Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board 16@0600 - MR->MT Loop - 04/04/09

Mt. Whitney from the plateau above LBSL.

Cold weather, with a bit of wind, made things go quickly on a climb up the Mountaineer's Route and then down the Main Trail. (I was back home well before dark!)

If my service provider ever gets my Internet connection back up, I'll post a link to the rest of the photos.

Here's the SPOTrack:

Thanks Bruno.

Yes. One Tele, one AT. They ended their climb at The Notch. The only other person I saw above LBSL was an author-to-be (whose name I don't recall (I'm old, I forget!)) who joined me on the Final 400. No sign of another soul from the summit down until just above the snowline, where I ran into a couple headed up to Lone Pine Lake for an overnight, who were wondering if the suffering would ever end. I told them yes, a few hundred up the snow was consolidated.

From what I've seen, if I were to carry gear up, it would be on the Main Trail side. TC to Lone Pine Lake is still do-able on fairly good coverage, with some really steep stuff in a few places. (Maybe this weekend?)(One nice thing about heading downhill, with lots of daylight, is the opportunity to explore. I down-climbed a section of the high route traverse below Candlelight that would make for a few thrilling turns on skis.)

My Internet service appears to be back online finally, so I'll start uploading photos when I get home from work.

Did you use snowshoes at all on the MR?

..and what were the conditions above the Notch?

I'm planning on heading up, perhaps doing your circuit April 23-25th.

Thanks,
Damon

I thought this would be a good time to do the MR when I heard the forecast on the way home from Baldy stating that the overnight low in Ridgecrest would be 33 degrees.

When I got to the Portal on Saturday morning, it was only 16 degrees. First item dropped from the pack: snowshoes! But, I had to add additional warm layers. I ended up doing most of the climb with five layers (two mid-weight base, fleece vest, hooded wind parka, light down jacket) on.

Conditions required me to use crampons from LBSL up. (Slid back down to the willows when I tried climbing the slope above without.)

The couloir above Iceberg had some really hard snow that required front-pointing. The top part is free of snow (for the most part).

There was a nice ramp leading up the crack on the left side start of the Final 400. (I thought it was as easy as it could possibly be.) The block steps to the left were snow free (for the most part). The crack below the traverse right provided some thrills as it was mixed climbing. Since I prefer snow to rock, I stayed in the center and followed the boot track that moved right as it headed to the summit slopes. The snow was hard enough that it made getting an axe shaft in a lot of work, but too soft for the pick to hold. (I work around this problem by removing the basket from one trekking pole. (The thinner profile penetrates easier and also helps my balance.)

I wouldn't have wanted to down-climb this, but the person I hooked up with at The Notch did.

Thanks for the beta.

This will be my first trip to Whitney. I've done winter ascents in the Tetons and spend my winters on vertical ice here in VT/NY/NH, but never Sierras.

I'm hoping I won't have to pick up snowshoes.

I edited my post above to correct the start up the Final 400. I went up the left side start.

My Internet connection at home is still down, so I haven't been able to upload any more of the photos. I have photos of all of the things described above, so I'll post specific photos as soon as I can.

Bruno's right. A lot will probably change in the next few weeks.

Thanks for all the info. Would love to see some photos.

The snow line is receding fast here too -- that time of year.

I'll be making my final decision on route the day I head out, 23rd. I'm planning on a few days of enjoying the backcountry.

D

Spindrift on the south-facing slope up to Iceberg Lake.


David (didn't know his name yet) in the upper section of the Couloir.


Snow ramp leading up to the crack that's the Left Side Start of the Final 400.


David at the crux crack below the snowfield (Final 400).


The two alternate routes to the summit plateau.


David on the snowfield.


David on the exit ramp.

I'll post a link to the photo album after the rest of the pictures upload overnight. (There's nearly 300!)

Nice pictures so far Richard.

Since I'm still up trying to catch up on four albums worth of uploads:

http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/gallery/7810820_F6tfr

Lots of photos that are mostly of interest in those looking to see what the conditions are like. Loads of melt-off on the traverse from the summit to Trail Crest.

These photos are great, thanks for posting.

I'm hoping conditions will be similar for my trip.

Thanks. I may be up there again this weekend and we're definitely entering the busy periond, so there should be lots of updates.

Those are great photos! I'm headed up the Mountaineer's Route at the end of the month with a few others and your photos really help guage the type of conditions we might see. We'll be taking our time though 2-3 night stay.

Great Job!