic setup for a plunge down on a snow bridge or brush opening Stay focused and travel with a strong partner.

Thanks stay safe as you travel these changing conditions , ( mountaineering ) not hiking.

Thanks much for the update. Based on your decades of experience (read your book) what's the prognosis for 8/1/23?

Thanks for the book purchase, Aug 1 short sections of ice/snow still in the cable area , a few drifts on the north facing switchbacks near trailcrest. Unstable weather is normal for August . Based on past years if the trail isn't clear by mid July conditions very little changes before our 3 week of August snow cycle starts.

Thanks. We have an overnight permit starting 8/1/23. We are planning to camp off the trail just above Consultation Lake. We are also intrigued by the shortcuts but they may be too much at ages 74 and 75. Did White and Langley last year. Also Kiliminjaro but didn't make it to the top due to sinus infections and AMS. Hopefully we can make it to the top but regardless it will be a great experience.

Looking forward to cheeseburgers on or about 8/4/23.

New to this forum and will be attempting to hike to the summit of Whitney in about two weeks. We are planning on starting at the portal and going up the Whitney Trail. Planning on camping at the Trail Camp on the way up and on the way down. Any info on the trail conditions to the summit would be appreciated and is the trail clear to the top? Tips? Thanks

Any reason you want to camp at trailcamp? Give yourself another day to adjust to the elevation and carry your weight 5 miles less by staying at OutPost, in two weeks you may find dry ground to camp on , also if weather comes up trailcamp is a very windy area plus colder than OutPost. Water could still be frozen in the trailcamp area and often poop bags are floating in the lake.
Hulda Crooks went from OutPost to the summit when she was 91 and back to the Portal that day.

The trail is melting out quickly on the lower elevation but the trail above 12,000 will have snow and no trail above Trailside Meadow to trailcrest .
Updates often until the trail starts to clear and the switch is from the chute to the switchbacks.

Sign on to Google Earth and you can see the area very well , look to the right of the 97 switchbacks and you can see the chute area that needs to be climbed to reach trailcrest. Hint I follow the rock band that will clear long before the switchbacks open up , this rock band is on the least steep area of the chute, often missing 30-40 % of the snow field.

June 05, 2023

Hey All:

A friend and I did the Whitney shuffle May 30 / 31, 2023.

1) Yup, there is still a heck of a lot of snow. A lot of snow. Starting from about 1.5 miles up the trail, the conditions quickly change, and the trail is typically buried in feet of snow and / or avalanche fall-out. The trekking is much slower than normal, and route finding is an essential element, so plan plenty of extra time.
- Of course, snow melt is happening quickly, and as you read this, there will probably be more trail opened at the lower elevations. Still, there will be a lot of snow and fall-out for many weeks.

2) With all the snow, crampons, trekking poles, and at the higher elevations, ice axes ARE ESSENTIAL. Don't leave home without them.

3) I did mention that route finding and navigation will be an important part of this excursion. Once above the snow line, there are rarely trails or visible trail markers. Do be sure you have navigation tools. And if using a phone for nav, be sure to have battery back-up.

4) Few people are currently going beyond where the snow starts. My climbing partner and I had Outpost Camp entirely to ourselves. Seriously, we were the only two there, and we did not see anyone passing through. We did run into two guys who were planning to make Trail Camp, but we are pretty sure they turned around. Of course, it may be improving these next few days, but be prepared to be out there mostly alone.
- Have an emergency beacon (Garmin InReach, Zoleo...)

5) I strongly recommend boots! I know, so many folks want to cut weight and skip along in trail runners (including me), but these are really not the conditions to skimp on the footsie-wear. You will be post-holing, crossing streams, and (as mentioned) wearing crampons. What would you rather?: lightweight runners with your crampons slinging off your bottoms, & cold, wet feet, or good waterproof boots that will hold your crampons, and keep your feet warm & dry (ahhhhh).
- (Bonus tip: pair those boots with a nice set of gaiters to help ensure excellent protection from the wet and cold.)

If you are prepared, it should be a really good time and a challenging adventure. It seems many permit winners are seeing the conditions and just not going, or they are turning around early. It's a shame as I'm sure many were looking forward to the hike, but good that if they are not ready for these types of conditions, that they are not taking unnecessary risks.

