Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board East Buttress of Whitney

Does anyone know if the East Buttress of Whitney has been climbed this year? We have permits for the 1st of June and the original plan was to climb the East Buttress, but because of the conditions I am not sure how feasible that is? It seems that there might some snow/ice here and there on the route but for the most part there shouldn’t be any problem. Is this correct thinking? Can anyone advise me one way or the other on the potential of the East Buttress route with these winter conditions? Thanks for any help, Whitney

I did the E. Butt last summer at the start of June. When I was there, we started the climb in t-shirts and by the time we were done needed every piece of clothing we had brought. The temperature droped to 5F that night and it snowed as low as the ledges the next day. Be prepared for adverse conditions. There was a lot of snow this year but I don't think the e butt will be a problem. If anything the E face is more likely to have snow. The snow will cause more of a problem on the way down the mr. route than up the e butt I suspect.

Matt