Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Danger on the mountain!

I happened to read the TR, below, from last weekend. It reminded me that we are heading into mountaineering season on the main trail. This is caused by freezing temperatures up high, that freeze the minor runoff from snowmelt that has already happened, into sheets of ice on the trail. The worst place, possibly, is at the "chain handrail", which is shaded all the time, and where ice accumulates, eventually forming an "ice bulge", creating challenging travel along that segment, even with technical gear. Here is a previous discussion about fatalities in this time frame:

(OOPS! That thread seems to be unavailable now.)



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From "Julie" on another board:

Just a FYI. Was there this past weekend and we had sleet which turned into snow on the way up to Trail Camp. We hunkered down by Consultation Lake and by the next day the sun was out but with icy winds up the switchbacks to the pass. The trail was covered with snow but got soft and slushy on the way down with some ice. Be prepared! I felt bad for the two women I saw hiking up in shorts with goose bumps the size of marbles! Good luck on the hike!

http://picasaweb.google.com/hooleehal/SnowOnWhitney?authkey=yXaLOgWRfVY#

Worst storm I ever went through hiking was in the month of July a few years ago. We came across from Bubbs over Forester and when we hit Trail Crest we got dumped on. Haven't been in snow like that since my childhood in Iowa. Had to skip the summit and head for a burger. There is DANGER 365 days a year there. You just got to be ready for it and ready to go back down.

Dug67...where in Iowa?

A long, long time ago I used to call Evansdale, Iowa home. It's near Waterloo, about 110 miles north of Des Moines. I learned to drive a 71 Pinto with two bald front tires and two snow tires through ANYTHING. 24 hours after my 18th birthday I was in San Diego bootcamp......................................DUG

Ken, thank you for the post. I tried going to the link to "Fatalities" but didn't have any luck.

Brent

Anybody go up this weekend? Wondering if there is any ice on the trail and if in-step crampons would be needed?

Leaving tomorrow (9/15) evening at 10PM for a moonlight hike.

TIA

Hello out there. Myself and three other women are planning to hit the main trail on Sept. 22. I'm wanting to know if there is ice and snow on Whitney as of now. I spoke with a gentleman at the visitor's center just today and he told me the weather was beautiful with a chance of a thunderstorm on Tuesday. He made no mention of last week's sleet and snow fall. Is this because it is so commonplace this time of year? Is anyone recommending crampons?
Thank you for your time...Nube

Hi Nube,

I was at Whitney Trailhead yesterday night. I spoke to a hiker that had just come down. She said there were spots of ice on the trails from runoff. She said it was fine when it was frozen (relative, of course). She said the ice was a problem when it started melting, water on top of ice.

It all depends on your comfort level. Better be safe than sorry. Bring instep crampons and poles.

See you on the trail,
Jason
3 Days and Counting (Sept 19 to 21)

Our team of four summited on 9/11, the day after the snow. There were probably 50 people summiting that day. I saw no crampons in use. The iciest spot on the trail was at the cables on the switchbacks above Trail Camp. A few spots past Trail Crest were slick but short.

Steve J.

It is really simple...do not go higher than you can safely descend.

If you follow this rule all will be ok.

Instep crampons and trekking poles are good for the flats when there is snow and ice around but neither will neither arrest nor belay a fall.

Myself and six others went to Trail Camp on Friday, Summit on Saturday (stayed at trail camp) and back to the car on Sunday. Weather was fantastic all 3 days. There were icy sections near the cables and on the ridge, but by taking your time and watching your steps, as you should anyways along the route, you should be ok unless there has been worse weather from Sunday night and Monday.

This was the 3rd attempt in five (5) years for my wife and I. In 2003, we were turned back at Trail Camp due to medical reasons, In 2006 we reached Trail Crest, but all the way we continually faced 60-70 mph very cold winds blowing from the NW and went back for safety reasons.

3rd time this past weekend was a charm and a great trip!

Keep hiking!

worth quoting:

Donald A. Wintz
Member
Registered: 03-29-2003
Posts: 7
(68.109.198.87)

I posted a trail report for a summit trip on 9/10/08, and want to mention my impressions of some of the folks on the trail.. A snow storm that moved in accented the fact that a number of people were unprepared for the weather. Shorts, t-shirts, no gloves, no waterproof outer layer, etc. Be prepared with the right clothing, especially this time of year. Late summer brings the potential for challenging weather. Also hiking poles are invaluable as snow/ice buildup leaves you vulernable to slips/falls. SAFETY should always be your first priority.

Good tips at the perfect time. We went up the MR on Sunday and I just wanted to add, BE CAREFUL IN THE SHADE! We had fair to good snow up the left hand side, but it was icy on the way down. Trekking poles were essential on the way down as people had slid down (unintentionally I'm sure) in spots and there were no footprints. Just another reminder, THINK, when in doubt, turn around, the mountain isn't going anywhere.

> worth quoting:


Unfortunately 3/4 of the people heading up the trail never visit this message board. I am sure some of them are the ones you are talking about.