Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Main Whitney Trail Conditions on 05/07/2005

Trail Bound,

The Ranger Station will tell you there is "a lot" of snow on the Main Whitney Trail at this time. They are correct! Here's what we found on the 7th of May:

1) The road is open to the Portal. There are some rocks to look out for, but cars are getting through.
2) Snow obscures the trail for good at about 9200ft. Many of the usual trail landmarks above this point are hidden, but by 9200ft., you're following the obvious passage anyway. There are some tracks already in, water is running in the creeks, and snowshoes were not necessary for our party. We found the correct way up quite easily.
3) Outpost Camp is covered in snow, as is the route from there to Trail Camp, and Trail Camp itself.
4) The switchbacks are under snow. If you go beyond Trail Camp, you'll need to pick a route that you feel is safe enough to avoid potential slides on the slopes that lie below, and to the right, of the switchbacks. If you're debating about whether or not it's worth the effort or risk to go higher, see number 5...
5) I would say the Trail is impassable for all but the very skilled, bold, or belayed/protected once past Trail Crest. The snow and ice have covered parts of the trail on the back (west) side of the ridge such that you'd essentially be traversing a very steep slope with, in some cases, a lot of exposure below. We made a few such traverses and got maybe a hundred meters north of Trail Crest before turning back. Without rope and proper equipment, the risks were not worth it for us. This is definitely not "sidewalk" season up high. It's going to take a bit more sun and warm weather before some of that stuff melts out.

Hope this helps, even if disappointing for those headed up soon. You may meet better conditions than I found, but climb safe and be prepared. Don't let the name fool you. Right now, the Trail, in May, is more winter mountaineering than hiking.

Rob

Thanks Rob. I'm due to go in 2 weeks and this was a real eye opener. We will limit our ambitions accordingly!

Excellent info!!!

I am going on May 10 and Trail camp is our goal for now but I guess we will see as time goes by.

Any pics?

excellent info...thanks for the info...are instep crampons and poles enough, or are we talking more decked out than that even?

stcpeace

I'm glad you have found the report useful, and I hope you encounter conditions more conducive to getting to the summit. I do have a few pictures, and can e-mail them if you'd like something specific.

As for instep crampons, I have never used those, but I had ice axe and 12-point crampons up high and would not have been on those slopes had I not. Ski/trekking poles are great for lower down, but I stashed them at Trail Camp. You need to know self-arrest out there now, so be prepared.

So long as conditions stay the same on the Trail, I would think you would do well to outfit yourself as if you were climbing the Mountaineer's Route.

Good luck and climb safe!

thanks for the report we are heading up there next weekend. Is the condition really that awful beyond jsut ice ax and crampon ??

please do send some of the pic to dxmetal@yahoo.com

thank you

stcpeace,

Instep crampons and poles are enough if you are only going to places where you will not have to self belay or arrest. Poles will not help in belay and arrest, someone was killed glissading from Trail Crest to Trail Camp using a there poles as a break in 2003.

Personally, I find instep crampons to be useless in the mountains. If you are planning on going above Trailside Meadow you will need really crampons and an ice axe.

DX,

"Conditions really that awful" might be a stretch, but if you've ever been on the Trail in more normal conditions, you know that once headed upward past Trail Crest you are essentially walking on a path with the Muir/Needles/Whitney escarpment to your right and, at times, a lot of air to your left. In some spots, the snow and ice have bridged right to left and covered the trail completely. To continue to the summit you will need to move out over the trail and traverse these sections. I would recommend rope and belay unless you are especially skilled and are good with the exposure below. I can tell you that a relatively inexperienced mountaineer that was there with me that day was VERY apprehensive in some of the trickier spots, and I thought he did a GREAT job up there altogether. Take that for what it's worth.

That said, I am not sure if the specific traverse that eventually halted our progress was the crux, or just one in a series of obstacles to come. Remember that you've still got 800ft. of vertical to go after Trail Crest, and it's kind of a slog even without any hazards. Because I had climbed from the Portal that morning, I could not count on a good turnaround time if I ventured further. I also needed to drive back to San Fran that night. So for me, it wasn't worth taking unnecessary risks. I have been up the Trail before many times, and even though I love it, I don't want to do something regretful on it.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from beyond Trail Crest to demonstrate what things looked like. Sorry 'bout that. If you find yourself up there, give it your best assessment and make decisions with which you're comfortable. Let me know what you find.

Good luck and climb safe,

Rob

looking at the weather from the national weather service site for 36.57N/118.29W it appears that the forecast for the next week calls for highs in the upper 40s and lows in the high teens. this would indicate that some melt will be occurring around 14,000 feet.

so i guess an earlier post is asking "given the weather forecast and some melt-freeze cycles at the higher elevations what will the trail conditions above trail camp be like in a few weeks? Will crampons be required?"

my suggestion is not much different from previous posts...keep watching the message boards and call the ranger stations the week before you leave.