Appreciate this update. I have never been to Whitney and have a permit starting June 15th. We did El Cap last year and unsure what to expect or if we should postpone??? Sounds like we will have a hard time getting to even the Outpost Camp, correct? Any other hikes in the area that we could do? Traveling from Louisiana and not sure what to do since the conditions are less than favorable this year. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hi LSU,

Yes, it will be a challenge just getting to Outpost. But, it can be done, if you have the equipment, know how to use it, and can handle trudging miles through the snow (when it gets soft in the late morning, you do a lot of two-steps forward, slide back one).

I'm afraid I don't know of many options in the area. There is Mt Langley to the south of Whitney. That would be covered with snow too, but I think the approach to around 11,000 feet is less steep. Might be a reasonable option for camping.

Also, if you can make Outpost, that makes for a nice overnight camp as well, even if you don't go up the mountain.

Overnight permit for July 10-11, 2023. Planning main trail. New to climbing. Need to decide if we should buy plane tickets or not soon. Thoughts on conditions for those dates?

Thank you, thank you, thank you Richard and Doug for the frequent trail condition reports over the past few weeks. These were incredibly useful for and appreciated by us.

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Trail conditions from June 1st & 2nd (reported by two noobs). Focusing more on our way down on June 2nd since that’s more relevant.

We headed up at 720am on June 1 and headed down at 220pm on June 2

Snow bridges were suss on both days, so I’d be even more cautious now.

On our way up, most of the trail was impassable. Stay to the right at the very start and you can pick up the dry, real trail.

There's a sketchy water crossing before the North Fork crossing. We crossed on branches. On our way up, there was a thinning snow bridge. On our way down it was gone.

The North Fork crossing was fine on both days with exposed rocks.

On our way down, the set of switchbacks closest to the North Fork crossing were clear. The set of switchbacks further uphill were still just an avalanche debris field. We crossed directly across that, following boot path.

On our way down, the switchbacks between the Lone Pine crossing and Outpost camp were thawing and we took them. On the upper switchbacks there was still snow/ice and we stepped through once to thigh-deep (Ground + 1.5ft of air + 1ft of ice/snow). Just a small amount of melt running underneath and not super hard to navigate. Injury risk.

We crossed directly across Bighorn Park on the way up and were a little more circuitous on the way back to avoid stepping through into water.

We went straight up and then straight down any switchbacks after this point.

On the way down the switchbacks between Outpost and Mirror Lake, I glissaded almost directly into a person sized hole. I kinda saw it coming up and jumped over. Would not recommend. Learned not to glissade toward unseeable terrain.

We roughly followed a combo of boot path & the real trail after this part and nothing crazy happened. Very mushy on the way down at 220pm, with lots of post holing.

On our way up, we did the last mile or two to trail camp in snow shoes. Not strictly necessary since someone busted by us in trail runners and crampons, but she said her feet got pretty wet and cold. Would not recommend unless you’re also a legend. She summited the next day and passed us on the way down too. We named her Speedy.

We didn’t eat breakfast or lunch & just snacked on the way up. Noob mistake. That + altitude had us both super depleted at Trail Camp. I wasn’t able to get enough food down & didn’t attempt to summit the next day.

My buddy felt good and he started an attempt at 630am. He used crampons & an ice axe. He reached the ridge at 845am via the chute. At 1030 he was within a mile(?) of the summit and turned around due to altitude, available food, and needing enough in the tank to make it back to trail head. He had good snow conditions on the way up & very wet snow on his way down the chute at 11am-12pm.

On June 2nd, there were 4 or 5 tents at trail camp, I saw 6 people attempt to summit, and 3 made it. 1 of them was Speedy, in trail runners and crampons. She said she should have brought waterproof shoes. 2 of them were in just boots and trekking poles. I'm pretty sure they didn't have crampons [will check with my friend and edit]. My friend was in crampons, step kicking up the chute, and felt like an ice axe was very necessary for his risk tolerance due to the steepness.

