Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board day hike October 14 - please help

I have a permit for a day hike to Mt Whitney's summit this Saturday (October 14), but it seems like the weather forecast is for rain showers and maybe some snow. Has anyone been there last weekend and can give me an idea of what I may find on the trail? It's my first ascent and I don't have ice gear. I was hoping I could do it with regular hiking boots.

Any suggestions?

-Ana

Go as far as you can safely descend. You will find the experience worthwhile.

It is not the destination but the journey.

what's every one's opinion on day hike Sunday with ice axe and crampons?

A first time ascent in mid-October with: snow and ice on the trail, more snow in the forecast, unpredictable weather at best - I would not recommend it. I think your odds might be better with russian roulette.

I agree with limiting how far you attempt to go.

A group of us went up on Tuesday and ran into a snow storm. Half of us turned around at the cables (switchback 47) at 8:30AM when the snow started coming down harder and the other half got about 1-mile from the summit (at 11:30 AM)before they turned around. We all had crampons and axes, but only the four that went beyond the cables used them. If the snow is fresh, it is easier to hike in than if it has meleted and become ice, but watch your step and bring trekking poles at a minimum. As stated by many others on this message board, plan to be back below the swictchbacks (Trail Camp) by 2PM or you may not be able to negotiate the ice on the way down without gear. Also, remember that you will be moving a lot slower through snow than you would hike normally. Another also, the wind and the snow on the top half of the trail will hit you hard so be prepared for it. One last tidbit, the hose on my camelpack froze during the hike, so I could not drink from it, and since there is not water above Trail Camp, I was glad I brought an extra bottle of water that did not freeze completely.

Hope that helps. Be careful and know your limits. The mountain will always be there.

This thread reminds me of the story 3 ladies survive the night outside . On my first two day hikes I had some unexpected things happen with other people in my group that forced me to change my plans. Twice people pushed themselves above Trail Camp when they probably should have turned back there (or at Trail Crest).

As noted earlier, you should not go up higher than you can safely come down. Because of the ice in the switchbacks, that probably would be Trail Camp. The trail is beautiful just going up to Trail Camp, plus you would experience enough of the trail to do a better hike next year. I hiked with somebody who turned back a mile from the summit one year and it was a lot easier for him to summit the following year. Don't push yourself into the unknown when you can take the time to savor and enjoy the known.

luciano-
On Tuesday (10/10) Trail Camp got hit by snow (6-8 inches at least). The few people who were camping there packed up and camped back down the hill at Outpost. If it is snowing, I would not want to camp there becasue there is no shelter...other than the solar toilets. If it is a nice day, but snow remains on the ground, then you could camp there if you like that type of thing. I personally would stay at Outpost and stay dryer/warmer. It just means you have to start your hike to the sumit a few hours earlier.

joaqs: "One last tidbit, the hose on my camelpack froze during the hike, so I could not drink from it, and since there is not water above Trail Camp, I was glad I brought an extra bottle of water that did not freeze completely."

It won't freeze solid if you blow all the water out of the tube (back into the bladder) after taking a sip. Learned that from many experiences of frozen bladder tubes while snowboarding.

caution for weekend hikers - has been raining steady in Ridgecrest for past few hours - that's 2200ft elevation - I suspect conditions on Whitney will have changed dramatically by days end from all the previous posted trip reports - probably the first real mountain storm of the season.

I'll second a lot of the information being passed on here. On Tuesday 10/10, my group started up the switchbacks at 5:30 am in near perfect weather--by the time we hit Trail Crest at 7:30, there was strong, very cold, gusty wind with poor visibility and the snow was starting to come down. We had ice ax and crampons, but didn't use them on the ascent because we weren't very experienced with them and know you can easily get into some places you can't get out of--they were there for emergency use only. Since we turned around when we did, we were able to make it back down to Trail Camp relatively easily with boots and trekking poles. The snow was coming down pretty heavily and drifting on the way down. We advised a solo hiker to turn around and he, reluctantly, started down with us for a while, but decided to go back up when we met another group who was still ascending (joaqs, I think it might have been the half or your party that kept going after the cables, the timing sounds right--did the solo hiker get back down with them?). We stayed at Trail Camp the night before in pretty mild weather and there was no snow on the ground. When we got back down from the switchbacks, there was at least 3 inches already and it wasn't done yet.

Bear in mind this report is from Tuesday and you can see how much the conditions changed in only two hours--tomcat_rc is probably right on the money with the new conditions. We felt pretty safe the whole way, but I wouldn't attempt to summit this weekend without the proper gear and the knowledge and experience to use it, enough insulation to survive a night at 14,000 ft (ESPECIALLY day hikers and solo hikers), at least two partners, and enough respect for the mountain to know when to turn around.

All of that said, it is BEAUTIFUL up there right now with the snow, and every person has to decide for themselves what is safe and what level of risk they want to accept. The best advice I got from the message board before my trip was, "go and have fun, just don't push yourself beyond your experience and capabilities".

Go, Enjoy, turn around when you are at, or just past your risk threshold. "Walikng is easy when the trail is flat.........God made Mountains so we could learn how to climb, rain and snow and ice, certainly add to the experience.

Remember. You do not have to pass a test to post comments on this site...........

Thanks you all for the recommendations and weather update. I'll definitely be careful and do a shorter hike if the weather and trail conditions are not safe. I will let you know about the weather when I come back.
Thanks again.