Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Onion Valley Conditions

For any and all heading up towards OV this week (well, at least until the next storm heads our way...):

I met up with Rachel and Cori on Saturday morning for what turned into the perfect day of snow, well, plowing. There really wasn't much "shoeing" because the powder was so light and fluffed. The road has been plowed all the way to the trailhead, with some very intermittent (but still slick) snow and ice on the road. Our original intent had been to make a run for Kearsarge Pass, but within 200 yards of the trucks, we realized we might have been overextending ourselves a bit. Basically this would be confirmation that a good bit of snow did indeed dump last week!

Not the most flattering angle but a good idea of the snow depth:


Cori makin' tracks:


Girl Power!


Rest of the pics are here.

Enjoy!
-L

Wow, lot's of snow, eh? Looks like you girls had a wonderful time!

Great job climbing @ Owens River Gorge yesterday (Laura's jumping from 4th class to 5.6). I had a lot of fun & felt really safe with you belaying me. Like you said, you make an awesome anchor! (And yes, I plan to take some leader falls)!!!

Wonderful photos Moosie! Looks like it was a perfect powder-pushing day for you, Cori & Rachel. Hopefully this snow is just the start and we'll have good snow cover this winter! Thanks for the trip report - I'm heading up over Sawmill Pass on an overnight Wed-Thurs to check out climbing conditions on the peaks/ridges (storm coming in Thurs. night). After seeing your photos, I can't wait!

Climb Hard, Climb Safe
Hedgehog

Looks like you are living the dream Laura. Good for you.

I always love seeing pictures of the mountain in the snow. It makes everything look that much better.....and with no summer crowds to ruin the wilderness experience.

A little wading means you get a good work out in a short distance. No one there to make tracks except yourself.

Snow Nymph: good to see you out there in the wild again. It seems like you have racked up quite a few hours in the snow.

Great photos.

Snow hiking is some of the most fun you can have on/off the trail. I always pack a hot cocoa + baileys/kahlua to accompany lunch and the snow covered vistas.

It looks like the snowshoes didn't help much? I wonder if the tail extenders that MSR makes would have helped at all? Maybe with that much powder it's time for xskis/skins. Skis/board would have made the return a lot of fun.