Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board ON TOP 3-20-04

8:00am and on the summit.Mountaineers route is still in great shape.Snow is melting fast on way in and out.Ledges will be the way to go as two bridges over creek below Lower Boy Scout were gone after two days of 90 degree heat camped at 12,000 feet.Alpine starts are the name of the game if the sun is shining.

So where's your pictures?

I doubt that it was in the 90's below lower Boyscout Lake. It is too early in the year to have temps like that up there. It hasn't hit 90 here in Flagstaff and were only at 7,000ft. How were the condiions of the road?

I headed up toward Thor on Saturday (3/20). The road is almost entirely clear of snow up to about a mile below the Portal. Rockfall on the road is considerable. While it at first looks like you can't get past it, you can actually weave through the boulders and drive up to where the snow starts (you do so at your own risk however). The Whitney trail is mostly clear of snow up to the North Fork Lone Pine Creek sign and the E-Ledges look like they're also pretty much clear of snow. There is quite a bit of snow covering the North Fork trail and it's annoyingly soft and slushy. There are a couple of places where it's difficult to cross the creek. Using the ledges should bypass one of these spots.

Here are some pictures:

<a href="http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewer.asp?FolderID=215&ID=28522">Photos</a>

Oh and though it may or may not have been 90 degrees it definitely felt like it. I got cooked.

-Rick