Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mountaineer's Route March 2008

A few of us from North East (New York) want to do the Mountaineer's Route in March 2008. I'm doing the logistics right now, I have a few questions I hope you guys can help me.
1) Which airport to use? We can fly direct into LAS or LAX, about the same money. We are trying to see if LAS is a better option because the traffic and scenic value.
2) Permits. My understanding is that I need to call ahead and get them to leave the permit forms in a over night box. We can just self-issue the forms. The price is $15 per person, correct?
3) Map and trails information. I haven't be able to find any map that has MR on it. The closest thing I see is the North Fork Lone Pine Trail. My understanding is that MR splits off from the North Fork trail. I'm not sure exactly where the split starts. I check the topo map here. Am I correct by following the North Fork Trail all the way to the Iceberg Lake and then shoot up the gulley where the red cross indicated?
4) Fuel. We are flying in pretty late, I'm not sure where we can pick up white gas along the way, or how early or late the local stores at trail head area open.
5) Schedule. Our schedule basically is to fly in on Thursday night, pick up the car at the airport and drive to trail head. Get some sleep. Friday morning, issue our permits, and head for the Iceberg lake. Set up camp there. If weather is good and bodies willing, we'll do our summit. If not, we will wait for Saturday morning, we then pack out and head back to the trail head. Drive back to airport for some R&R. Fly home the next day. Does the schedule sound reasonable?
6) Do we need 4-season tents? We would like to avoid it if we can. Bivy possible?
7) Pack-in and pack-out rules. Do we bring our own bags or the visitor center issues them?

Any help is appreciated.

Before you get in too deep, are you aware of the winter conditions in March and April?

Check out this link

Are you aware that you probably won't be able to drive up to Whitney Portal -- snow and rocks on the road?

I hiked the MR once in June (a heavy snow year) and it took us 9 hours to get to Iceberg Lake. There was snow starting at Lower Boy Scout Lake. You will have snow all the way!

There is no fee for self-issued permits during the non-quota season. I do not know if Wag bags will be available after hours. Permits are issued in Lone Pine at the visitors center, not the trailhead.

The trail labeled North Fork Lone Pine Creek Trail is the correct one, but it would be hard to follow from that Topo alone if there is fresh snow. If you do a search on this web site, you will find some good route descriptions and pictures. Simplifying it: you will follow the main trail until you come to the canyon where the N. Fork of Lone Pine Creek flows down, head up that canyon. If there is good snow cover, you should be able to take a fairly direct route up the canyon to lower Boy Scout Lake with no need to take the Ebersbacher Ledges. Continue past LBSL up towards Upper Boy Scout Lake, but take a sharp left turn before you reach UBSL and go through Clyde Meadow and up to Iceberg lake. From Iceberg, you will head up a chute to the left side of Iceberg as you face the lake coming up. Upon reaching the notch at the top of this chute, you have a choice of traversing (which has significant exposure and has resulted in a number of fatalities) or climbing up one of the chutes to your left, the first chute being the most frequently taken.

There can be significant avalanche danger along this route in the winter, as well as snow/ice travel on some steep sections. You and your party should be experienced in winter climbing with ice ax and crampons (which your question about bivvy vs. tent makes me wonder about) if you want to climb this route safely, or you can hire an experienced guide.

Doing that climb starting somewhere below the portal and carrying full winter climbing gear up to Iceberg lake on the first day with no acclimatization would be a long, hard day in snow.

Sierra Sam's advice is spot on. I am glad you have some time to think about what you are getting into. You have not told us anything about your experience in full winter conditions, high-altitude climbing (for 14ers) and route finding. Altitude issues are serious on Mt. Whitney, let alone all the winter skills you need, and none of us knows what the conditions will be in March, but it is prudent to be totally prepared for the worst. Your life and those with you depend on it!

There is no trail after you leave the Main Trail in winter conditions. You may see someone else's tracks in the snow, and hope the tracks go where you want to go.

The advantage of flying into Las Vegas is less traffic and avoidance of freeway-confusion and traffic congestion that you could get driving out of LAX. (An auto GPS would help.)

There are plenty of stores, such as 24-hour gasoline stations, that you can purchase white gas, and the stores in Lone Pine can accomodate you. I think Doug Sr. has posted that the main grocery store in Lone Pine sells white gas.

Be smart and be safe! Winter climbs on Mt. Whitney are not walks in the park.

