Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board 97 Switchbacks

We are hiking july 5 to the summit ,we HOPE.
I wanted to find out how fast the snow is melting
and what are the chances of the 97 switchbacks being open.
Or should we prepare for the chutes.
We've had 6 successful summits in the past but not in the snow.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

We took the chute yesterday (June 20). It was great. The switchbacks looked quite impassable and most of the switchbacks at the beginning are still under snow. The cables were visible and looked impassable still. That being said, we passed a couple just after we left the summit who said they took the switchbacks. They commented that it was a little hairy, but doable. The snow is melting quite fast (we saw a great deal of melt the two days we were on the mountain, and temperatures are quite warm. In two weeks it might be a completely different story. The Chute was great. It was a lot of work, but having done both the Switchbacks and climbing the chute with crampons and and axe, I would prefer the chute.

Given the snowpack, do you think there will still be an option for a snow climb up the chute in 3 weeks?

I would say in 3 weeks the switchbacks will be open.
I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and hope they open
in 2 weeks.

This picture of the switchbacks and snow slope was taken on June 18th...

So, are the cables usable? or not yet?

Not quite yet................It's like waiting for water to boil.

Thanks Bob. We are heading to the mountains on 3rd and 4th of July.
Will be camping at Trail camp on Friday night, and plan to head to summit on 4th morning.

We are carrying microspikes but not crampons and Ice Axe. Can we use switchbacks with microspikes?

I will be camping at trail camp on the third as well. We are still looking for a local place to rent crampons here in michigan. Maybe I'll see you up there. Good luck!

Hi Jlo311, There are 3 REI sporting good stores in michigan.
You may want to check them out for crampons.
Hopefully you wont need them but better safe than sorry.
GOOD LUCK!
SEE YOU AT THE TOP

Sam,

based on what I saw this weekend I don't believe the switchbacks will be accessable for you at all. I believe the chute will be the only way to go.

Plan on using the chute. Parts of the switchbacks are visible now but most are still buried.

I recommend starting early from Trail Camp (5:30- 6:00 AM) so you have firm, crunchy snow for climbing. We budgeted about 2 hours for going up the chute. That estimate ended up being pretty close.

iPlod - how did you come back down the chute? Glissade? What's the danger level of a sliding out of control (up or down)?

Many thanks

I walked down. I saw lots of people glissading down on Sunday PM. Walking down wasn't nearly as much fun but my son and I aren't experienced at glissading. Looking down the chute, we decided this wasn't the best place to learn.

There's a really nice long blood smear halfway down the slope. Somebody didn't have a good descent.

Thanks iPlod

Did you have to use your crampons or ice axe when walking down the chute?

We used both. It was good practice. There was a German guy ahead of us who really had his plunge stepping down. He must have beat us down by 20 minutes.

Looking forward to someone's switchback report from this coming 4th of july weekend. Please post after your trip with conditions for the main trail.
I have summitted multiple times in the past and will be going July 10/11.
I will post after my trip as well.
Thanks for any input from you fellow lottery winners!

We are keeping our ears to the ground, er, snow as our ascent is for the 12th. Weather in Reno into the 100s this weekend, bound to be the same down south.