Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Our first time to Whitney...couple ?'s for the experienced (MR route)..

We're planning pretty much the same route and itinerary for late July:

Day 1) Bay Area to Yosemite. All hotels in Yosemite are already booked from June to August. A room at the Ahwahnee, if it is available, costs $371 per night plus a 10% hotel tax. Ken, do you remember the names of the good B&Bs outside of the park? We don't want to stay at the Cedar (Cary Stayner) Lodge.
Day 2) Climb Half Dome via the Mist Trail.
Day 3) Travel to Mammoth Lakes. Take day trails at Tuolumne Meadows.
Day 4) Take the trail to Garnet and Thousand Island Lakes. This is a good high altitude training hike.
Day 5) Travel to Whitney Portal. Stay at the Dow Villa or other motel. Scope out the Whitney Mountain Route (MR); find the way to the Ledges and Lower Boy Scout Lake.
Day 6) Take the MR up and the main trail down in a day hike.
Day 7) Back to the Bay Area.

BeachAV8R, good luck on your trip.

If at all possible, you must do Yosemite. You'll never forget it. There's one special one-of-a-kind cabin in Curry Village which will only run you about one-third of the room at the Awahanee. If you can even get it (it is also usually reserved a good deal in advance, but there are occasional cancellations), it is Cabin No. 816 or 819 (I forget which, but there is only one of them, and if you tell the person with whom you are making the reservation those cabin numbers and that it is a stand-alone cabin, they will likely know the cabin you are asking about, as well as the correct number). We stayed there once -- well worth it.

Beach, you have probably already seen this web page about Longs Pk beta. The Mtr rt seems to be a bit more mellow. When I looked up at the chute from Iceberg Lake the first time, I remembered an elderly woman telling me not to let it intimidate me, so I didn't and had a great time. http://www.summitpost.com/show/mountain_link.pl/mountain_id/138

A romantic B&B, hmm... Several years ago we discovered a place called the Yosemite Peregrine, which is located in a development called Yosemite West, a private tract of homes about a fifteen minute drive from the valley. This is their website address:

http://www.yosemiteperegrine.com/

The innkeepers are the former judge magistrate of the Yosmemite court, Don Pitts, who presided there for 19 years, and his wife Kay, who has taught X-C skiing and is an artist. The place was built from the ground up as a B&B, and she decorated all of the rooms is a very unique and attractive way. They are great people, Don is, how should I put it... "colorful" (we expected a scholarly judge, but he turned out to be more of an old Jerry Garcia biker type, fun with some good stories). The main disadvantage to this place is that it is outside the valley, but still an easy commute. While a little pricey, it certainly beats the rate they charge at the Ahwahnee, and you also get wine, cheese, and crackers in the evening on the porch that faces the setting sun, a first-class breakfast, good conversation with others who stay there, and great hosts.

Wherever you stay I would recommend just visiting the Ahwahnee, as the rooms are nothing spectacular, I think they charge the prices they do for "atmosphere" and history which you can certainly get for free just by walking around the place for awhile.

Since you want to go to Las Vegas anyway, why not fly there? The drive from Las Vegas to Lone Pine via Red Rock and Death Valley is incredibly scenic, and you will have FAR less traffic to deal with than you would from LA, SF, or Sacramento.

Cabins can be rented at Rock Creek and Convict Lake. Yosemite Valley, Mono Lake tufa, Devil's Postpile, and Ancient Bristlecone Pines are just a few of the main attractions. There are also a bunch of natural hot springs. If you are coming into Lone Pine from the north, I highly recommend doing your acclimitization hikes in the Little Lakes Valley, South Lake, Lake Sabrina, and/or Big Pine Creek.

September in Yosemite is a great time. The crowds are much less, and the heat of the summer is usually gone.

I had forgotten Rock Creek lodge, a good choice to stay, and access to high dayhikes.

A good resource is www.395.com, which has info on a lot of stuff.

Thanks again for the suggestions..I checked out the Ahwahnee site..and while beautiful it probably does top out way above the maximum range of what I would consider (the Baldpate Inn was $160 a night..I was cool with that). I like the idea of stopping by Yosemite..and perhaps staying a night in that area.

Crag - We could fly into Vegas, but I'd like to plan this as a "through trip" and not an out and back. Since I've never been to Vegas I figure it will be a nice pampered "end of the trail" for us after our several days on Whitney and the day hikes prior. Also..never having been inland from SFO I think it will be a pleasant little cross-country journey for us.

