Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board One day Summit 11/25/06

Current Trail conditions? I am going to head up and do a one day summit on Friday. I am hoping for cooler temps, and snow on the mountain.

Anyone have a condition report or photos from the last few days?

Hi I went to the Portal last night 45 degrees at 10 PM won't last it was cold in town this AM Rockwell et al passed by heading west about 8AM so watch for a trip report from the group. High winds always override other conditions If it cold, if it's icy, if it's dark, if it's snowing etc. a 60 mph wind will stop the best of them, making travel even downhill very hard.
I might try to make sense out of our weather, we see patterns , when the weather changes wind will always come first moving the system in once the systems arrives calm conditions it maybe snowing, raining or clear skies but the storm center is in the area and this is the most stable period we have, you know what is happening, the next cycle is the wind will start moving the storm out and will remain windy until the "storm" clears now this cycle can last several hours or several days and very little clue when/where these cycles will happen.

The best we see from the weather reports in the last few years is the drop in temps and wind conditions, but if you watch the ridge line for blowing snow and the sky for sun dogs you are better off knowing the local conditions for the next few days. If you need a weather report watch the Bay area reports and into San Jaquin Valley this gives you direction and speed of storm travel , IE winds 60 mph will bring a storm from the coast to the Sierra in several hours what happens when it hits the range is the wild card, summer storms tend to move from the Gulf so watch the weather around Arizona as we tend to catch the tail of those storms, very heavy rains and as Sept/Oct the cold air mass has dropped from the north and this sets the arena for very heavy snow fall.
Now people talk about the every afternoon thunder storms, that must be somewhere else , we may have 3-4 days a summer that a storm sits over the area but the rain is as likely at 3 AM as 3PM. The best I have come up with the weather is Expect the worst and do not rely on any forcast, We closed this year as normal we could still be at the Portal WAITING TO GET ICED IN as has happened before .

Have a good trip. Thanks Doug

Yes, it is somewhere else.

For years I have read with some bemusement the many posts warning about afternoon summer thunderstorms on Mt. Whitney. Expecting the usual suspects to jump on me again for trivializing (their perception) a potentially dangerous situation, I will nevertheless state the observation that, yes, they can occur—but history tells me they are less common than more, even in the prime period of mid-July to the end of August. Besides, with the state of weather forecasting nowadays, we can have a pretty good general advance idea when they are likely and when not.

I have never let the threat of a thunderstorm deter me from attempting the climb, and I have never had to turn around because of one materializing. Bottom line: Be aware that they can occur, check the forecast before you strike out, and be ready to descend quickly if the conditions warrant. But think positively, and plan as if the weather will be fine. You will be right way more often than you will be wrong.

The Sierra Nevada is not the Colorado Rockies.

Last July I was at the Portal and the Whitney trail for 4 days and every afternoon there were thunderstorms, and they were only in the afternoon. One afternoon about a half a dozen people got struck by lightning near the summit. No serious injuries. As I recall, there were afternoon thunderstorms in the days just before I arrived too. Someone said that during this time there was a guy named Joe Btfsplk who was making daily trips to hike Mount Whitney only in the afternoons.

Bob Ktfsplk

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</TD>
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<FONT FACE="Arial"><font size="2">JOE BTFSPLK</FONT><FONT FACE="Arial"><font size="2">
is very simply the world's biggest jinx. He walks around with
a perpetually dark rain cloud a foot over his head. Once he appears on any scene, dreadfully bad luck befalls anyone in his vicinity.

Though well-meaning and gentle, his reputation inevitably precedes him, so Joe is a very lonely and feared little man.

He is also a character with an apparently unpronounceable name, but creator Al Capp pronounced Btfsplk with a "raspberries" sound, also known as a "Bronx cheer."</FONT>
</TD>

And as Mammy Yokum once famously said: "Good is better than evil, 'cause it's nicer!"

Wasn't there a similar fellow on the Flintstones named Schleprock? I think I saw him up there in July of 2004. He ruined my hike. But I must agree with Bob R, most of my experiences in the Sierras in the summertime have been pretty uneventful as far as late afternoon thunderstorms are concerned.

Well, I obviously did not ask a clear questions. was looking for a late November trip report and photos.

I got thunderstorms and Flinestones?
Oh well,

I made the trip 11/24. In a nut shell, cold, Icy and 2 other people and a bear above LP lake.

Climb high Climb often.

happy holidays

<a href="http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewphoto.asp?ID=74774"><img src="http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/sendbinarydb.aspx?ID=74774&width=300" align="right" vspace="6" hspace="25"></a>People get a bit weird on this message board this time of year.

I made the summit on Sunday (11/26) before the latest weather system rolled in. On Sat night I think I was probably the only person on the North Fork side. Very cold. Lakes frozen. Lots of ice. Left over turkey was frozen and frosty. Not easy to eat. Didn't see a soul on Sunday.

-Rick

Sorry Bunkn8r. Didn't realize that you don't have a sense of humor. I will keep that in mind next time you post. Hope your trip went well. Are you going to give us a trip report and photos?

A couple people have mentioned problems with their food freezing. I can't recall having that experience while backpacking but I did have a Power Bar freeze up on me while skiing. Like ceramic tile. I put it inside my jacket to soften it. I guess there must be a reason why that wasn't tried and I'm curious. Thanks.

Bob, it's hard to keep two quarts of gatorade inside you jacket and it would have been even more difficult to fit three foot-long Subway sandwiches in there!

If I had known it was going to be as cold as it was, I would have chosen different "squirrel food" (didn't want to carry a stove) and would have carried powder instead of liquid (four pounds doesn't bother me until it becomes dead weight).

One of the reasons that I like Gatorade type drinks is that I can get some calories even if I don't feel like eating solid food.

<img border="5" src="http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/photos/112965195-S.jpg"

My attempt to thaw my frozen food and drink.