Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Summit attempt on Oct 8th.

My friend and I attempted to climb Whitney on Sunday the 8th. We found that the switchbacks were dusted with snow and there was some ice on switchback 47 (the one with cables). We were able to pass carefully with poles and boots. We made it to Trail Crest without any problems except my degrading health due to a head cold combined with altitude sickness. I heard the remaining 2 miles were covered with snow and a trail needed to be blazed with crampons, which 2 individuals were attempting. On our way back down, the sun came out and melted quite a bit of the snow. Also on Monday when we looked up from Lone Pine, we could see Mt Whitney for the first time in days.
The main point, hikers are at the mercy of the weather conditions. I recommend anyone to try and climb it, but be smart and know when to turn back. For us, it was at trail crest and the view was breath-taking. Many others turned back before us.
Take Care, and BE SAFE.
-Roper

I'll set up some pictures on myspace later today and post a link. If there is an easier way, I'll do that instead.

I climbed with Roper and we had an amazing time. Summit or no, it's just beautiful out there. When was the last time you took a nap at 13,600 feet

I know there have been a number of posts over the last week or so pointing out that we are nearing winter and winter conditions. We dealt with snow and some ice here and there (and of course some cold winds), but it was manageable for us.

I appreciate the warnings being passed along by some, but also suggest to everyone out there to take each post for what it is, an opinion. Collect as much information as you can about the situation and decide for yourself what is going to work best for you.

I encourage people to go out and safely enjoy the beautiful fall conditions. This may mean (like us) that you don't make it to the summit, however, you can still have an amazing day out hiking, enjoying the fresh air, wildlife and good company. Of course, be as prepared as possible, know your limits, stay informed and call it a day if there is any question of safety.

As for pictures, we do have a few of the switchbacks, Roper has those and I'll bug him. I would also encourage those that went up more recently to give a report since the conditions appeared to be improving.

Hey everyone -

My friend and I were able to summit yesterday (Mon, 10/9). Based on what Dave and Roper experienced on Sunday, the conditions yesterday were much better. Lots of fluffy snow, but really easy to walk on. Just the one patch of ice near the cables. The west side was also fairly easily passable without crampons (as most people were doing), but we used them to be safe. If you do go, defnintely have crampons ready, especially since the conditions seem to change dramatically each day!

Roper and eyedoc,
What time did you summit and at what time were you descending down the switchbacks in the afternoon?

Dave and I started hiking at 4:40 am. We made it to trail crest at about noon. We took a 20 minute nap on the trail away from the wind (incredible setting). We had a goal of getting off the switchbacks by 2:00 in the afternoon, and we did.
The sun was just about to set on the switchbacks at ~2:30, and we had plenty of sunlight for the rest of our hike down (~4.5 hours).

sweet, we're planning a dayhike this sunday and were planning to leave at 4am, maybe even earlier, we really want to be off the switchbacks on the way down by 2pm as well, but would like to enjoy the summit for an hour or so if possible.
Does anyone else have advice on when to start with this goal in mind? Basically, from trail camp to summit what's the approximate hiking time?

Jiantkwazi:

It seems like there's a LOT of variation in terms of how much time to allow - depending on your shape, speed, and how altitude affects you. My friend and I were pretty slow - we started at 3:30 am, reached trail crest at around 11:00am (slow!) and didn't summit until 2pm (late! not recommended). The altitude was slowing me down bigtime! We were the last on the summit that day (by a good hour). Because the snow was very fluffy on the way up - and it was too cold to melt and refreeze - we felt comfortable summiting so late. We got down from the switchbacks at around 6:45ish (walked slowly with crampons) and back to portal at 11:30pm (very late, very slow!). A most unimpressive 20 hours! But we made it!

For perspective, 2 other guys left trailhead at 4am and passed us at trail camp, summiting about an hour ahead of us. Still 2 other guys left trailhead at 3am, but we passed them on the way to trail camp - they didn't make summit (they looked like they were hurting). I figure we went about the minimum speed to make it in a day and still call it a day!

Best to leave early (maybe before 2am) just to be sure you make it down before conditions change - and you leave enough time for setbacks... The nighttime hike up is beautiful... Hope this helps!

I summited Mt. Whitney many years ago via the trail (1997) and I'm doing it again this weekend. One question I had was: Is there any elevation loss after you climb the switchbacks leading to Trail Crest? As I recall, I think you lose at least a few hundred feet before you ascend up to Mt. Whitney.

Tri-ultras - There is about a 150-200' elevation loss past Trail crest near the JMT junction.