Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Switchback update 7/7/11???

I would like to summit on 7/11 with my daughter who is a first timer and don't want to subject her to the chute or any dicey situations around the cables. Has anyone got an update on full access of the switchbacks? Any imput that has not been posted on the How are the cable conditions post would be greatly appreciated. I will post back my experience 7/13 for those that are seeking up to date info as I am.

We summited on 5th and took the chute route.

The switch backs are still partially covered with snow. We saw a few people take the switchbacks route up, but they really struggled (and some turned around) at the final section where switchbacks end with a traverse through the top of the chute to Trail Crest. The snow is quite deep there and there is (or was) no well established path through the snow field. This is also where the chute is the steepest, so any error here can have bad consequences.

In my opinion the switchbacks route is not yet ready and chute is the way to go. You'll need crampons and ice-axe if you want to climb the chute safely. It's not that difficult and it is a lot of fun compared to boring switchbacks - especially when going down :-)

IgorM, you said the people ascending the switchbacks were strugggleing. Was that due to postholeing or Ice around the cables and if so were they having to go outside the cables? I have been up the swiitchbacks 6 times before and had a little ice but never anything major. Would you define struggleing as just hard or dangerous? I am not familiar where the switchbacks lead to the chute. Is that true mountaineering or a walkout? I see by the number of people viewing this post there is an strong interest in the current conditions. Thanks for your input.

Last July, this week, we summitted and the area that he is speaking of, I assume is the ridge at the top of the switchbacks that traverses to the wide area where hikers ascend the chute. We had a few scary moments here, and the snow melt was nearly identical at the top. I see from his pictures for the cables that while you can see them, the snow (which is shaded from the sun most of the morning when you are ascending)covers halfway. We had to sit and slide here last year this time, and the area outside the cables was not as accessible. If you can make it up the switchbacks, the ridge is very narrow, and you can take a tumble that could be awful. Just go slow, and watch your footing. I almost took the chute down because the ridge freaked me out that much, but just a few deep breaths and you should be great. Good luck, you have a weekend of no rain the forecast to help you out!