Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Whitney Dayhike - Report 11/19/05

<a href="http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewphoto.asp?ID=59354"><img src="http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/sendbinarydb.aspx?ID=59354&width=300" align=right vspace=6 hspace=25></a>Probably won't be too many more people heading for the summit for the rest of the year but if you are here are some observations:

I hiked up this past Saturday (11/19/05). The weather was remarkably mild for November. It felt like it could have been 60 degrees or more at the summit (a bit warm for what I was wearing). In the shade and when the sun goes down it's quite a bit cooler but was still quite mild (a lucky day perhaps).

There is no snow at the Portal. The trail is mostly clear of snow to Lone Pine Lake. Beyond that are more frequent patches of snow. Above Mirror Lake the coverage becomes more continuous though is never more than a few inches deep up until Trail Camp. Above Mirror Lake the snow on the trail has been compacted into hard ice which makes the trail quite slippery. This continues pretty much all the way from there to the summit. The switchbacks appear to have quite a bit of snow on them. From Trail Crest to the summit there are drifts of 3 to 6 inches of snow on the trail. It is also clear in many places. Where there is snow it is frequently icy so you may want to leave those crampons on for a bit further until you get past the steeper terrain.

I chose to ascend/descend the snow slope (ice axe & crampons) next to the switchbacks. There didn't appear to be any sign that anyone had used the slope since the last snow (probably not surprising considering the recent accident). Everyone appeared to be using the switchbacks instead. I expected the slope to be hard but (due to more recent snow) for the most part the opposite was true. It was mostly soft, too soft as it turned out. Nearing Trail Crest I was doing some pretty good postholing and sank in up to my waist a few times.

On the way down I attempted to glissade but was rarely able to slide more than 10 or 12 feet before I came to a stop in the soft snow. If you do glissade be careful of a large hard patch at the bottom of the slope.

From my perspective the switchbacks above the cables looked a bit scary. I talked to one fellow who turned back at this point which may be what a lot of people are doing. Whichever way you go, be careful. It's hard to tell hard snow from soft snow until you step on it.

Few people were out. I think I saw 5 people the entire day.

Water was still accessible at Trailside Meadow. Beyond that you might have some difficulty finding it. Mirror Lake and the pond at Trail Camp are frozen solid.

There is only one register page at the summit and it probably has just enough room to finish out the year. Richard's Sea to Summit entry appears prominently at the top of the page.

Photos are here:

<a href="http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewer.asp?FolderID=444">Mount Whitney 11/19/05</a>

-Rick

Thanks for the report, Rick.

I'm thinking of heading up the first weekend of December to make an attempt to complete the cycle of a one-day ascent in every month. If no new major storms blow through, this may be the year that I finally finish it off.

I think we may be close to reaching a consensus that it is best to avoid the switchbacks under winter conditions (I also thought the section above the cables was more difficult than the "direct route" to Trail Crest.) It may be more work, as you reported, but I think it's a lot safer.

I'm working on the same goal though I still have a lot of months left. To that end, like you, I was thinking of going back up again in early Dec if conditions hold. Perhaps we can team up.

-Rick

I'd be game for that.

As usual, Rick, great pics--and a ton of them! You captured great views of the Palisades, White Mountain and Telescope Peak--among all the others. Thanks for sharing, and we all hope you and Richard can do the December trek!

This is one of those things I hate about this board. I come in to work in the morning all ready to be productive and tell myself: "Don't look at the Whitney board, don't look at the Whitney board..." But then the little crampon-clad devil hops onto my shoulder and says: "Oh, just a quick look won't do any harm," and the next thing I know, an hour has passed in reading trip reports, looking at great pictures and trying to figure out how I can squeeze a couple of days out of my schedule to head back up the mountain. Am I the only one with this problem...?

Great pics as always Rick. (Don't be too surprised if you hear someone behind you and Richard next month yelling "Wait for me!")

sbslowpoke, I know how you feel. WPSMB is an addiction! We gotta have our daily fix!

Rick, great pictures and thank you for the recon report. I will be in WP around 9 a.m. 11/23. I hope I can find a spot to set up camp!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Yeah, I have that problem too. This time of year is kinda nice because the message traffic dies down and there's not as many messages to get me all worked up.

Richard,

I'll keep that first weekend in Dec free.

-Rick

Hello.

Enjoyed your great pictures, I downloaded a couple to show my friends.

Went up with some friends in the beginning of September ( http://homepage.mac.com/pgartl) and after looking at all of your pics I have a few questions:

Was is faster going straight up the snowfield rather than the switchbacks (leaving aside the ice on the trail), how long did it take and were you wearing crampons on snowshoes?

Where were you standing when you took those great pictures of the switchbacks straight across (IMG_9654.JPG)? I do not remember that view. Was that from Mt. Muir?

What direction are you facing in IMG 9738? Was that west towards Sequoia NP?

Is that a named peak in IMG 9745?

And lastly, I have a S45 and am just wondering how many batteries you went thru that day at those temps.

Thanks

Patrick G.

Usually in the winter it is better to take the chute, since the switchbacks fill in with snow. It is way to steep to wear snowshoes, so I would guess Rick had on his crampons. That 1700 feet can easily take two - three hours.

In Rick's notes (just before the slides) he says he was at trail camp at 8:42 am and at trail crest at 11:20. He is strong and fast if he did it that quick in the snow.

Picture 9654 looks kind of like the view from the first window. I don't think he went to Mt. Muir on this trip. It seems a little too angled to be from near trail crest.

