Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Conditions on June 1-3

I received my permit dates today as referenced. As the snowpack this year is considerable can anyone offer some idea as to trail conditions on these dates? Snowshoes, Crampons, Ice Axe,Condions above trail camp?? I will be staying at Portal one night, moving to Outpost, and summitting from there on the third day.

we were there last year on May 31st-June2nd, buut then the snowpack was less than it is this year. Trail conditions can be seen here:

http://homepage.mac.com/tobiasdansen

I think we were lucky with the nice wather though: I ve see worse reports for that dates

jolly green,

I went up last year in the middle of June.Trail conditions were good.The cables weren't in yet and the ice was over the trail and real scary to negotiate thru,plus it was my first time and I was solo.I think this year should have alot more snow and ice and you will probably need crampons,ice axe....if you're lucky

With current conditions and long range forecast for more to come, you may have several options in early June. Conditions can change rapidly that time of year so staying in touch with this board should help. My guess is that you would need crampons and ice ax. I would thing the trail will be packed out enough that you may be able to forgo the snow shoes. If you’re comfortable with climbing in snow you may even be able to hike straight up the chute from trail camp to trail crest. Many times there is a well-formed staircase for most of that route.

Wonderful photos, Tobias! What kind of camera do you use?

You might also want to think about making your "exit" early in the morning. From late morning on, during this time of the year, you'll be post holing wherever the sun hits the snow (unless you happen to go up during a cold snap).

i am coming up from the other side that same weekend. we will be at the summit on the 4th. we will be coming through crabtree meadows, up from guitar lake, and to the summit and then down the other side to WP. as of now, we are planning on taking crampons, ice axes, and snowshoes. i am assuming that we will be encountering MORE snow than tobias did last year (per his photos and year over year snowpack comparisons).

Thanks to all for the replies to date.I agree with the approach that at this date and with conditions as they are crampons and an ice axe will be needed.I will evaluate as the date approches as to snow shoes. If anyone viewing this board will be on the mountain on 6/1-3 maybe we can pair up! A team approach might be advantageous, but if not I will still be climbing.

Great fotos Tobias. Somehow I think this year will be a little different!!
Thank you.

I love to be up on the mountain that time of year. Certainly it would be reasonable to assume you will have snow the first week of June above Trail camp. It could even be lower. One of our trips in late May during a heavy snowyear, we were in the snow most of the time above 10,000 feet.

The trick is knowing if you will need snowshoes in addition to your crampons and ice axe. If it is hot during the day postholing can be a real hassle without snowshoes. It is not that easy to do all of your travel in the snow early and late when the snow is harder.

Save yourself the rental fee and the weight and leave the snowshoes behind. In late Spring, after 30+ melt/freeze cycles, the snow turns to mush, and you'll probably still post hole (even with snowshoes) after the thin layer of crust softens. Your best bet is to travel early on the lower part of the mountain.

If I had three full days available, this is what I would do: On day 1 get up very early and head up to Trail Camp, arriving by 9:00am. On day 2 go up to the summit and back down to Trail Camp. On day 3, get up early again, and head down for burgers and beer at the Portal Store. This will avoid most of the misery of soft snow on the lower part of the mountain.

Bob R has a report from last Memorial Day weekend <a href="http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002007"here</a>.

I've got some <a href="http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/gallery/144107/1"pictures</a> from a climb a week later.

Obviously, unless we have really warm Spring, there's going to be a lot more snow up there this year.

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<a href="http://piotrowski.smugmug.com">Smugmug Photo Albums</a>

Richard - I love your first picture at Lower Boy Scout Lake. That is a great shot.

I struggle with the snowshoe idea in late May. Most years I have left them home and got by with travelling early like Richard suggested. The snow can get very warm by about 9-10 am. After that postholing can really get bad.

As it turns out, snowshoes are not really great during the warm part of the day. You don't sink in and posthole, but the snow is often wet and heavy. When it collects on the top of your snowshoes, the up and down movement really wears you out over time.

So neither is perfect during the middle of the day, with or without snowshoes. If you can do your travelling early when the snow is firm and frozen, Richard is probably right. Leave them home and save the expense and weight.