Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board May/June Conditions on the Main Whitney Trail

greetings!! I'm going to try to summit mt. whitney on July 13th. After reading the previous posts regarding the conditions,I'm starting to get concerned. I have very little experience hiking in winter conditions, although i have been hiking for years. I guess I'll try to go as far as i can depending on the conditions. any insight?

Scaled Mt Whitney yesterday (14thJun). Was a novice and had never hiked in snow before. I guess the right attitude, will-power and common sense (To know when to return) will definitely get you there. It took me around 18 hrs to complete 3:00 AM - 9:00 PM. I felt in current condition Crampons, ice axe are a must which can be rented at lone pine. If planning for a day hike it is advisable to reach portal a day earlier and try hiking till lone pine lake (9900ft) and back to get used to the altitude. Also it will be a good idea to start early say 2-4 AM depending on your skills.

Gypsy, thanks for the update on the trail condition. A group of us are planning our summit attempt from the Trail Camp on 19th. Any suggestion as to what time to start hiking up to the peak?

Gypsy: Thanks for letting us know we can rent crampons and ice axes in Lone Pine. Can you tell me the name of the rental store in Lone Pine and the approximate cost of rentals? Also, is the equipment in good shape? Many thanks!

Were you hiking on the Main trail or the Mountaineer's trail?
Can anyone give some advice for the snow on the mountaineer's trail?
My son, Andrew Ashcraft is doing a one day mount Whitney on June 22,the mountaineer trail. His partner going with him is getting quite concerned about the snow and ice.
ilene Ashcraft

We were hiking on the mail trail - Mt Whitney trail.
The weather on 14Jun was great and sunny - I guess we were lucky.
Trail condition: Till Trail camp there few patches of snow and can be easily navigated.
Once you start the swithcback beyond cables you would need crampons and ice axe and a ski pole would be of additional help.
Beyond trail crest the snow was bit firm and hard (I hiked from Crest to Summit between 12PM - 4PM) and little difficult to navigate.

We rented Crampons and Ice axe at Lone pine sporting goods - Ph: 760-876-5365. Call them in advance and check the availablity.
Availablity of the gears will depend on the folks who had rented them earlier. We had to drive back from portal to get them at 7:30 PM from Lone pine (which kinda messed our rest time at portal). Crampons and ice axe for a day's rent cost us $16 and they were in good shape.
There are couple of other store close by who rent gears too, but I dont have their names or number.
We started at 3:00 AM and there were lot of other groups who started at the same time (Earlier the better).

Had a similar experience on Monday, June 15. All clear to TC. Above TC, no need for crampons or axe til we hit the cables, but then it was snow all the way to the summit. Although our group all had crampons and axe, we did see a few people on the summit without them. I would highly recommend the crampons and axe, though. Made the going much easier, and there are a few spots that would definitely feel kinda sketchy without them. We had a bright, clear morning, but it clouded up and the temp dropped at about 11am as we were reaching the summit. Had light snow off and on all the way back down to TC, but not enough to obscure the trail. By the way - our group had a question about water availability at TC and the answer is, "Yes, there's water." A lot of the low areas (IE streams) in TC are covered in snow and/or frozen. The lake was half-frozen. If you prefer not to drink the water in lake, there's a small, open, flowing stream on the other side of the little ridge that divides TC.

Cocosc,

Start as early as possible. On Saturday, we got up at 4:30 and were on the trail by 6:00 (we waited for 1/2hr while someone looked for their sunglasses). We went up the chute (with axes and crampons) which took about 3hrs. We met a couple at the top that took about 1:45 on the switch backs on the way up. We were on the summit by 11. We took the switch backs down and they were passable. We were back at TC by 2.

The switch backs can be done without crampons and axes if you are extremely careful but have the tools is definitely preferable.

And as a note, it has been suggested by some on the board to not use the ice axe and crampons if you don't have previous experience. It's BS. Get the gear, try it on, walk around on it before you go. (We used ours for the first time on little areas around trail camp the day before summitting). Check out some information such as the Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills for technique. Be aware of conditions (snow, weather, yourself) but by all means, give it a go. It's not rocket science, just approach it with respect.

Beware of advice from newbies who brand the advice of more experienced climbers as "BS". There is a difference between getting away with something and using good judgment. A long chute with rocks at the bottom isn't the brightest place to learn how to use crampons and an ice axe.

I completely agree with you here Bob. And in response to ph001c: "it has been suggested by some on the board to not use the ice axe and crampons if you don't have previous experience"...I believe ONE of the main reasons for this is that it may give people a false sense of security. Simple mistakes can be made when you are inexperienced with crampons, think that is the be all end all, and stop paying attention. I am all for trying new things, being adventurous, and do not think you did something stupid, I just think the mindset needs to be changed (e.g. calling advice from the experienced "BS")

Anyone familiar with the current conditions of the mountaineers route? In particular "the chute", just north of the summit? The ranger recording is from over 2 weeks ago.

I think if ph001c hadn't blurted out "It's BS," he wouldn't have gotten such a reaction. Look at what he wrote after that:


I don't have problem with any of that. I wrote, on the same subject about six months ago:

-----

"Many people with minimal winter mountaineering experience negotiate it (the chute to Trail Crest) every year, without incident. Minimal experience, in my opinion, means having used crampons before, and having practiced ice ax arrests enough to instinctively react correctly if you find yourself falling. How much practice? This is not rocket science. A few years back, I took my son, his uncle, and his friend up--neophytes all. A half hour of instruction from an expert (me) at the bottom of the slope, and I felt they were ready. We did the climb without incident.