As we were leaving Trail Camp, a group of 8 people showed up, planning to attempt at 12am to get sunrise at the summit and good snow conditions on their way down.

Hey thanks for the detailed report! I like the up and down equations.
So today snow early morning temp at the Portal 40 degrees.
Reports of 6 inches at 11000'
Mix of hikers using e ledges others the south side all agree first half of
lower canyon is a mess.
Skiers are still coming skinning up. Most indicate marked days to conditions being not worth the risk.

I always hear"starting at 2 AM" yesterday one would of walked into whiteout conditions several hours into the hike,may have trouble following the trail and not had a full nights sleep.This added together could be part of the root cause for many not making it past trailcamp or below. Add to this not drinking enough with electrolytes,snacks and hiking fast(greater than 1MPH or less),

What you do at the lower elevation determines what you can do at the upper elevation.
Just some thoughts .Thanks

A few days late here, but hopefully this info will still be helpful!

Went up North Fork (Mountaineer's Route) on Tuesday, June 6th.

-No problems from trailhead to about 1/4 way into first canyon. A couple avalanche debris spots, but not a problem.

FIRST CANYON:
-Lots of snow melt.
-Messy from avalanche debris all over the place.
-Snow bridges were sketchy, but intact up to the E-ledges. (Always fun to hike up a little ways, only to turn around and see a deep hole that shows you were walking over a 20-30ft ice cavern )
-North of E-Ledges the snow bridges have collapsed and there's no chance of getting up through there. Have to take the E-ledges at this point, but they are clear.
-After E-Ledges (last ~1/3 of the canyon), snow bridges were intact, however also sketchy. Decided to scale the rock walls on the right side. You'll have to walk right through a waterfall if you want to avoid the snow.
-This next week or two I would be QUITE careful in the first canyon, as those snow bridges will be collapsing one-by-one.

LOWER BOY SCOUT LAKE:
-Nothing really sketchy from here on out
-Snow everywhere. Compacted & 6ft deep or so in many spots.
-Lake has melted out and is accessible for water.
-Easy snow field up to Upper Boy Scout Lake.
-Follow foot trails up if you can, otherwise just stay away from obvious spots of water flow or the south side of boulders/rocks that stick up from the snow surface.

UPPER BOY SCOUT LAKE:
-More snow everywhere. Some flat slabs are clear.
-Lake is mostly frozen, but pockets of thin ice. The outlet stream is open for water.
-Camped here for the night. Planned to summit the next morning.

***Heard from other hikers that Iceberg Lake and snow chute are still loaded with snow. Final 400 is an ice sheet and people were taking the traverse.****

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Wednesday, June 7th

UPPER BOY SCOUT:
-Woke up next morning to a snowstorm that was not projected in the weather forecast. Whiteout conditions.
-Tried to wait it out, but by 11am it kept going with some clear windows. It snowed ~6in before we packed up and started hiking out.
-Grouped up with others in the area to keep an eye on each other to ensure everyone made it out okay.

LOWER BOY SCOUT:
-Lower Boy Scout lake area was also snowing.

FIRST CANYON:
-Snowing at the top 1/2 of first canyon, raining at bottom 1/2.
-Because of the low temp and extra snow, we managed to take the snow bridges(STILL FELT SKETCHY) at the top of the first canyon down to the E-Ledges.
-E-LEDGES WERE SKETCHY because they were slick and wet from snow melt and slush, but doable with care.
-Bottom half of first canyon was slippery snow slush, but then easy all the way to the bottom once you got off the snow.

*****Experienced mountaineers/hikers: Definitely doable. Just be aware of the conditions and don't be stupid. Everything after the first canyon is awesome (for now.)

*****Beginners/intermediates: KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING and BE VIGILANT when it comes to the snow, snow bridges, and conditions. KNOW WHEN TO TURN AROUND. There's always another time and NO SHAME IN STAYING ALIVE.

Hope this info helps!



TL;DR:
-Snow bridges are dropping out one-by-one in first canyon.
-E-Ledges a must now.
-Awesome and plenty of snow afterwards at Lower and Upper Boy Scout Lakes.
-Surprise snowstorm & whiteout conditions at Upper Boy Scout next morning; forced to come down.