Well two trips to the portal this week , we are lucky ? snow level is below normal, now on the road before the campground the snow is melting out, and the south facing slopes are clearing, from the top switchback on the road you can see the cable area and the top switchbacks --onto trailcrest and the area that should be solid snow is somewhat clear.
So what does that mean, the snow we did get blew off the ridge and is around the 11,000 to 12,000 elev. drifted many feet deep. So early trips say mid April to Mid June may have snow , rock and tree wells ,no trail and a thousand track made by hikers that don't know the area and will just make tracks either to the bathroom or somewhere.
March most years can be a wet season as April and May and we will have one last snow storm early to mid June , Last year a dry year I think June 10 we had 8 inches fall in the Portal.
OK so now the permit , I suggest avoiding the Mountain until the trail clears and that should be around the 3 week of June.Same goes for October wild card period hot clear days or major first season dumps. Now if you live say in the local area great you can come back next year. BUT if you are traveling hundreds of miles ,plane fare, work vacation and that is the period "THEY GAVE YOU" wonder why no one picked those dates?
And the last bit of dribble Gear stores want to sale you clampons, spikes,snow shovels , beacons, probes, Aqualungs or anything else they haven't been able to sale over the winter. All of these are great products ,but maybe not for you! Hold off till you don't need specialized gear. Hulda Crooks walked up the mountain when she was 91 when the trail was clear.
Between now and when the trail clears you will hear a thousand different questions . Rely on pictures for your best information,and reports of when people turned around and why.The people reaching the summit may have winter mountaineering skills, live in the colder climates and have many years of snow travel experience.
Hey Thanks for your time .Jeff M just reworked the message board and added more options for the web cam check them out , The one image I focus on is the one that allows you to zoom ,this options takes you into the canyons and gives one an hour by hour look at what the melt is doing or storms moving in/out. And weather links to the National Weather Service . Ok so that GD weather question thing. Please look at White Mountain on our site White mountain is about 100 miles north But a 14,000' reporting station , the best you will get for Whitney! WHY because it will report conditions most often harsher than what we get so if you like "those conditions"... 150 MPH gust -18 degrees Check it out .Thanks
