Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Skiing off Whitney

I've got this in mind for a project next spring; has it been done and have any of you done it; is it possible to ski from Mt Whitney to the Portal? Myself and my son are competent skiers, we can pretty much get down any black run but to ski tour this route would be special; also any photos of the deed would be interesting. I look forward to hearing from you. Cheers for now.

Yes, people do it. Hardy skiers even make loops from the Cottonwood lakes trail head, and come out at Whitney. But winter mountaineering skiing experience is a must.

Some of the hikers here try it and post, but I think the winter mountaineering people use other boards.

Anyone remember where the skiing message board is where the people posted after they found that "Looking for Steven" fellow?

http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=22223%22

Have a look at:

http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/gallery/511144

A skier and 3 snowboarders headed off the summit plateau that day. In order to do this, I'd think you'd have to be (at least) very comfortable will all of the terrain off the top of Mammoth and never fall.

I've often wondered if you can ski off of the summit to the "west," but I think that the wind scours the summit plateau in pretty short order, even after a major dump.

I've skied from above UBSL in unreal snow conditions and also carried my skis back down because the snow was so cruddy.

I enjoyed the ski down from Trail Crest to Outpost Camp a couple of seasons ago more than anything I've done on the North Fork side.

Under the right conditions, you'd be able to ski all the way down to Lone Pine Campground.

Yes, I have done it twice. Both times we went up the North Fork. Once we left the skis at the notch and summited and then skied down from the notch to the Meysan Lakes Trail Head. The other time we stopped at Iceberg Lake due to extremely hard wind packed snow above Iceberg. As reported above, several snow boarders apparently did come down the last chute above the notch. In my opinion, that is probably not worth the risk on skis. One mistake there and it could easily be your last. There is no way to predict the snow conditions. We had great snow on one trip and horrible snow on the other. If you want to send me a PM, I do plan on heading up again this spring with two others. Date will be dependent on storms but most likely late April to early June.

Here is the link if you are interested to read this trip report:

http://splitboard.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=363&highlight=

cheers

Hi Pike check out the trip report and photos posted by Tomi from the summit to the notch part, shows the slope , about 450 down the slope it cliffs out with about 2000'+ air.This is the area for several fatal accidents over the years a slip on the upper section, unchecked sends you to the bottom. The main trail area and below the notch are done every year. Thanks Doug

The above report is for a different group than the one I saw. These guys left gear at the Notch and rode down from there.

On another note: at dinner a couple of weeks ago, while I was babbling on about wanting to ski Whitney (from the top), ... suggested that I ski ALL of the North Face. I told her she was crazy, but did mention that the next time I'm in the Artic Lake drainage I'm going to take a long, hard look at the terrain.

I also remembered reading TRs where skiers were belaying down difficult terrain and this may be the way I'll have to go in order to this.

I've just received a pair of Atomic Kailas skis (shorter and fatter than what I've been using) that I'm chomping at the bit to use in the backcountry. I've also been skiing a lot of really steep terrain, but there's something about heading into a confined space (read that as a narrow rock lined gully) that turns me back into a beginner.

Given the right conditions skiing down the North Face could be ideal. In fact one year (with good snow) on the North Face I'm pretty sure I saw a snowboard track:

http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewphoto.aspx?ID=52992

Just watch out for that cliffy area near the bottom.

Should have known you'd have a photo of tracks on the North Face. What don't you have a photo of?

I headed up Saturday with the intention of thrashing my way down Thor. I'm in the process of uploading photos (Sat was an awesome day!) and I'll write more when I get that done, but the short version is that there isn't anywhere near enough snow on the Secret Route to make a continuous descent possible. And the snow su****!

Conditions at Mammoth didn't make resort skiing much more fun. It is good to be out there, though. Let's hope Dennis' forecast is going to come true!

That would have been me, I think. You are in the lower center of this photo - looking back up.



The snow on the upper pitch - from the notch to the summit, was very wind-blown and hard. The first snowboarder in Richard's pics misjudged how hard the snow was and heal skipped most of the face on his rear before self arresting just above the rocks.

There was a small rock band that wouldn't be much of a problem in a resort - just a short hop, but the exposure below kept it interesting. Plus the snow changed dramatically right there. It went from hard wind pack to soft - the type of transition that can send you over the bars if you aren't ready for it.

Of course conditions vary day-to-day and by time of day.

Pike - that upper part of the mountain is steeper than any named "black" run at a resort - and probably most named "double blacks". I was with four other highly competent skiers who all bailed on the idea of skiing that pitch once we got to the notch.

Once in the mountaineers route gully the slope angle mellowed quite a bit and there was descent enough snow.

The next day we skinned up to the Russell-Carillon saddle. That was a great ski. ~1,500' vertical of consistent pitch from saddle to Upper Boy Scout lake. This is what the climb looked like:


We skied all the way down to about 200' vertical above the portal. Then the snow ran out.

Does that statement make anyone else feel slightly nauseous? Wow...

I remember thinking that I was going to see someone die that day. Then I saw you drop in and knew instantly that it wasn't going to be you. I'm still in awe a few years after the fact.

The first two snowboarders probably shouldn't have been there. The last one down did a pretty impressive job too.

Just a quick note on the some of the history of skiing on Mt. Whitney.

Back in the 70's Alan Bard, Doug Robinson, Galen Rowell and others they were associated with skied Mt. Whitney frequently. If I remember correctly (and my memory is failing in my old age ) the mountaineers route was the first area they skied and was most likely the route of choice.

Hey Richard, if there is enough snow, I'd be more than happy to shred the nar with you. I was jealous watching some snowboarders ride down Orizaba when I was there. Reminds me, I've got to invest in a split board!

BTW, thanks for sharing all of your pix ~ they're awesome. I think I'm going to throw my camera in the garbage now.

"Nuthin'butt White Knees"