9738 looks like it is taken down toward guitar lake and crabtree ranger station area. That would be kind of west/ north west.

There are two small towers between Mt. Muir and Aiguille Jr. The one that is the furthest north is called S Brutal tower. That looks like the tower in 9745. Porcella & Burns say it is a III. 5.9 first climbed about 1986.

Hi Rick Kent. Thanks for posting all of these great pictures. I'm no photographer and was a little short on equipment when I went at the begining of Sept "I was lucky to get a summit shot". I had no idea beforhand of the awesome sights I would see and I'm glad people have posted so many pics.

Pat,

Going up the snowfield can be faster but it didn't work out that way for me this time. Some postholing and lack of acclimation caught up with me below Trail Crest. As a result I was thoroughly disappointed in the 2.5+ hrs it took me from trail camp to trail crest. I was really hoping for half that time. As it was it probably would have been just as quick or quicker using the switchbacks. But had the snowfield been mostly firm all the way up things would have been different.

I used crampons on the snowfield and did not bring snowshoes. Snowshoes probably wouldn't be all that helpful given the slope angle.

For photo IMG_9654.JPG I was about 20 feet or so above the trail though I can't remember if it was just to the north or the south of Mt Muir (north I think). It was definitely a good vantage point. I always like to do Muir but the day was too short to catch it this time.

IMG 9738 is the view to the west from near the JMT junction and is a view toward the Sequoia NP side. Guitar Lake and one of the Hitch**** Lakes is visible in the photo.

IMG 9745 is one of the towers along the crest. Andrew may be correct. It could be S Brutal tower.

I used only one battery (fully charged) for the day. The cold does indeed sap the battery strength but fortunately the S70 uses less battery power than my S40 and comes with the more powerful NB-2LH battery. I find I can get about double the photos from the S70 compared to the S40. On warmer days I believe I've shot over 500 photos on one battery (I turn the LCD off a lot).

-Rick

Pat

In this photo, taken from Thor Peak, you can see the ridge over by Mt. Muir. Just north of Mt. Muir are two thin small towers before you get to Aiguille Jr. The second tower on the north side of Mt. Muir (toward the right) is S Brutal tower. That is the thin tower about 1/4 of the way from the right side of the photo.

<a href="http://community.webshots.com/photo/355990090/356299639NOSvLw">Whitney crest coming north from trail crest</a>

Up close and from the back it doesn't look exactly the same. So I can't be sure.

This is a picture of that pinacle area from the back, looking North toward Mt Whitney.

<a href="http://community.webshots.com/photo/85035411/85035411VVrdcG"> pinnacle area north of Mt. Muir</a>

After looking in Climbing California's fourteeners by Porcella and Burns pg 50 I am more convinced it is S'Brutal tower. That picture clearly shows that north facing flat rock outcropping toward the base of the tower and also the dip (window) area.

At least that would be my best guess until I am up there again next summer.

Pat: here is another picture, taken a little closer of the area between Mt. Muir and Aiguille Jr. Mt. Muir is the tallest peak in the middle of the left side. You can see the two thin towers just to the right, followed by Aiguille Jr (almost in the top center of the picture). All of those rock spires/ pinnacles are between trail crest and the Aiguille Jr/ Aiguille du Paquoir area.

<a href="http://community.webshots.com/photo/215977132/216008766WUBqxs">Whitney crest around Mt. Muir - from the Pinnacle pass</a>

It would be reasonable to assume that the picture you refered to (9745) is S'brutal tower. If you look at the sequence of photos it puts it in the right place. Now that you have asked, someone will clarify it next time they are in the area.

Hello.

Thanks for your replies. I looked in the book, you guys are almost certainly correct about the tower.

Rick-I downloaded that hi-res 9738 and it looks great on a 24" monitor. It's a keeper.

Also, I assume that when you say for photo IMG_9654.JPG you were "about 20 feet or so above the trail though I can't remember if it was just to the north or the south of Mt Muir" you mean you were on the slope 20 feet above the trail looking thru a dip or window ESE or S to get that shot of the switchbacks. This partially explains my pedestrian pictures. Starting out at 2 AM, time is so short (to return by dark) and I am so focused on getting to the summit I do not bother to go a little off trail to look around. Maybe next Aug-Sept, my 3 rd time, me and my friends will consider getting overnite permits and start at trail camp on summit day, make trail crest real early and spend more time looking around (and use a tripod).

By the way, I was going to dump my S45 in favor of something that could use rechargeable AA, but if you get that many pics with the newer models, maybe I'll take a look at the new S80.

--Patrick

I just got the S80. Seems like the pics are a little out of focus on the side (wide angle). I still have to play around with it. I don't think I had that problem with the S70.

I agree the NB-2LH battery lasts twice as long as the regular batteries. I can go 2 days with the view finder on, ~100 pix/day.

btw, nice photos and a great trip Rick!

Obviously, continuing off topic but mountain photography rewards us with all these great views....

The S80 takes the smaller storage cards and not the compact flash??? I don't want to invest in a whole new range of cards already having a nice collection of compact flash.

But also let us know about the sharpness - I have the A80 and have thought about moving up to the S70.

Might the improved battery life also be attributable to the new "film" format needing less power for "writes?"

Pat,

The spot I took those photos from was basically a dip as you say. It wasn't one of the tight windows. I can't recall ever stopping at this point before. I seem to have missed it every other time I was up there.

-Rick