Trip Report – Wed Sept 10My buddy and I hiked Mt Whitney on Wednesday, Sept 10th. It was my 8th ascent to the summit and John’s 5th summit. We had each carefully prepared and planned for this year’s hike as we are both very aware of the challenges associated with reaching the top. Preparations for this year’s hike included numerous day hikes of the local southern CA Mountains (San Jacinto, San Gorgonio, and Mt Baldy) and several days of acclimation in the Sierra’s. This year’s trip itinerary was expanded to include hikes in Red’s Meadow on the JMT and a great hike to Kearsarge Pass out of Onion Valley. Based upon our successful summits in previous years, and the work we had invested in this year’s trip - we felt we were very ready for anything the mountain could throw at us.
We arrived at the Portal on Monday and noticed some weather and clouds, so we decided to get up an hour earlier than usual. We awoke at 2:00 and were on the trail at exactly 3:00 am. We weighed our packs at the trail head (9 lbs and 18 lbs) and headed up the trail. We marched with headlights in darkness until the sun rose and we removed our headlamps just below Trail Camp.
We had researched the subject of trail water options and we decided to use a different plan this year. This year’s plan called for us to obtain water from the spring water flow at switchback 25 (rather than the lake at Trail Camp as we had in previous years). We walked past Trail Camp and began climbing the infamous switchbacks. I counted off the switchbacks and we quickly observed that the water that normally trickles and flows at switchback 25 was totally and 100% frozen. There was absolutely no water to be found! We reviewed the situation and agreed that John might be able to summit with his remaining water, but I would have no chance (I was the smart guy with only 9 lbs of pack weight of course). Not wanting to retreat to the lake at Trail Camp, we discussed other options. We noticed a snow field to the south of the switchbacks. We scrambled across the scree and boulder field and discovered that there was some water flowing under the boulders – unfortunately the water flow was almost unreachable. The good news was my partner had brought a pump (he was the dummy that carried 18 lbs). John climbed UNDER a boulder and carefully pumped water to refill our water supply. With a quick bite to eat we were ready to move on. We surveyed the area and the view of the summit and we both remarked that it was interesting to note the wisp of clouds that had just moved in to the sky between us and the summit. It was getting noticeably colder so I took two minutes to zip pant leg bottoms on to my shorts.
The skies continued to darken as we finished the switchbacks and approached Trail Crest - but with our reviews of the National Weather Service weather forecasts we were confident no threat of electrical storms was present (after all the forecast had called for 51 degrees and sunshine!). We took pictures at the Trail Crest sign and decided to move on to the summit. The weather continued to get even “more interesting” as we traversed the trail toward the summit. At times visibility dropped to 50 feet. The view of the Eastern Sierra’s was extremely limited and the MW summit was never visible on the traverse. We encountered few hikers during this part of the trip. Eventually we made the last right hand turn and ascended the last section of trail leading to the summit. We signed the book and took a number of pictures. The cloud coverage opened up for a few minutes of partial sunshine, but the clouds darkened within minutes. Standing on the summit, I noticed it was starting to snow / hail. With this observation, we both decided it was time to head on down.
We passed numerous hikers walking up the last section of the trail. My buddy and I both commented that this day’s group of hikers seemed to be loaded with very strong hikers and very absent of weaker hikers. As we walked back toward the first window, the winds began to increase and the snow or hail increased significantly. The trail was soon covered with the little white hail balls. The footing got worse – but we continued to see hikers still heading toward the summit. Many of these hikers appeared to be unprepared for the weather and the conditions on the mountain this day. As I passed them, I treasured my hooded Gore-Tex jacket and I loved my windproof gloves and I was VERY happy I had full length pants - I wondered how these people with no gloves, and no hat, and a few with shorts could possibly venture this far to summit a mountain that would surely be there the next day.
Eventually we reached the Trail Crest sign and we snapped another picture. This picture was taken just a few short hours after the picture we had taken on the way up but it sure reveals a whole different side of weather. The weather changed DRAMATICALLY in these few short hours. We met a couple at the Trail Crest sign, and they stood there at the sign and examined the weather and decided they would turn around and not attempt to summit. My buddy and I discussed this decision and what we would have done. We agreed that we were glad that we did not have to make this decision. We had planned and prepared so much that I am not sure I would have made the right decision.
We descended through the switchbacks with the snow and hail still coming down at a heavy rate. When we dropped several hundred feet below Trail Camp the snow finally subsided and it dried up. I was pleasantly surprised to see no rain. We walked the rest of the way down and finished the day's hike in just under 12 hours. After cleaning up we drove down to Lone Pine where it was a nice and pleasant 75 – 80 degrees.
In closing, it was a wonderful hike. We met lots of interesting people (experienced AT Thru-Hikers from Indiana, 2 ladies that had just completed 7 weeks of hiking the Sierra back country, and lots of fellow hikers from Southern CA). The weather made for a very memorable hike. This year’s hike was different than all previous editions. I had heard before how the weather can change at the top. I am now a believer!
hikerneil
so we trudged on to the top.