Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Climb via the Mountaineers Route or Main Trail ?

Hello and happy holidays.

I plan to climb Whitney this coming weekend (Dec 30-31, 2011) with a friend. I have climbed Whitney via the Mountaineers route the previous years in the spring with lots of snow. I have also hiked the main trail during the dry summer months. Now this time in the winter is different than my previous ascents. I see that there is snow on the mountain, but coverage is little and dry is some areas (at least at the lower altitudes). As a note we are fully prepared for the cold icy conditions that currently exist.

My question for this forum is this:
Given the current conditions, which route, Mountaineers or main trail, is your preference for a 2-3 day trip?

Currently we plan to go up the Mountaineers, but now I am thinking that we will be fighting the bushes with our large packs and scrambling over the talus fields. Also It appears we will be forced onto the E-ledges in icy conditions. Lastly I think the last 400' is better with more snow coverage. We are now considering going up the main trail but I enjoy the North Fork route. I am looking for experience your and advise.

Throwing in a 2nd question:
Given the current conditions would you take sturdy, waterproof hiking boots or mountaineering boots? I had planed the mountaineering boots but they are terrible on dry conditions. I hate the idea of packing the mountaineering boots just for the final ascent.

Thanks,
Nathan

Hi Let me start with a disclaimer never take advice from anyone over 30....
The logic I use is based on distance: main trail about 10 miles , mountaineers route about 4 miles .


Chance of a fall on the main trail from trailcamp to the summit say 4 miles, chance of a fall on Mountaineers route 500' through the ledges which you can avoid by going up the creek then Iceberg to the summit say 1/2 mile.


Weather always is the key factor, How do you turn around and get back to a safe zone if a storm comes in? Again say 100 MPH winds ,subzero temps and light gear based on a "good" weather report. We just had two examples of these conditions one resulting in a fatal event. This time last year the weather forcast was for 2 inches at the 8000' level we got 7' and it took one group 18 hours to walk downhill from the cabin area to the road closed sign say 3 miles.

The last 400' on the mountaineers route is a crap shoot if you are not a solid climber , what this means if the area is snow/ice and rock can you pick a dry rock route say 5.7- 5.9 and free that if needed? Very easy to miss the death zones on the back side if you know where to go , I see very few pictures going in thoses areas, I see most blindly heading up the middle of the chute on snow and ice , because they think it is a snow or ice climb. 1/2" of snow on blue ice gets some of the chute followers.


Hours of light this time of year say 8 hours so unless you can do either routes in the dark you will go slower than during the daylight trips.

Last season I talked with two climbers passing through that did the mountaineers route in about 7 hours solo with limited gear , One has climbed many major mountains , he rode his bike from Northern Europe to Everest base camp area (not the famous guy but one of his buddies) and the other guy from Colorado that does major mountains year round, he was just passing by and ask about Whitney. Another solo climber was found just below Lower Boyscout Lake, he had fallen downclimbing a very steep slope that had tracks on it from others that had gone up by mistake.


The main trail just by the distance and the distance across the back side with a chance of slipping makes it equal to the mountaineers route for risk either way. Most falls are fatal this time of the year so most turn around before the steep sections start.

Now the boot thing if speed is going to be a factor bring the leather and extra socks ,if going for the fashion show bring the plastic.



Thanks for posting this question since we are at the start of another winter season maybe others can post about past trips and we can make it a Winter free accident season. Thanks Doug

Here's what I saw on the lower MR yesterday:

- dry trail until you get up into the shaded areas in the NF.

- easy walking (with some ice/snow on the trail) if you stay on the established "use trail." Major bushwhacking if you head up the North Side route. The "gully" up to the Elephants Ear Ledge will require tools right now. It had thick ice, so the tracks bushwhacked to where it could merge into the normal trail.

- The E-Ledges had some snow/ice. I thought it was not really an issue and I've backed off on a LOT of occasions because I didn't think a crossing was worth the risk. A group of 2 roped up for it.

- VERY ICY conditions on the slabs below Clyde Meadow. I'm guessing you could find a route to avoid the ice, but I don't know that for sure.

- Don't know what exists above UBSL. Didn't go that high.

There are some people up there right now. I asked them to post a TR after they get down. They said they would.

I've been over on the Main Trail side for 5 weeks in-a-row, so if you stick to my tracks (and have winter mountaineering skills), that side of the mountain is pretty trival right now. The climb up the slope direct to Trail Crest is a blast right now on really firm snow. (Skip The Switchbacks.)

A third suggestion if you want a bit more of a challenge: why not head up the NF, cross Whitney/Russell Col, head down Arctic Lake drainage, then up the west side of Whitney and down the Main Trail. I'm betting I could still do it in a day, so 3 days would be great for having an excellent adventure. You'll definitely have the Guitar Lake area all to yourself. (I would definitely carry snowshoes for this one. For the other 2 routes, you can leave them home.)

That is some good things to think about. Thank you.
-Nathan

I'm approaching 30x2, so maybe you don't want to listen to me...

I'd argue with anybody who doesn't think the 1400' of the Couloir up from Iceberg isn't potentially dangerous... A Korean woman died there in the past couple of years. There have been other accidents...

OBVIOUSLY, the advice about heading to the West side of Whitney applies to THIS WEEKEND ONLY, unless you're looking (potentially once bad weather hits) to get a free helicopter ride back to the East side. (It might be a long wait.)

Looking at Thor, a lot of snow has melted off this week... That means two things to me: less snow to contend with, but more potential for ice on the routes.