Anyone been up there recently? May attempt the Mountaineers Route or East Ridge of Russell this month. Wondering what this coming week's snow will be sitting on in terms of existing snow pack...looks pretty sparse up there on the webcam.

Hi Took a drive up this morning road dry to campground then ice to the trailhead. About 4 inches in the Portal but helped a guy cancel a rescue yesterday, he was out for several days and was over due . Said about waist deep snow in the normal spots say above Mirror Lake and above trailside meadow is where he lost the trail.

So now shift that north and same conditions around Upper Boyscout lake.Drifts are the problem below the ridge lines , normal to see very little cover on the Summit/Trailcamp/Iceberg areas.

The wind is moving in, sky is getting milky and night time temps dropping, again as always we pay very little attention to the forecast of what if but focus on the here now as storms very seldom match the forecast, for example several years ago the story was 1-2 inches at 8000' we had about 7' other storms with high wind blow out the snow before getting here. Be ready for the worst and if you are lucky maybe weather free.

I would park below the campground walk the last 1/2 mile just in case we get a dump , below the campground will melt out above will not and roads are not cleared. So bring cash your AAA card will not go above Olivas Ranch Road ( about 1 mile below Lone Pine Campground

Thanks Doug

Thanks for the update Doug! Here's hoping for 7 feet! Not for our summit chances, but to help make up for the past few dry winters. If the weather is on our side, I'll be sure to post a few pictures of what I find up there.

Cheers!

Sierra Mountain Center was up on Whitney right before the New Year. We were able to drive up to the Portal and drop our gear off for the overnight trip.

The hiking was pretty easy up to Lower Boy Scout Lake without snowshoes. After that, there were sections that were made much easier with flotation. We followed the gully doing a little bushwhacking to avoid the ledges. This seems like the right approach at this point.

The snow in the Mountaineers Gully itself was really good for kicking steps. Gusts of 50 mph turned us around at the notch but we didn't need crampons up to that point.

If you're looking for a guided experience, we have a few openings on our trips for this winter, Jan. 24-28 and Feb. 21-25. Custom trips are also available. http://bit.ly/IIOQLQ

I just got down from the Mountaineer's Route February 20-22, 2015. We were able to sneak in the summit as the latest storm was hitting. A few observations of note:

*Before this storm the south facing side of the canyon below Lower Boy Scout Lake was dry. This storm left about 6-9" as of the night of the 22nd.

*There's a lot of ice on the slabs above LBSL. Crampons were a necessity. The new snow will cover this ice but probably not enough keep your foot from hitting the ice beneath it.

*There's an unstable layer of snow (depth hoar) at the base of the snowpack. Before this storm there was an avalanche that went across Iceberg Lake. It's difficult to tell how much this will affect the overall snowpack as more snow accumulates.

Here are a few pictures. The rest of the gallery can be found here.

Ice on the slabs below Upper Boy Scout Lake


Avalanche that came across Iceberg Lake


The Final 400' from The Notch


Starting up the Final 400'


In the middle of the Final 400'


The final pitch on the Final 400'


Topping out


Walking to the summit hut


Summit photo

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When are you coming back to give it another go????

Awesome adventure Kurt and thanks for sharing the great photos
Looks pretty frosty on the final 400

Hi Kurt! I think about that often. Timing is always tough. I have May but I think you stop running trips? Would be nice to have spring conditions but with snow....!

May works. Lets chat and figure something out!!


It was fun and a great adventure but not quite like you climbing a vertical mile of routes on your birthday. Great job! It sounds like all's well. Miss seeing you around!

Kurt,

Those are a Big pair of boots you are wearing, who makes them and what do they weigh?

The Silent Hiker

These are the Lowa Expedition 8000. They kept my feet nice and warm on this climb . It says on their web site they weigh 2800 grams, which is just a couple ounces over 6 pounds. I've used these boots on Mt. McKinley, several Aconcagua expeditions, and to the summit of Mt. Everest. If I went with a lighter pair my choice would be the Lowa Weisshorn. They're 1950 grams, which is a little over 4 pounds. I'm pretty sure they're using a Men's 9 as their advertised size.

Kurt,

I have a pair of LaSportiva Trango Evo's, will they keep me warm on Mt. Whitney during a winter climb?

The Silent Hiker

Yes! Would love that.

Well that'll depend on which model of Trango Evo's you have. There's the Trango S EVO GTX, the Trango Alp EVO GTX, and the Trango Extreme EVO Light GTX. This is their current offering according to their web site. Do you own one of these models or a previous model?

Let me know and I can give you a good idea of how applicable it is to a winter climb on Mt. Whitney

Hi Kurt,

I am wearing the Trango S EVO GTX. I sometimes use a Outdoor Research overboot do not like them, to big and bulky but very warm. Tell me what you think. I am thinking about going down to Mexico in November to climb the volcanoes, will these keep me warm down there?

Thanks

It will depend on both the boots and on you. I’m a real wimp with cold feet, so I wear heavily insulated plastic boots in situations when others get by with much less. Also, a boot that’s warm enough when you’re climbing hard can be really cold on a long belay in bad weather.

Yeah using overboots makes that a bulky package at your feet. The Trango S EVO GTX is designed to be a 3-season boot. It's not made for winter. It's more appropriate for climbing in the Palisades during the late spring/summer/fall months. While some people could "get by" with that boot in winter I wouldn't recommend it. I'm kind of like Bob who posted above. I like my feet to be warm. The boot you have isn't nearly substantial enough for winter climbs in the Sierra and I wouldn't use it for Mexico's Volcanoes either.

For winter climbs in the Sierra and Mexico's Volcanoes I would go with a leather boot with more insulation or like Bob says a plastic mountaineering boot. I'm a Lowa guy and my boot of choice for Mexico would be the Weisshorn. I've had many people wear them on Whitney climbs as well. If I needed more insulation I'd move up to the Expedition 6000.

Let me know if you have more questions .

I managed to get by with a pair of Hi-Tec Altitude boots four years in-a-row on Orizaba (and others)...

but that's kind of foolhardy...

Ask Scully for some comments on what a bummer it is to have really cold feet on the biggest mountain of your life... I think you'll decide to take KW's and BP's advice...

Agreed. I'd never consider taking a boot like that to Mexico.

In spite of Richard's boots what actually powered him up Mexico's Volcanoes was a constant supply of Cheetos