Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board want to climb in winter

a few friends or mine and a few others have been enjoying short hikes throughout the sierra. We no want to tackle whitney during its more difficult times. All of us are strong and sturdy and give all. We are thinking of taking this hike during Jan.
any previous experience and ifo sill be appreciated.
thanks'sean

How 'bout "tackling" Whitney during one of it's more easier times first,like,say in mid July? I 've done Whitney six times since 1994, twice up the main trail, four up the MR,ranging from mid June to early November, not once have I thought about doing Whitney in winter. Why? Because doing a 9,000ft peak in January(which I've done plenty) is hard enough, tack on another 5,500ft and you have an an EXTREMELY difficult undertaking that can possibly lead to death. Death you say? Avalanches are a very real threat on Whitney all the way through May depending on the winter.You better have beacons, probe poles,shovels, snowshoes, crampons, ice axe's, four season tents, 4-season sleeping bags, the neccessary WARM clothing and know how to use ALL of it with ease.For a two nighter on Whitney in January you are talking a 50lb pack through deep snow.

I would recommend doing lesser mountains first in the dead of winter, much lesser mountains. If you are near the Lake Tahoe area you have a multitude of possibilities for over-night hikes that are right off the roadways.Some of the board members from LA will be able to give you ideas for winter hikes in that area.

In short, no summer experience on Whitney and no winter camping experience at all = a very foolish winter ascent.

Yes, it will cost plenty for gear you'll need and then you have to know how to use it all. Commendable to think to try this, but only experts would try to summit during January. Even then, I remember a climber from UCI was killed doing this, by an avalanche or something way back when.

Try a summer ascent first, or an easier winter peak. If you are not a skier, or only done fair weather hiking, the cold will be brutal. It gets down past zero, I see, so this may be something you've never experienced. Many city people and beginner hikers immediately know this is not for them! Having made so many rest stops at just Donner Summit in the winter, I see and hear so many tourists exclaim about the cold!

People think I'm crazy when I report on my snow camps, when we did that. Even resort skiing is crazy to most. The local outings groups here do not support such activities anymore. The judgement is that you just do not do this!

Good point 4x, many people going out into the environment have absolutely no idea what real cold weather feels like, I mean really cold weather, not 32 or 25, I'm talking -10. Truckee sees this temp a few times a year, I can only imagine how many times Whitney sees temps like this or worse during a cold, stormy winter.

Funny you bring up Donner Pass, there are so many un-prepared people going over Donner Pass every winter, it's truly amazing.No chains, speeding, four wheelers and AWD'ers flying down the pass like they are invinsible.
A friend of mine has a place on Old Donner Pass Rd, just across the street from the lake. Last winter a driver spun out on I-80 crashed into the guard rail, flipped over the guard rail and tumbled down the embankment into his back yard. What kind of car were they driving? An Audi. Where were they from? The Bay Area, up for a day of site seeing- in a snowstorm!

If people can't get it right driving in winter conditions, tackling Whitney in the dead of winter with no experience could be suicide. The least that would happen would be a lot of time and money spent getting geared up only to turn around two miles from the trailhead because "it was just too cold and there was too much snow".

Sierra, yes -5 to -10 would be brutal enough, but the wc factor is also important. If they climbed on an especially cold, windy day, those conditions could translate into -30 to -50+ windchill, and the wind would make the climb more difficult as well. I have seen plenty of -20 to -30 weather in Minnesota without even factoring in the wind, and to have to climb a mt. at the same time would not be fun to say the least.

Maybe they already have done Whitney at other times, they just said they wanted to do it in winter. Cold? heck yeah. Doable? YES. Do your homework and go for it. As previosly mentioned, avalanches are your main concern. Take a coarse.