"But the snow conditions are a factor, and they depend on the time of day, and the season. Any instruction on cramponing, ice ax use, and the decision whether to continue or retreat, must include this topic."

-----

Still, I always caution people to take what an utter stranger recommends with a big grain of salt, especially where safety issues are concerned.

Hi Bob,
It's me Ilene. Thanks again for all your help with Kent.
Like I said at the other day, on this web site - Andrew, my son will be going up the mountaineer's trail on June 22nd. He is hoping to leave by 1am with 1 other friend and two experienced mountaineers from out of state. I hope the weather cooperates.
Ilene Ashcraft

Dear Ilene,

Good luck to Andrew and friends on Monday. I don't know why they would want to start up so early, but oh well. Every start time has its advantages and disadvantages. There is no consensus best time.

There's a good chance I will be going up the Mountaineer's Route tomorrow morning, and descending the main trail. Depends on when I awake, get some coffee, and read the paper. Maybe I'll stay home and weed the yard; maybe I'll drive up and climb Mt. Whitney.

I'll post the conditions I find. But I'm sure that, with Andrew's experience, he'll work it out. Just go up, be observant, and react to the conditions. Andrew knows how to do that. I would love to accompany him sometime. Maybe he can show me some of the descent routes on the north side of Candlelight Peak.

Take care, and many thanks for the gift you sent. I am viewing it as if also from Kent and "the kids." Treasures, all.

A final thought. You had asked me to look for Kent's ice ax and one other item. It seems you viewed the other item--which I did not find--as most important. But I hope that in time you will come to view the ax, which I did retrieve and return to you, as vastly more significant for a mountaineer. Kent was that.

Bob

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your measured response. Perhaps you are right, the "BS" comment may have been hasty and out of line. But perhaps it wasn't either... what level of experience does the person that suggested it was better not to use the crampons and ice axe without experience? To me, that seems ridiculous. Even with minimal experience I think you are safer with the ice axe and crampon than you would be without.

And I agree with you that everyone should be sceptical of any advice they receive until they have qualified the source and taken their own counsel.

PH

Rnevius

I have to take exception to your post.

First, although we had no prior experience with ice axe and crampons we all had significant experience hiking in a variety of conditions as well as skiing and snowboarding in back-country situations. Also, we had practiced on the two days prior: grips, self belay, switching hands, self-arrest, etc. before ascending. We assessed the conditions (snow/weather), our ability and comfort with the tools before deciding to leave the switchbacks. The chute is challenging but certainly not the hairiest, or steepest place I've ever been.

Second, why would you assume that the advice that was give was from someone experienced? To me it seems ridiculous to advise someone to go but not take the proper tools for the conditions just because they haven't used them before.

I agree with you that there is a difference between getting away with something (non-event feedback) and using good judgement. I feel we used the latter.

Best regards,
Peter H.

Give it up PH. It seems all Bob is trying to say is what is communicated on the FS Whitney permit page as quoted below:

"Mt Whitney is NOT a forgiving place to attempt to use ice axe and crampons for the first time. There have been two fatalities in the Whitney Zone this spring."

That's all

JJay,

Sorry, my second post was actually in response to Rnevius, not Bob. (I agree with Bob but disagreed with Rnevius.) I have edited the prior post.

Regardless:

And what were the details of those fatalities? What were the conditions like? What route were they on? What equipment and training did they have? These details are important as the routes and conditions are so changeable.

I disagree that FS warning should be the end all to the conversation. It should be heeded but it does not say NOT to use them (ice tools) for the first time on Whitney, only that it is "not forgiving". The warning also goes on to say "Know your limits. Safety is your responsibility." To me, this is the most important point of the warning. (Also, you have to consider that the FS is interested in not only in saving lives but also limiting its liability in any incidents.)

It is a tragedy that people lost their lives. Whitney is dangerous any time. (Last year, when we decided not to summit during a thunderstorm, one guy passed us on the way up and said it would be fine, all you need to do is lie down if you feel your hair stand on end. I was flabbergasted.)

People have to be cognizant of the level of risk that they assume. It's especially tricky when you are novice and don't have the experience to effectively judge the risk.

But this conversation has been side tracked. My original point was that "if you are going to go up Whitney in the recent conditions, it is better to go with the axe and crampons and no experience than without the tools."

That's my opinion and it's fine if you disagree.

Best regards,
PH

O I C-
Since both were addressed to Bob... It looked like you were going off on Bob -twice- on a common sense issue?

Pardon me but I have a strong sense of standing up for Bob's after seeing Bob portrayed by Bill Murray in the film "What about Bob?" Bob is a good guy!

Agreed- the last part of the warning sums it up well.

Hey Folks,

Thanks for all the good info. I'm doing a trip on June 22nd and am getting a bit wary of the conditions. Looking at weather.gov it looks like it may be clearing the next few days and sunny through the weekend (but in the mts i guess that can always change).

I've found a place in Lone Pine that only offers crampons (have some available) and one that offers both crampons & ice axe but is out of them. That second place said to show up and see what happens - do you think its better to secure the stuff here before we leave (more expensive)? Sounds like we can get crampons, but not necessarily both if we wait until we arrive. And to the earlier point, i've never used an ice axe but am thinking its prob better to have just in case (?).

Also, if anyone has more updates on how its been the past couple days, please fill us in .

Thanks!