I haven't worked out the mileage from SFO to Lone Pine...anyone know offhand the distance? Edit: Just did a Mapblast search and it says about 360 miles..

Ah..a long summer of planning lies ahead!

Thanks again for all the "leads"..now off to the Yosemite Peregrine web site...

BeachAV8R

You could also just have dinner or drinks at the Ahwahnee. Even if you don't stay there, it is worth a visit just to sit by one of the fireplaces. Also, go into the back of the fireplace rooms where they have pictures and descriptions from the early days of climbing in the valley - Royal Robins, Yves Chounard, etc. and some of their first ascents. In September, you should be able to stay in a tent cabin or the Yosemite Lodge on the Valley floor - they are not expensive.

The main valley in Yosemite is an hour or so off your route to 395 from SF. The direct route takes you through Tuolome Meadows. There are some cabins and tent camps up there that would be nice and not expensive. Another option, would be to get a wilderness permit (half reserved in advance and the rest by walkup) and camp at Cathedral Lake. It is a pretty short hike and a beautiful spot. You can also easily do it as a day hike and just stay in a cabin or tent closer to the road.

You can always stop in at the wilderness permit stone house in tuolumne and ask for a backcountry permit for tomorrow to anywhere in Yosemite. These are always available and free. With this in hand you can then stay at the backpacker camp in tuolumne-($5.00/night) and this way you don't have to have a reservation if the campground proper is full.This way you can always have a nice place to stay in Yosemite without any advanced notice. This also works at the Valley backpacker campground behind the stables.You do have to walk in, and have a tent, but its nice to be legal, and who needs a car for a few hours, just park it.. I've met some of the best people this way.

Rock Creek Lodge is a great place to stay. About 8m off hwy395 from Toms Place. Drive an additional 2m to the Mosquito Flat trailhead, the highest T H in the Sierra at 10,440 great place to acclimate. http://www.rockcreeklodge.com/winter.htm

mark: you can get a wilderness permit, but that will not let you "go anywhere in Yosemite". They have trail head quotas at most of the major areas in Tuolome and the valley and you need a trail permit for those specific areas as well.

I think Mark's point was that if you are in possession of a permit of any kind, then you qualify to use the backpacker's campground....his meaning was that it was irrelevant where the permit was to, as it was not actually being used to hike, but to get a camping space.

Thank you Ken,
That is exactly the point I thought I had made. You did a nice job of clearing up my botched attempt of divulging a Yosemite secret.

Beach, in your original post you asked for info from someone who's been up both the Keyhole route on Longs and the MR on Whitney. Having just climbed the MR last week, I can now speak to both. I've been up Longs multiple times and just once up the MR. If your friend found the "narrows" intimidating, which it certainly can be, then you should know that there are equally intimidating and exposed portions on the MR. The intimidation of the exposure can get to anyone, regardless of experience. Much of the "fear factor" can be reduced when the exposed portions of the route aren't too tricky. The narrows is a relatively easy stretch with alot of exposure. Some of the exposed portions of the MR, namely the traverse to the summit from the notch, and the staircase, can be somewhat tricky AND are exposed. In my opinion, they are more intimidating than the "narrows" on Longs; BUT, that being said, they are very commonly used routes that many find to be well within their limits and tolerances. Refferencing your friend's reaction to the narrows, suggests that you may want to reduce her qualms about these portions of the MR by simply using a rope and belaying her for these short stretchs. Most don't use a rope on this route during the season you are planning on climbing, but there is nothing in the books that says that you can't. You'll love Whitney and the MR is spectacular!

As mentioned by others, overall September in Yosemite is great! However, on our most recent trip there (which was in September 2003), deliberate burning/culling of underbrush was being conducted (which I hear is an annual occurrence around the same time every year?) which made for very smoke-filled and unpleasant conditions -- inhaling the stuff, the smell of smoke lingering in your car long after you've left the area, and a significant pollution of the normally wonderful view. Also, because September is also one of the driest months there, Yosemite Falls was totally dry and nonexistent (not the first time we've seen it that way this time of year), and the few other remaining falls were very low -- way below their normal spring/early summer fullness. All of that said, if I had to chose between going to Yosemite in these conditions, or not going at all, I would still go -- especially if you've never been there before. Hopefully, you'll "luck out" with the fire control stuff and the resulting smoke. This same smoke problem stayed with us off and on all the way southbound on 395, including Whitney and Horseshoe Meadows.

