Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Baldy tomorrow

I may not be the best messenger for this, but maybe these kinds of invites are best kept private? There are climbers of all levels on these boards, and climbing high into the teeth of a storm can bring a lot of woe to the unprepared and prepared alike.

Just a thought.

Though I agree that new climbers need to be aware of the dangers involved with climbing (especially into a storm), I must say I did appreciate being invited and would not have known about being able to go on the trip with other climbers unless he mentioned it. I think this forum is an excellent way to organize an “expedition” with fellow climbers; while making sure people new to the hobby understand the potential hazards. Point in fact I am actually looking for a partner (competent enough in summit in winter conditions) to go up Whitney next weekend! Interested Hamik?

Thanks. I took the pictures (5 total) using a Panasonic TZ5 and then used Photoshop to stitch them together.

There is a healthy debate possible here, but it boils down to something straightforward: should we protect minority interests? In this case, the minority is the small group that will misjudge personal preparedness, and I agree that it's important to be careful when the potential consequences are so serious. I think I did this well enough with the weather disclaimer and the implication that visitors be self-reliant; I could have made the warning heavier, but that wouldn't have been in the spirit of my post.

Ultimately, I agree that it's best to keep invites on trips like this private. The beauty of reaching a larger community, though, is that despite the small risk of misrepresenting the seriousness of a trip, the poster can organize something spontaneous when his regular partners are wound up with work or school.

Sphazo, thanks for the offer! I don't think I'll have time this month between a couple longish climbs I've already planned, though.

I myself thought the invitation was a very nice gesture. I also know that there is no way I am competent to do that trip up Baldy. It was cold enough for me at the summit two weeks ago. So, with that in mind, I stayed at home, did some work and watched some football......but I did think about hamik and the offer of hot chocolate several times.

I don't think you can do much about people who do things they are not qualified for. It really comes down to common sense. Just think about how many people you see on Whitney, unprepared late in the afternoon, still trying to summit.

hamik......thanks for the invite, it is greatly appreciated, but I'll leave the snow and ice to other hikers with experience.

I will say keep the invites coming. That is how I have meet so many cool people is from just this sort of an invite. The thing about this board is that you ask questions and you get lots of answers. We all hike at our own risk and hopefully have a brain to say I don't think I can do that. The thing to remember is that you are not only putting yourself at risk but others around you.

I would love to go on this hike but been sick so have to stay home.

Enjoy and I hope to be up there soon. Hint Hint GigaMike!!!

I'm a lurker who hardly ever posts - but have learned so much from this site, , specially in getting prepared to exit the JMT via the main trail next August - and also being inspired to do some camping in the area - but anyway - tho I've not made it to an invited hike yet - I love to see the invites go out - and hope maybe one day to join in - it's great to see photos too. So please keep 'em coming. I think I can judge if I'm capable or not - and when to turn back :-) Barbara

We'll you better hurry up and get better soon because there is a lot of white stuff in the mountains now! Just let me know when

We did Baldy on Tuesday Morning after the storm. This was my climbing partner's first time in the snow after making the summit a month ago. The snow seemed extremely heavy and somewhat consolidated compared to powder and pushing through it knee deep was tough. There were two places where we encountered the ice debries coming down the mountain and crossing the trail in large piles. The first one we encountered my partner was right behind me and when both our weight was on that section, a 30 ft long and 15 ft high piece of snow started to slip down the mountain. I immediately told my partner to back up and asseced the situtation. I continued the traverce slowly. The sound of the snow breaking loose is like no other and hearing that and feeling my feet move was more of an experience than I expected on Baldy. By our way down those areas seemed to settle, however we kept our distance while crossing. Anyone going up this weekend? I would like to spend Sat night on the mountain....

I will be in Costa Mesa on Jan 21st. I could go somewhere that weekend. Any ideas for a rooookie like me?

I think the term you're looking for is "avalanche debris." Please be careful out there the first couple days after a storm--this means don't go out unless you know what you're getting into. This doesn't necessarily mean that once two days are up, you're home free. We don't have an avalanche forecaster for this area; the rangers will usually give you outdated information about snow conditions because they don't get up there often, so you have to be self-reliant about this. Take an avy course if you plan to go out much in the winter.

Many of the slides are point-releases in spring, but it is definitely not impossible for slabs like this to form, especially right after a major wind event like Monday's. The wind usually comes from the west, so the left side of the bowl looking up is especially sketchy right after storms. Kurt's point in the avalanche potential thread applies to the San Gabes as well for this weekend's storm.

Thanks, hamik... A small group of us are hiking Baldy on the 23rd.

While I'm harping on about safety, if you're going up the bowl--especially if you're taking one of the couloirs--please take a helmet and respect the alpine start. The cliff band above the bowl releases rocks frequently enough that if you stand in one place all day, you will get hit.

The idea is, you want to leave the rockfall area under the cliffs and in the couloirs before the sun gets to heat the rock up. I realize that waking up early enough to accomplish this is annoying and that hiking in the dark takes away some of the fun, but remember that you can enjoy the hike on the way down, and that the potential consequences of sleeping in are deadly falling rocks. A good guideline: aim to be above the rockfall area by sunrise.

I have seen large groups of people (~20) take the couloirs at NOON on a 70 degree day, which is why I feel I have to write this =/. Please don't do that even if you have a helmet--remember that the helmets will only protect against relatively small rocks, and that they can easily mess up another part of you. Those guys are extremely competent folks and I climb with one of them, but they were up there way too late in the day.

Thanks again! Bookmarked the summitpost link.

Sorry MC, all the blathering's not directed at you =P. I just remembered the horrible scene of people trudging up that couloir helmetless so late in the day, and I felt like I should say something =/

On the contrary... I appreciate all the info I can get.