Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Down the dreaded sand hill

I am planning our first trip to summit whitney and will be traveling with one other adult and three 16-17 year olds. Our plan is to spend the first night at the trail camp, then summit whitney the next day. However, we want to head south down the dreaded sand hill and into the miter basin after summiting. I really want to know how sketchy it will be descending the sand hill. I thought we would traverse a bit to the west to get above the oulet of the lake, then cut back to the east, around the lake, and up and over crabtree pass. I would greatly appreciate any thoughts from those of you with experience in the area. thanks in advance!

Here is a link to the report by Sangster. He went up to Discovery Pinnacle from Upper Crabtree Lake. He describes his trip up the Dreaded Sand Hill. You have probably read this already

http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/49795/page/1#Post49795


We took a different route through the sand hill. You could consider taking that route in reverse direction.

http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/49311/page/11#Post49311

Rick Kent has been down the sand hill....you might want to drop him a line @ rick@rickkent.net

For my first trip up to Whitney, I went in via New Army Pass, up Miter Basin, over Crabtree Pass and up the Grand Sand Hill. And back out the same way. I am starting a movement for a name change from Dreaded Sand Hill to Grand Sand Hill. This fine geologic feature deserves better. I loved this scree slope. The views from up there are well, grand. Descending should not be a problem. From Discovery Pinnacle just head south-southwest towards the outlet of Upper Crabtree Lake. You'll want to strap on the gaiters here. At first the slope is fairly gradual and you can take large loping strides. Around 13200 the slope steepens just a little bit. At the worst, if you were to stumble here the result would be a slow slide in the scree for a few yards. As you descend, keep angling for the lake outlet. You'll go through some boulder fields as you get to lake level. There are nice flat slabs at the lake outlet for resting or camping. You will have to traverse around the north shore through large boulders to get to the base of Crabtree Pass. A fair bit of scrambling will get you to the top of Crabtree Pass. One hour maybe. As you're ascending, if you bear slightly to right you will come to an open slope relatively free of rock. This is hard packed scree. Steep, but easy to get up, and will take you to the top of the pass. You can see this route form the Grand Sand Slope. It looks like a big skid mark. Take a photo of it on the way down and use it as a reference. My only suggestion is, if you are tired or its late when you get to the lake, camp there on the slabs at the outlet. You may also find a couple of spots for tents at the other end of the lake at the base of Crabtree Pass. Point is, do not try to ascend Crabtree Pass in the dark. The hike down Miter Basin/Rock Creek drainage is straightforward and beautiful.

Sounds perfect! thanks for the info. Knowing it's not too big of an ordeal takes the edge off. I'll let you know how it turns out. Off to the Grand Sand Slope!

Going down the Sand Hill to the outlet of upper Crabtee lakes is fairly straight forward. In fact on the way down the loose sand is a big advantage.

It was up that earned the hill its name "dreaded"....for all the work it is. It was never considered bad on the way down.

Pat,

The previous posts provide you with some good information. For what its worth here's my additional two cents. My perspective is based on my 2003 trip in which we took your planned route in the opposite direction. In other words, we went up the Sand Hill. On that trip we summited Langley, Muir and Whitney. Three Fourteeners in three days. Our third day included going up the Sand Hill, summiting Muir and Whitney and then hiking all the way out to the Portal.

After spending the night at Trail Camp you have to haul your full packs up to Discovery Pinnacle. This uphill segment through the switchbacks will require more effort than going down the Sand Hill. The good thing is you will be making the heavy uphill haul in the morning while your group is fresh and full of energy. On your way up the Main Trail to Whitney, you can drop your packs or at least some weight before Trail Crest, just below Discovery Pinnacle.

The downside is that you will be headed west down the Sand Hill in the heat of the afternoon sun.

I too contemplated trying to avoid losing the altitude by going around Upper Crabtree on the east side. This seemed feasible when looking at maps before the trip. Once you're there you'll see that it would be a very challenging class 3/4 scramble at the higher altitude around the east side of the lake. I don't believe there is an easy way to carry packs and avoid descending to Upper Crabtree and then climbing back up to Crabtree Pass. I don't recall the elevation differences but it seems like its several hundered feet. Catpappy's description of the route is excellent. If you follow Catpappy's described route and angle toward the outlet of Upper Crabtree you will find that after the slope gets steeper there is a downsloping bench that makes a ramp that leads right to the camping sites at the nice flat slabs.

Between Crabtree Pass and Mitre Basin you have to pass through two basins, one at a small un-named lake and one at Sky Blue Lake. These make two more substantial up-and-downs in the vertical profile of the route.

Going up the Sand Hill was definitely a workout, but I'm glad that I did it. Going down shouldn't be too bad. I really enjoyed Upper Crabtree. We only saw one other person between Soldier Lake and Discovery Pinnacle. That one person was a backcountry Ranger. I hope that you enjoy your trip.

-Rick

I really appreciate the additional information. I know the switchbacks will be a challenge, but we do plan to drop packs at the top and carry only water and a snack to the summit. We'll see how everybody is feeling, we may camp on the slabs at Upper Crabtree or push on towards Sky Blue Lake. Either way I know it will be awesome. One last question for anyone, I understand there is some water on the switchbacks to fill our bags...does that supply run all summer or will it dry up in August. Thanks again!! Pat. P.S. Anybody has questions about the Tahoe/Desolation area I would be happy to help.