Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Nov 1st weather

Any predictions? I will be taking the MR on Sat Nov 1st and was wondering if anyone knows of any weather systems that might be moving into the Whitney region. I think by that time the Santa Ana will be blown out. I couldn't seem to make much out of the weather forcast links. Thanks,

Canuck

The eastern Sierras are forecast by the Las Vegas office of the NWS. Go to this link and click on Bishop on the map:

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/lasvegas/index.shtml

According to the National Weather Service it's supposed to be very cold this weekend. The forecast is for a low of 26 degrees on Saturday morning -- in Bishop! So, expect a night-time temperature below zero on top and below freezing the entire day. Bundle up and be careful about the ice.

On saturday here in Flagstaff, Arizona(6,900ft) the high is suppose to be 49 and the low could be 28. The forcast is for rain/snow showers. It will probably snow in the higher elevations. In the Whitney area I think the highs will be in the 30's.

Matt in Flagstaff

Canuck,

I'd postpone my hike this Saturday unless you are prepared for winter conditions. The Las Vegas NWS is forecasting the snow level to be around 4000 feet, so there will certainly be snow in the Sierra. There will also probably be strong W or SW wind.

Shawn Trueman

Thanks for your valuable info. No, I am not really experienced when it comes to winter hikes however the cold is no stranger to me (the nickname gives that away). I am at that point anyways that I have to learn to hike in different climates. Your replies helped me to know what to pack.No worries. I'm smart enough to know when to turn around if things get a bit unsafe.
Thanks again. As always this site is rich with resource.
Canuck

Canuck, we received a dusting of snow early this morning in Reno, forcast for more on the way on Friday. Haven't checked latest conditions for southern sierras. Good Luck.

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV

500 AM PST THU OCT 30 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA/SOUTHERN
NEVADA/NORTHWEST ARIZONA

.DAY ONE...TODAY

...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 1000 AM PST FOR THE EASTERN SIERRA
SLOPES...

...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 800 PM PST (900 PM MST) FOR EASTERN CALIFORNIA
DESERTS...NORTHWEST ARIZONA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN NEVADA...

VERY STRONG WEST WINDS WILL OCCUR BELOW CANYONS OF THE EAST SLOPE
OF THE SOUTHERN SIERRA THROUGH LATE MORNING. WIND GUSTS AS HIGH AS
75 MPH ARE POSSIBLE. ELSEWHERE STRONG AND GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS
WILL OCCUR ACROSS THE MOJAVE DESERT AND SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN TODAY IN
ADVANCE OF A COLD FRONT LOCATED ACROSS CENTRAL NEVADA. PLEASE REFER
TO THE LATEST STATEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LAS
VEGAS FOR SPECIFIC DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED BUT WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE
ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

$$

PIERCE

WWUS75 KVEF 301803
NPWVEF

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV

1002 AM PST THU OCT 30 2003

...HIGH WIND WARNING ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 1000 AM PST FOR THE
EASTERN SIERRA SLOPES...

...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM PST (900 PM MST)
FOR EASTERN CALIFORNIA DESERTS...NORTHWEST ARIZONA AND PORTIONS OF
SOUTHERN NEVADA...

.A STRONG COLD FRONT ACROSS CENTRAL NEVADA WILL SLOWLY SHIFT
SOUTHWARD TODAY WITH STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS EXPECTED ACROSS THE
MOJAVE DESERT AND SOUTHERN GREAT BASIN IN ADVANCE OF THE COLD
FRONT. THE STRONG WINDS WILL GENERATE WIDESPREAD AREAS OF BLOWING
DUST AND SAND.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL RADIO OR TELEVISION
STATIONS...OR YOUR CABLE TELEVISION PROVIDER FOR THE LATEST IN
WEATHER INFORMATION.

AZZ001-003-036-CAZ027-028-NVZ015>019-021-022-310000-
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK-LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA-
LINCOLN COUNTY-NORTHEAST CLARK COUNTY-NORTHWEST DESERTS-
NORTHWEST PLATEAU-SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY DESERTS-SHEEP RANGE-
SOUTHERN CLARK COUNTY-SPRING MOUNTAINS-RED ROCK CANYON-
WESTERN CLARK AND SOUTHERN NYE COUNTY-

...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 800 PM PST (900 PM MST) THIS EVENING...

STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO
50 MPH WILL CONTINUE TODAY THEN DECREASE DURING THE EARLY EVENING.

Canuck,
Strong winds and cold weather will be all the time.
Take care and don't go to the wrong side.
Happy climb.
Tomi

Thanks again for all your replies. I will have to write about the trip when I return Sunday nite. Once again I am grateful for this community!

Canuck

I was planning to do hike on the main trail on Nov 1 as well. Hopefully the weather will change some to the better. I have so been looking forward for this trip for months and don't know when I will have another opportunity to come back to this area.

rbirk, we'll see ya out there. Should be good times.
canuck

I'll be out there too!

Just came back to Boston last night. Did not have internet connection until now. Anyway, I did the Whitney main trail Saturday (Nov 1) and it was great!! Never hiked this mountain before and now I can't wait to come back for another go.

There was a lot of snow from the day before which got some people worried. On the way up I met a lot of people turning back. Two persons right at the start who were trying the MR. They said it was basically closed down. Others on the main route said there were more and more snow, that the clouds and/or wind was picking up.

Not too far from Trail camp I even met a whole group of people who just spend the night there and they had enough from that cold night (at day time it was well below freezing) and just wanted to go home.

The weather however turned out to be mostly great. Down at the portal it was foggy/cloude but just a 1000 feet above it was very clear. Then I had all sun most of the way. The clouds kept kreeping up from east. They only cought up on me when I finally reached the Whitney summit around 3pm. So I great views most of the way. The wind was calm as well. Not too much most of the way.

Overall, a fantastic hike and too bad for those people who turned back. I thought it was a great day. I met I think only 3-4 people above trail camp, so it looks like there were not too many up there that day.

Hi rbirk,
did you needed crampons or snowshoes on the main trail?
I love mountains in winter and snow cowered.
How deep is snow at Trail Camp? Did you sleep there or you did day hike only?
I will go soon up, Nov. 21, I can't wait.
Thanks for posting infos.
tomi

Whitney Portal Road, Onion Valley Road & Horseshoe Meadow Road officially closed today.

Re: Onion Valley Road...I didn't know it ever closed. I've driven up to Onion Valley Trailhead in raging snowstorms...

Tomi, I did it in one day (a long day though). Did not need any crampons or snowshoes. The snow at trailcamp was a few inches, maybe a foot.

That does not mean you might not need it later on. This was the first snow of the season I think and nothing had really melted yet (as it was very cold), so much of the snow was dry.

We drove up the Portal Road, and with the snow, decided to do the Ebersbacher another day. We were planning to do Carillon in 2 days.

We ended up in Death Valley and dayhiked Wildrose Pk and Telescope Peak: http://community.webshots.com/album/97572535fEdfMp

Snow Nymph
www.snow-nymph.com

Hey Canuck ! What time did you start hiking ? What time did you get back to the trailhead ?

Thanks for the update. I hope to hike on Saturday/Sunday depending upon the weather.

I started the MR too late. 6am. And we turned around at 1100 - had lunch and returned to the trailhead at 3pm. The snow made for some interesting challenges. Be careful with the ledges on the descent. They will most likely be dangerous after 3pm.
Good luck
Canuck