Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board What's this about ice on the trail?

I've seen this mentioned in a couple of postings, but I'm not clear. Is there just a little ice around streams, or is there getting to be ice built up along the trail in significant amounts?

z

In the morning there is just a little ice from the trickles above Trail Camp, mostly limited to the few switchbacks below the spring at 12,400'. Where the trickle crosses the trail, or where it runs along the trail here and there. Once the sun has warmed things up a bit, it melts. No problem to walk on dry rocks to the side, or in the water on the trail.

I have never mentioned it in any of my posts, because it is just not a big deal. It will be a bigger deal later in September or October, when an ice bulge forms near the end of the cables, not to melt during the day. Even then, though, it will be easy to walk around it on rocks.

The picture below was taken a few weeks ago, at 7 AM. I was with some flatlanders from Atlanta, and nobody even mentioned it. I'm sure that little bit of ice had melted an hour later.

<img src=http://www.ridgenet.net/~rockwell/ice%20on%20trail.jpg width=900>

Thanks, I'll probably be going next weekend, but I was looking for a quick trip up, not dealing with snow and ice gear. Your posting clears that up for me - if that's all the ice there is, it doesn't look like it will present a problem at all.

z

Some of those little streams flow down and around a few switchbacks. Not a huge problem, just more of a pain, now if your coming down the switchbacks at night, well then obviously those would be a bigger problem.