Sean,
I will not judge you but it is a serious endeavor to visit the summit of Whitney in January. If you are really interested, go to summitpost.com, look up member "Chucky" go to trip reports and click on Whitney in Winter. It will give you a great idea as to what to expect per our effort in January 2001.
A few more details, reference knowledge with winter mountaineering. We had five U.S. Border Patrol Agent participants in January 2001. We went there as much to have fun as well as try to get to the summit within 5 days (includes travel to and from Whitney - San Diego). We planned in excruciating detail so that NO ONE would have to risk their lives to rescue us. We planned to reach the summit via the traditional trail.
Our skills included the following: 2 each well equipped Emergency Medical Technicians (1 was a search and rescue agent with the Border Patrol), one mountain warfare instructor from the Chilean Mountain Warfare Instructor Course in Rio Blanco, Chile (6 months long), and all five were VERY physically fit from working on Otay Mountain where they patrolled the border with Mexico.
First, you have to figure out where to stash the vehciles. By spending the first night in the Alabama Hills Hotel we discovered they would let us park there while we climbed (very generous of them). But we also had to leave a Jeep half way up the road to the Portal and note that neither of the two four wheel drive vehicles could get beyond the lower campgound due to the depth of the snow. If your vehicle can make it up to the Portal you have to accept that your vehicle can get stuck up there until the roads are cleared if a boulder falls in the road cutting off your drive back down. Assuming you have the proper mental attitude and are properly equipped you just NOW begin the effort to get up there.
We had snow shoes for heavy loads. We still sunk way down due to the fine powdery snow. I would have preferred skis with skins but no one else felt comfortable with skis, let alone on Whitney's ungroomed slopes.
In my opinion, the most serious problem is body temperature regulation while engaging in such serious endeavors in such a wilderness environment. There is no store to run into to warm up. Once you sweat you can get into serious trouble. With our heavy packs we were moving slow and had our clothes "wide open" to prevent sweating and hypothermia.
Next, do you have the training with the ice ax, avalanche beacons and probes, and mutliple shovels in groups well separated in case of an avalanche?
Whitney is no cake walk in the winter. Despite all of my training I hired a French guide when I tried to visit the summit of Mont Blanc in September 2002 because I knew enough to know I was not familiar with Mont Blanc's avalanche and crevass zones.
Also, you can read my trip report from the Augstenberg in Liechtenstein. I did that in deep snow which was quite a challenge when it is just a kids walk in the summer.
If you are still interested, read the trip report mentioned above. I hope I did not come across as demeaning! I just wanted to make you aware of the reality of winter mountaineering on Whitney.
People make it up there in the winter all of the time. Robert Pio... (visits this board often) made it in early February. Just make certain you are really ready for what is possible, what is probable and deal with the reality of the situation while you are up there. Ultimately, you are the climber so you decide.
Best wishes for future mountaineering!

Chucky, so did you "get to the summit within 5 days?"

Just heard on the news one area of the northern sierra just got 54 inches of snow!

I don't know where you heard 54 inches, but Alpine Meadows got over three feet on top with all of the other Lake Tahoe resorts reporting snow fall of the same amount. Wonder what fell on Whitney? The radar images make it look like the storm stayed north of the mountain.

Tsunami,
I did NOT get to the summit. After 2 nights on the mountain in that powdery snow it was a lost cause for all intents and purposes. One needs to let new snow settle quite a bit for faster speeds on snow shoes. Skis with skins would have helped me but not my friends who could not ski, and I was NOT about to leave them behind.
Chucky

Sean;
Perhaps others are more qualified to give advice on winter climbing in the The High Sierra, but I'll give you my take on it. The latest I have been up Whitney is October, but I have some experience with winter in the White Mtns. of New Hampshire. Mt. Washington is only 6300 feet, but it has an extensive treeless alpine zone and winter weather somewhat colder, stormier, and variable than what you see in The Sierra, but with less snow so you don't usually have to worry about getting snowed in so bad you can't even travel. What you do have to worry about is falling, freezing to death, or being killed by an avalanche on certain parts of the mountain. Even there it's foolish to venture up in winter without a knowledge base, preferably inside the head of one or more companions, about what to expect and how to cope. Adequate equipment is vital and you can read up on that.
One paramount thing to remember is: your plans must invariably be subordinate to the weather and you must be prepared to retreat without hesitation when bad weather threatens. In other words, you can't plan to do it the weekend of Jan 23 for example. You must instead watch the weather trends and bone up on Sierra climatology so that you can know when one of the extended tranquil periods the region is known for is about to start. Then you can attempt your ascent.
If I were a bit younger and had access to that area and climbing companions eager to do it, I would love to take a trip into that region of the Sierra in high winter. If you and your friends are stout, sensible, well equiped, etc. Why not do it. Just be sure to research your subject thoroughly before you do it.

I don't know where my VeloMan went, but about the same time he disappeared, SierraStryder registered. Sorry VeloMan, I love SierraStryder now. There might be a SierraStryderette in the future.

I haven't gone away you putz, I was being quiet in hopes that you would disappear. Guess not. Once a loser always a loser, I guess. Notice that the threads have all been great since you went away, notice how the threads degrade once you come around.You're so arrogant you don't even see this, or so indifferent that you don't care.
I, unlike you, have one user name and I am not too chicken sh%$ like you are to use it. I am not Trixie and I am not Sierra Stider or anyone else for that matter. Leave these people alone dirt ball, this board works fine when you're not around.
BTW, if my memory serves me correct there has been about five new members in the last week or two. For you to single out one new member in hopes of making him/her me just shows the self-servant, egotistical retard that you are.Get a life loser.I'm done responding to you, you can keep on being a putz, I don't care.When you make one of your stupid remarks after one of my posts that is on subject and legitimate, you just make yourself look plain dumb.Good Night!