Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mountaineer's Route Conditions

Forgive me if you have seen this video. Posted 4 days ago on Youtube. It really is an excellent video.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfK7GL6tHcE

paul

Awesome video! Very helpful to get a gauge on conditions. Thanks, Paul!

As much as I want to bring an augur for the story, it will probably be too troublesome to be honest...that snow depth....
Going to stock up on butane and melt a bunch of snow!

Any updates on the condition, we have a plan to summit next week. Our biggest worry is melt at lower elevations.

The North Fork started running off the last few days , Temps in the 60's in the Portal and 40's at night so 24 melt going on .

This means that you will be walking on a long snow bridge to at least Ice Berg Lake, either breaking through a rockwell or a tree well or going through the willows that are layed over during the winter.

The lower elevation is not freezing at night so the surface is wet snow, no telling how deep and what is below. We went up the side of Candlelight Buttress yesterday and fell through several times, downed trees and rocks , once between a tree and rock my foot didn't touch bottom ,luck was only one leg went in.
Reports of postholing from the notch down a few days ago


Next week and until the area melts out very unstable conditions , we could still have wet slides and lucky today we got a quick shower, rock fall as the melt increases will also be a concern.

Hey not that bad ? Using what gear is another problem you may need all ski , crampons, snow shoes ropes and protection gear, beacons, probes, shovels and if a party member goes in the creek under a snow bridges...
The youtubes and podcast from the last few weeks are like old history those conditions are gone.

I've wimped out 2 (early) mornings in a row...

Unsettled weather forecast...potential $$$$$ snow conditions...lack of technical climbing for many years...I'm going back to sleep...

Come on Richard... I need you for road conditions.

Yeah, I checked out the Inyo County Road site and didn't find much. I remember that a few years ago, they did publish a document and gave statuses and estimated open dates. It seems that is too much work.

So, I need you to check out Onion Valley road. Please!!

Just kidding. As I mentioned earlier, I get more info out of you then the Road department or Forest Service.

paul

Your photo reports all spring have been gold.

Update on the Mountaineers Route first canyon snow bridges now and brush is popping up out of the snow could be 20-30 foot drop if you break through also could land in the creek and be carried under the snow/ice.
My thoughts are risky till we get a dry path >Following the walls will be bridged as the sun will heat the rock creating voids (wall to snow)

Above the first canyon the boulder field at Lower and above Upper BSL and onto Iceberg will start to bridge around the rocks.

Travel in the dark will also be a high risk event.

The first canyon is filled with debris from the winter slides so travel is slow.

When I was riding up to the Portal yesterday, I glanced up at the North Fork...the first thing that popped into my head was...Death Trap!

Spent a few minutes discussing this with Doug...

If you're not an Expert in reading snow conditions, I'd stay away from the MR for the next week, or two, until the route reverts to the summer route up the E-ledges...

Fresh off the trail or out of the water 2 guys just came in one had broke through in the North Fork, luck a short fall to the water end of hike!

So where are the most dangerous parts for snow bridge collapse for the North Fork (below Lower Boy Scout Lake)? Guesses (going up):

(1) First stream crossing Right to Left (unless melted out).

(2) Stream crossing right before the Ledges (if you go from Left to Right side).

(3) The canyon bottleneck bypassed by the Ledges.

Then, after the Ledges route can't you stick to the right (the normal trail route) and be safe, except maybe over the "tributary streams" coming off the rightside cliff?

MR Report, Monday, June 5th.

Step off: 1:45AM, Iceberg Lake: 5:30AM, Summit: 7:15AM, Car: 11:00AM

- Snowbridge danger
The first stream crossing was solid and not a major problem. After that however it could be a bit of a pain to hug the far side of the creek because of the amount of avalanche debris. While making your way up to the ledges crossing just be careful not to walk over dangerous terrain because it is less obstructed. I just ate the branches and stayed as far as I could to the left with no issues. Crossing over to the ledges was sketchy and I would definitely be careful or find a workaround from the typical trail. It maybe has a week or two left. I would only recommend taking the ledges. Do not attempt to continue in the canyon. After that it is simple to keep on canyon wall and off the snow. There is a small section over the tributaries that was not very supportive. You can likely get around that now because so much is melted without using the snow. From there to LBS Lake I was on dry trail and crossed good snow to get to the far side of the lake.

