Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board SWITCHBACKS

I am leading a group of seven hikers on August 10. Just how much snow/ice is there at the top of the switchbacks? I have experience in snow travel, however my teammates DO NOT. This will be their first time/first summit attempt. Any feedback and pictures will be a great help so I can relay to my team! Thank you.

See my trip report from July 29. There are actually two areas with snow. At the top of the switchbacks just before trail crest, that you mentioned, and again just below the summit. Neither is very long, I'm guessing about 20 to 30 feet each. We had no problems crossing with hiking poles. It is also possible to go above the snow on the switchbacks, but that footing looked loose. Everybody in my party is from Wisconsin, so we are familar with walking in snow, but none of us have mountaineering experinence. We had no problems crossing. I would recommend using hiking poles and taking it slow.

rlvanden is right. I was up there on Sunday, and both patches should be totally passable with hiking poles, and will probably be a lot smaller in 10 days. Just take it slow...the only people I saw who had problems were those rushing down.

Thank you for the reports. I am familiar with the "wedge" near the summit. Was bad on August 6, 2004 and non-existent on August 5, 2005. One way traffic! Now, if Mother Nature would only cooperate and cease and desist with the strange weather patterns! I remember last year after summitting that I forwarded a trail report to another group of hikers and it snowed! Snow Melting Gods oh answer my prayers for my teammates!

Hey 'Tude:

If necessary, and in addition to the use of trekking poles, YakTrax might be a good call for those still feeling a little uneasy about that section. They're easy to use, as they stretch over boots/shoes, and the steel coils provide an additional "bite" into the icy-slick conditions.

Nine days and counting to your crew's ascent. See you at the junction for our run up to Horseshoe Meadows.

BruinDave

BruinDave: Let me borrow yours then! Naw. Never mind. I need the early snow traverse practice in August! Snow traversing in August? Snow Melting Gods answer my prayers. What would Danu Sherpa do? TeamBruin do the walk on 8/11! I will definitely give you a trail report with pictures on my digital when we finish our hike.

I'll just observe there's no way Bruin Dave's not gonna make it this time - the guy's been waiting for his "second chance" (even though he never got the first) over a year now. Those in front of him might do well to keep an eye in their rear view mirrors since you're apt to get run over by a speeding pair of Bruins (I'm guessing Bruin Jane's about as hyped up for the adventure as he is). Dave, I hope you get outstanding weather for the journey - that's the only thing that could derail you this time. To the Top, Dave and Jane! Sincere Good Luck Wishes
"Brickie"

Thanks, Brick. Yeah, we're more than a little fired up for this ... but we're gonna ratchet it down a bit and keep it in a low gear to ensure our speed stays measured and steady. To the top and back safely is our goal, and cooperative weather is our wish.

And we truly appreciate your good luck wishes, all the way from Houston.

This was taken yesterday.

<img src=http://img.clubphoto.com/xyzzy/4600497/19/480/id10t/pebkac.jpg>

Is that the section just before Trail Crest? If so, from my recollection it's changed quite a bit from Jul 28 when the snow covered the rocks to the left and below that section.

Here's an example of another thing we can thank Bob R for. He cut that path thru the snow on the 19th. He was hoping others would follow, including me, but I was more interested in keeping my running shoes dry, so I headed up an over like most other people were doing at the time.

Yes, this is the section just before trail crest.

Many thanks for the picture. Heck, it ain't that bad!