Hi March most years is a wild card , we try to move stuff into the store at the trailhead around the end of March ,fit the trips in between storms . You should find a deep boot pack to the Notch , many guide trips in FEB- March but your maps should work .The gully from Iceberg to the notch starts right of the red cross that loads on the map .
Las Vegas is the best choice takes about 3 hours to drive from Vegas .Watch the road for cows, and very sharp turns in Death Valley.

Watch the board and you should see trip reports all winter and this will give you some help on snow conditions, more snow/colder makes the trip faster as you can travel over the boulders and brush faster, camping around Upper Boys Scout Lake is used alot but may add a day to your trip. Thanks Doug

Thanks for the concerns and information. While the team is new, we all are pretty good at winter mountaineering. I've taken a mountaineering course in Alaska. I do fairly decent amount of ice climbing and rock climbing in the North East. Crampons, self-arrest, roped travel and exposed terrains aren't new to me. As far as bivy, I do that often and it has never been a problem if I careful choose the site to bivy on. Altitude adjustment is my biggest concern, we are willing to call off the climb at any time if anyone feels unsafe or sick.
Thank again for the information.

1. Airports...ONT would be my choice, with LAS you might have problems getting over DV Passes with snow. ONT is quick, convenient and but 35 miles to US. 395. With your late arrival at LAX you will have at least 60 miles of bumper to bumper traffic to deal with as you make your way to CA 14.

2. Permits...Walk-ins are free. I'm not sure if they still have self-permitting since the ESIAVC is open all year. However, there is another problem, that is, since you will be entering Sequoia National Park you have come in and get the dog and pony show, night drop box permit for this trip might not be allowed.

3. Maps...Mt. Langley and Mt. Whitney 7.5' quads are what you need but there will be no trail marked, since the MR isn't a trail.

4. Fuel...Depending on the airport you use there are plenty of outfitters along the way. ONT has both Sport Chalet and REI near the Foothill Blvd. exit of I-15. Plus, you can get it in Lone Pine.

5. Schedule...seems kind of aggressive. You don't know where you are going to start your trip, it could be at the base of the mountain, at turn of first switchback of Whitney Portal Road, the Meysan Trail Parking area or Whitney Portal. This can add 4 miles and a couple thousand feet to your first day.

6. 4-season tent...bring'm if you got'm it can get awfully windy and snowy in March.

7. Pack it out...WAG Bags are issued to you at the ESIAVC.

Re: flights - consider using Inyokern (IYK), about 75 miles from Lone Pine. There are 3 commuter flights to/from LAX each day. With advance planning, you can fly from the East Coast for about $350. Rental cars are available too.

After IYK, I'd recommend Ontario (ONT). Car rentals are expensive in NV compared to CA airports. Taxes, fees, etc in NV increase rentals by 1/3 - in some states/airports it's a major part of the travel expense.

Thanks for the tip on airport. I'll dig around and see any good airfare. BTW, I found this GPS site and it gives very good route path on Google earth. The last bit of the climb seems very steep indeed.

Your question about tent or bivy really depends on anticipated weather conditions. The MR in March is a serious climb, and the winds can be horendous. As Doug stated, March can be a wild card. There are plenty of places to bivy along the NF, but in Winter conditions, a tent provides a comfortable place to melt snow and cook, keeping you out of the weather.

There's a lot of good advice in this thread, but let me add a comment regrarging the ledges. If you miss the start of the ledges, which was completely packed with snow yesterday, or if you don't want to risk that approach, you can continue up the gulley as Sierra Sam mentioned, and hopefully the willows will be covered with snow. In a decent snow year, the willows get totally covered by avalances from the north facing slopes along the gulley. If they're not, try to stay on the right side (north) of the gulley as long as possible to avoid the thickest part of the willows, then move to the left. Plan well and use good judgement for a safe trip.

GPS readings for a summer trip will differ from those with winter conditions, since you will bypass the ledges entirely.

Unless there is a recent storm, the route from the MMWT to LBSL will be beaten into the snow and ice and will be easy to follow. I've seen this route go up both the left and right sides of this canyon.

If you want to watch a video of the conditions I saw in March 2006 up to Lower Boy Scout Lake you can download this video (182 MB!):

http://www.mudspike.com/nfork.avi

You'll see the snow conditions at least on that part of the route. I only got to LBSL because I bit off way more than I could chew and found discretion to be way more healthy than valor.

Good luck!
Chris