Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Trail Conditions - Guitar Lake to Trail Crest

I am planning a Horseshoe Meadows to Whitney portal hike in a couple of weeks. The plan is to catch the PCT at Cottonwood pass and hike over to Guitar Lake and summit from there on June 25th. I have not seen any reports on the condition of the trail from Guitar Lake to Trail crest. I believe that this side of the crest gets much more sun exposure so I'm thinking that the trail should be relatively clear. However, I would greatly appreciate a report from anyone that has actually laid eyes on that side of the crest.

Thanks
Greg

Hi Greg,
I uploaded a couple of pictures from last week. (How come nobody ever talks about Whitney withdrawal syndrome?)
Anyway, there was still a lot of snow back there. Guitar Lake is covered, so you're going to have a lot of snow to cross before you get to Trail Crest. I didn't get pictures of them, but the switchbacks up (as far as I could see) looked mostly clear. If the temp warms up, I'd bring snowshoes. If it stays cool and you're getting early starts, you shouldn't have any postholing probs (but then I'd use crampons for speed and stability). Good luck.

http://www.citycreativegroup.com/DSCN0134.jpg
http://www.citycreativegroup.com/DSCN0001P.jpg

I took this picture Saturday 6/11. It's looking northwest from just beyond trail crest and just before the trail intersects the JMT.