Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General The Mountain by a fair means Main Trail...

All I can say is, I brought 3 liters water/electrolytes, and all the gear. I am not a cyborg like RichardP. I am not anything but a nature lover. I ran out of water in sight of the hut. I turned around or it would have added 2-3 hours to the hike.
I did not get water until Outpost camp. I was licking my lips for hours. Despite sunscreen and lip balm. Well if you want plump lips here is a way to get them, but I don't think the mummy effect afterward is worth it.

I use zinc, 70% sunscreen, but still burn. And, with a hat. So I'm just sayin that you do this in snow, prepare to get burned no matter the precautions. Or wear a mask on your face that protects from sun. I should have. I can't endorse the brand but it starts with a B.

This coming from someone who was sun tolerant, but altitude and snow glare plus heat = skin tissue damage. Be prepared, protect your skin. That includes your hands.

Nice work getting up there, Tracie. Snow conditions do indeed add many factors to the hike, from physical to mental (as much as I joke about postholing, it gets pretty demeaning after a while).

I think you're talking about the Buff tubes as a mask, yes? I've taken to wearing them both to hold back my hair and as neck/face gaiters. The former since it allows sweat to more readily evaporate (the hair getting soaked is one reason I get extremely cold when stopping); the latter since it's light weight and easy to tuck under a hat brim and around my ponytail to offer more sun/reflection/wind protection. They will absorb a fair amount of moisture, though, and will freeze if the air temps/wind chill get low enough.

As for water, did you try stuffing snow into your camelback/platypus bladder? I'll usually do that, place it flush with the side of the pack that's against my back, and even wrap a jacket with some chemical hand warmers around it in order to induce melting more readily.

Way to get out there.

-L

Thank you Laura. The brand of face mask is "Beko". I didn't know if endorsements are okay here...Ryan B had them on Orizaba/Izta.

Yes I stuffed snow into the camelback but it wouldn't melt! I guess it was the altitude. Anyhow, I think it was a sound decision to turn around. I got water from trailside meadow in handfuls as it trickled down the rocks...very tasty!

I wouldn't call mentioning the brand-name of a product an endorsement. Actually, I find it helpful to see different names out there rather than those simply thrust in our faces on a daily basis. With as many different gloves as I've tried over the past few years, for example, it's always helpful to see what else is available to try. (I still have trouble with my fingertips)

Again, next time you might try wrapping the bladder in one of your jacket layers in your pack, along with the chemical hand warmer. Maybe the body warmer with the light adhesive to help hold it in place? Sometimes if I'm in an area where I don't need my poles, I will also carry along a snowball and munch on it from time to time. I've sealed most of my heavier gloves to getting them a little wet isn't a problem.

Thanks for the face mask tip -- I am horribly allergic to all commercial sunscreens that are even remotely "sweatproof" (result is a chemical burn much like a first degree burn with blisters) hiking/snowshoeing/skiing this time of year has become a problem, so that I am currently using a traditional middle eastern headdress called a keffiyeh , but it does not make me very popular in today's paranoid enviro....great way to clear the trail, tho.

I was wondering what the conditions are on the main trail now, last time I was up {middle of May} it was snow just after Mirror Lake all the way up. That was a few weeks ago. I am planning on climbing again in late June.

Thanks in advance