- Bringing micros spikes vs Snowshoes or skis
I did not bring snow shoes on this trip. I planned on doing fast and light and brought crampons and microspikes. I stepped off at 1:45AM, and the snow was very firm until I made it back down to Iceberg Lake around 9:00AM. I did not use anything until LBS Lake, from LBS to Iceberg I used microspikes, from Iceberg to summit and back I used crampons. Using spikes instead of crampons allowed me to move much faster because steps were quicker and less of a commitment. On the way down the snow was still firm enough that my spikes were working just fine before I took them off around LBS Lake. If you can be off the mountain before noon, you will not need snowshoes for a few more weeks. Being said, check the weather if you are going on a warm day maybe be off earlier or bring snowshoes.

- General
I had a great time on this route. The snow was solid until about 9:00AM below 12,500 ft. This did make the descent frustrating from the summit to Iceberg because you have to be immune to pain to glissade. I brought a stove to boil water, there are not many great places to fill up past LBS Lake.

- Bottom Line
The snow bridges are the crux during this season. As soon as I got to the bridges I essentially "threw out the map". Of course, be respectful of nature but I took the path up the canyon that was solid and did not worry too much about the official trail.

Ice axe, crampons, and helmets are needed. The morning snow is very firm and an unarrested fall could kill. The rock fall risk is very high unless you are the first person going up that day. There is about 150m of exposed boulders and scree a little short of the notch.

Leave early, classic I know. I saw people coming up as I was heading down the canyon below LBSL. I understand people are camping, but the snow is melting in the afternoon. It is a little too steep to skin up and so you will posthole if you are messing around too late.

Don't end up in the news and have fun.

If we split the First canyon into 4 parts after the trail forks off the main trail:

(1/4) All land; easy.
(2/4) Snow bridge(s) up to the beginning of E-Ledges. Still solid, but stay away from open holes/rock/boulders/trees sticking up out of the snow, as they are melted around them, and you will see the 20-30ft drops after you pass them and look back.
(3/4) Snow bridges are all collapsed. No chance. E-Ledges a must.
(4/4) Sketchy snow bridge(s). Hug the rock walls to the right the rest of the way to LBSL and get a little wet from the streams/waterfalls.

Hope this helps!

So what does the canyon bypassed by the ledges when the snow bridges collapse look like? I would imagine deep vertical wall trenches with willow branches in them and the water flowing below. It would be neat to see a time-lapse photography video of it going from "snow ramp" to snowless.

Check out the "Whitney - 2023" forum category. I have posted some videos and pics on google drive to help people gauge conditions (was June 6-7 tho.)


Descriptively, when I was there it was one big snow mass with melt off at the rock walls and definitely carving out underneath from the stream.

After the E-ledges, if you stick to the rock on the right side of the last 1/3 of the canyon (even if you follow just to the right of the snow), you'll have no problem getting to Lower Boy Scout Lake. You may get a little drenched walking through melt/waterfalls.

Amazing videos of the stream! Exactly what I wanted to see. Was walking over that a month ago.

Does anyone have an idea on conditions of JM35 trail. Are crampons/ice axes needed for that path?

Depends on when you're going.

You will need crampons + ice axe right now. Lots of snow everywhere up there.

In the "Whitney - 2023" page, "mattmac" posted a YouTube video showing the Main trail. You can get a good idea of what the environment looks like. You will be going up a snow chute to get to Trail Crest.

Summited on Jun 19. The stream crossings are changing it are doable. The snow bridge at the entrance of the E-ledges is too thin, we crossed on it going in but went to the left and crossed on rocks on the way back. The trail is hard to follow along the creek so use some form of navigation (Gaia). At Upper Boyscout Lake it was very windy during the night and in the morning but got calmer later in the day. Started at 5AM (too late, start at 3AM) and summited at noon via the traverse (avoided the last 400 because of reports of ice at the top). Snow was pretty slushy on the way back. Overall a pretty good ascent. Have fun.