Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Camping at Summit

My hiking partner and I are doing Whitney on July 1&2. Anyone had experience camping overnight at the summit?

I met someone who did that last year. It was at the end of Sept and the winds were blowing very hard. It was also extremely cold. Otherwise, he didnt have any problems

Expect anything in terms of the weather. Temperatures at night could easily go below freezing not to mention T-storms with hail, rain and even a chance of snow and very high winds.

The summit is very exposed to the weather with few if any level spots to drop a tent. Personally I would not use a free standing tent because of the wind potential. There are few places to anchor.

Think carefully about your water needs. You will need to carry a sufficient amount to carry you through. By staying overnight, you will be extending the period of dehydration experienced from being at altitude. I suggest you carry at least 1.5 liters more per person than what you might use if you did not stay overnight.

Have a great time and enjoy the full moon on the 2nd.

Another piece of advice...watch the monsoons of the desert Southwest carefully. They usually arrive about the first or second week in July, and often arrive with a push that carries moisture and stormy weather all the way up to central CA. Should they arrive around the time of your hike, a summit camp could definitely be very risky.

In 1999 I backpacked Whitney the day these storms arrived. At Trail Camp we had steady, sometimes heavy rain all night and all our summit day, though fortunately the lightning ended prior to our morning summit hike. We met a group that camped on the summit, where they had repeated lightning strikes and about 6 inches of snow. They described the night as "interesting to say the least".

I slept up there on my first trip back in July 1972 while doing the High Sierra Trail from west to east.

We had clear weather. Folks are right, you need to plan for extra water either for cooking or just drinking those hours you will be there. Also things don't rehydrate well with the lower boiling point of water so plan more instant foods or terrific snacks for dinner and breakfast.

As soon as the sun set it got instantly frigid up there. We watched the shadow of Whitney creep across the lower landscape - it was neat. At that time, there were a number of other folks doing it, too. We all found individual lid-less stone coffins, well, stone-walled shelters, but they were narrow and just about fit a sleeping bag length and width.

I've been back twice since once coming south from Piute Pass to the Portal and then last year as a 3-day from the Portal to Trail Camp, summit dayhike and Trail Camp to Portal.

I think sleeping on Half Dome during the August meteor showers was a grander experience - also years ago (when it was legal)

I've slept on the summit three times - each time we slept in the hut. First time was in 1971 (when both rooms of the hut were open); it was really crowded - lots of scouts spending the night up there, but I got a great picture of sunrise on the top. The second time was not until 1996, and we had the most beautiful sunset you could ever imagine! Last time was three years ago... and it was windy and freezing but it was my last hike with my Dad and he wanted to stay on the top.

Each time we had come in via the John Muir Trail. I don't remember how we handled the water the first time we spent the night (that was a long time ago and I was pretty young). But the last two times we stopped at Guitar Lake and filled anything that could hold water - nalgenes, dromedary bags, even the solar shower. Made for pretty heavy packs but we knew that we couldn't count on snow to melt.

We watched the weather closely, and got up there late in the day.

All three were different experiences; each time was great in it's own way; really special memories.

I seem to recall an incident years ago where people camped in the hut and were killed by a lightening strike. Did I dream this? Beware of lightning, especially with afternoon storms.

I also spent the night in the hut in 1971 -- Saturday night of Labor Day weekend. A friend and I decided to do the hike a couple of days before. Times were sure different! No permits, and what we thought were crowds were nothing by today's standards.

A person in the hut was killed by a lightning strike in 1990. The hut has been modified since then. I do not know the details, but the roof appears to be properly grounded and there is a wooden floor.

I'd still beware of lightning, though!

A year ago the question of lightning on the summit received a very thorough going-over on this board. Some excellent points were made. Here's the <a href=http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=000974>link</a>.

In the mid-1990s the A & E television channel had a series called "The Unexplained." One of their programs was on lightning: when/where/why it hits or does not hit, why do some people die from it while others do not, getting hit is extremely rare but some people have been hit several times, etc.

The events surrounding the 1990 Mt. Whitney fatality got about a 15 minute treatment in the program. I have a copy on VHS, but don't know how to share it.

Bob,

When I loan you the slide scanner, you can loan me the tape. I have the equipment necessary to transfer the tape to digital on the computer, and the website that I am now using allows me unlimited stills/video, so we can share it out.

On the topic: I spent the night at the top back in July 2000. Somebody mentioned watching the shadows creep across the Owens Valley. I also remember that as being cool. The sunset was amazing, the night was very windy and the sunrise the next morning was incredible.

There is a mini-monsoon this week as a south/southeasterly airflow develops aloft and brings in moisture from Mexico and the Gulf of California. The thunderstorms in the Sierra are forecast to end by the weekend as a southwesterly airflow develops.

Shawn Trueman
Huron, OH

We slept in the summit hut Monday night. It was not our original plan but the storm, wind and snow pressed us on until we got to the hut. (We had plans to sleep close to Discovery Pinnacle or in the tent spots by the trail junction coming up from the West side.) Outside it was 28 degrees during the night and inside the hut it was a nice 40 degrees.

I actually heard a hissing sound up on the roof, but took comfort in the modifications made in the last 15 years. We still stayed away from the walls. It easily fits 3-4 people, not touching the walls.

There are also tent places on the summit with rock walls built around.

As you can imagine the sunrise was kind of cool and the place was deserted. We did not see anyone from Trail crest to Iceberg lake the next day. With weather anyone who could left a long time before we got there at 8:00 pm.

So it was mentioned that it's now illegal to sleep on top of Half Dome? Is that true? I'm doing a JMT thru-hike in August/September, and since i'll be getting in to Yosemite late in the day, i had the folly idea of sleeping my first night on Half Dome and my last night on top of Whitney. (Don't worry, most of my dumb ideas get reasoned away once the time comes.) I wasn't even going to bring a tent up Half Dome. I figured on caching most of my stuff off the JMT ,and just bringing up water and a sleeping bag to catch a few hours zzz's before the sunrise.

Does anyone know the legal scoop?

Also, by the first week of September, what are my odds on afternoon storms on Whitney/Russell?

I was the one who posted about the illegality of camping atop Half Dome. I believe that is still the case but cannot confirm it. You might check with a Yosemite website.

I believe it was due to very limited toilet facilities up there (none) and too many turning over the limited rocks (no soil) making for a mess and someone mentioned some "rare" critter that resides up there, too, as another reason.

I have been up on Half Dome during an electrical event. It was interesting.

No overnighters above 7600 ft. at Half Dome, where the food cables are located, NE shoulder, below the staircase.

Something about salamanders on Langley, but mainly because human waste has been found on the Half Dome summit squished underneath rocks, covering an area spanning 5 acres (about 1.5 times the size of a typical baseball field). Not that the entire summit is a stinky mess, but c'mon people, didn't your mommy tell you to do that before you left?

>>didn't your mommy tell you to do that before you left?<<

Great advice if you're only doing a short hike.
Rarely, if ever, applicable on longer hikes unless your GI system is from another planet.

Calif-Trailwalker:

"Great advice if you're only doing a short hike.
Rarely, if ever, applicable on longer hikes unless your GI system is from another planet."

I fully agree. I guess some folks can do IT on command. I've had a few friends who seem to be able to turn it off for entire weekend backpacks.

That is not my constitution. Too much dried fruit perhaps. Maybe that's why I did submit comments on the Solar Toilets' issue to the forest service. I think removing them and replacing with a pack-it-out-policy would be a disaster.