Thanks for the great information...and thanks John T for the comparison between Longs Peak and the MR. I've been spending the past few days looking at online trip reports and photos of the MR and it's really hard to draw any conclusions because some people depict it as a fairly straight-forward climb with some hand and foot scrambling, while others are shown wedged into cracks going up 7 or 8 foot boulders....so it's hard to tell which pictures more accurately reflect the route..

Definitely a lot more research will be required. I'm not so much concerned about my own abilities but my girlfriend is definitely a bit more sketchy about anything more difficult than Longs Peak. Could be one of those things where we just go and try, take look and decide what our comfort level is..

Thanks for all the tips and advice..they really help!

Regards..
BeachAV8R

Beach- the reason that you see so much variation on the information and pictures about the MR is that it is not really a trail, but a general area to climb the mountain. For example, the Ebersbacher Ledges, the most exposed part of the climb in my view (it is about halfway from the bottom to Lower Boy Scout Lake) can be avoided entirely if you want to bushwack up the canyon. The final chute to the summit is actually a series of chutes and all can be avoided entirely by taking the traverse (which is very risky if icy). If you take the left/first chute, it can be easy, non-exposed scrambling or more challenging class 3+ depending on which path you chose. To put it in perspective, I took my son up it on one of his first big climbs when he was 12 and did not rope up (and my wife made it clear if he came back with any damage I would be in deep stuff, if he didn't come back, I better not either). I am a very conservative climber with kids (I have roped some up on the E ledges) and felt very comfortable with him unroped in the chute. However, I have climbed Whitney several times by the MR and knew exactly what path to take (see Bob R's photos from last summer showing the start on the left side of the chute, traversing to the right about halfway and fininishing on the right). That said, you should climb within your own (and your girlfriend's) ability. Going up and taking a look after reading all available information (and getting help from others that you will inevitably meet up there as well as from Doug in the store) is a good plan. You could even take along a length of rope - say 30-40 feet - and some harnesses just in case you decide to use them. As long as your primary goals are safety and having fun and the summit is just upside, you should be fine.

Thanks for the info Sierra Sam..indeed we are going on the trip just for the beauty and challenge of hiking the high country (esp. coming from the low country!)..the summit is a bonus if we make it.

About roping up...I haven't been to any formal alpine classes, so I'd be hesitant to rope up unless I take some classes before then. Nothing worse than a person with good equipment that doesn't know how to use it..! The exposure doesn't much bother me, but for my better half I really have to consider the route careful and she looks to me to make the decisions on route selection during the pre-hike planning. To me, the MR sounds right down our alley...challenging but totally doable without true "technical" climbing skills.

With the input from this thread, and continued searching of the old threads, I feel I'm starting to put together a good concept of how the hike/climb will be. This is a great resource...!

Thanks again..

BeachAV8R

Last year was abnormal as fire was concerned. The underbrush clearing that CT speaks of goes on all the time. The FS just started controlled burns in the Lake Tahoe Basin and as a result the whole lake was obscured earlier this week.I heard somewhere that the FS believes there to be enough fuel on the ground of California's forests to have ten of the so called "100 year fires".
Another problem last year was the emergence of our beloved arsonists who seemed to come out in droves. Already arsonists have started their "work" in the Sierra Foothills around the Auburn and Grass Valley area's. I'm sure it would suprise no one to learn that Yosemite, at the height of the summer tourist season, has air that is so polluted it rivals some of America's smogiest cities. Inyo County just received a "C" grade from the EPA for it's smoggy air.And to top it off Tuolumne County, where Yosemite is located, recieved an "F" grade for having 56 days of unhealthy air last year. Coincedentally, Kern and Tulare Counties, which are on the western slope of the Sierra parallel with Bishop and Lone Pine, had 212 and 221 days of unhealthy air last year, respectively. Cough, Cough, Sniffle!

A short length of rope could also come in handy when you are descending the E ledges. Your girlfriend might be a little uncomfortable in a couple of sections climbing down with a heavy pack. WIth a rope, you can just lower her pack a few feet with no problem. ALso, suggest that you pay careful attention, and perhaps build a few cairns on the way up those ledges, so you can find your route on the way back down them.

Another tip: when you are coming up to UpperBoy Scout Lake, take a hard left (the path up can be a little hard to see there). If you start to walk past UBS lake, you will not be able to get to Iceberg lake. Definitely get a topo map and mark your route, then double check with Doug in the store who will give you many helpful tips. You might also consider buying a GPS and some topo software to mark several waypoints in the GPS. I think that people have posted their GPS waypoints for the MR previously on this board and would probably do so again if you asked.