Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums Active Threads This Week

You should be fine for July. The only way you'd need to concern yourself with ice/snow is if you see an unprecedented amount of storms hit the region almost daily throughout May (which isn't in the extended forecast as of right now). There's a little system that's going to add a few inches on May 4th but immediately followed by a warming trend.

I went up last year on July 4th, I don't recall stepping on a single piece of snow for the entire hike. Given that this year's accumulation is below last year, July should be excellent.

Attached is an image at the cables which was the closest we came to any snow.

Appreciate the reply Jim. That's helpful feedback. Thank you.

TomR,

ComradeBear makes an excellent suggestion in his post a couple of days: Check out Trip Reports for the first week of July in previous years. For example, from last year check out my TR posted on July 5: "NAP, Crabtree Pass, Sand Hill, Mt Whitney July 3-4." I descended from the Mt Whitney Summit via the Main Trail on July 4. In my TR, I note the observed Main Trail conditions loud and clear.

It will remain light for a long time in early July, which enhances the enjoyment/safety of the hike.

Jim

Morning hope everyone is well. Looking forward to the upcoming season. Is the Witney road still going to open on time with all the new snow? What about to Horseshoe meadow? We have a Langley trip planned May 26-27 camping at high lake or Long Lake if we can make it. Also have a day hike on Witney Planed for May 29th. I don't think it would be possible or advisable to do Horseshoe Meadow to Witney portal? Any thoughts would be super welcomed. Thanks in advance for any info. Have a great day.

Uncle Rico,

My understanding, is that THUS FAR the snow season on Mt Whitney has been fairly similar to that for the previous winter.

I, too, have a permit for mid June, 2025, but unfortunately no crystal ball. My plan is to be prepared to launch on permit day, but to monitor things closely over the next six weeks. Much can be learned by studying the weather behavior and formulating plans for various scenarios. I will bail if there are too many Red Flags.

Refer to the 24 page thread for 2024. Specifically, look at two Trip Reports I posted for mid June day hikes via the Main Trail (June 13 and June 22). The reports were posted on June 14 and June 23 on page 16 of the thread. These reflect how mid June played out last year.

As we wait for mid June to arrive with permits in hand, it can't hurt to work on conditioning, acclimatize, check condition of gear, improve skill set,...

Hope to see you in June on the Big Mountain.

Jim

Hi everyone, first time posting here. I was wondering if anyone has updated conditions regarding snow in the Whitney Zone? I am hopping to rock climb Fishhook Arête this coming weekend. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Hi all,
Do any of you know if the Lone Pine lake is still frozen? Is the trail from the portal to the lake still with snow? We are camping this coming weekend at Long Pine Campground and I was wondering, how are the conditions to get to the lake. Thank you in advance.

Will have to see how quickly, and how high temp rises in the coming months. This will impact snow melt speed. Keep checking the forum for updates and watch the weather in the region. Storms can add to the stack.

You can also dig back and find posts from years prior to see what they've said about their experiences from previous July's.

By mid-July a lot of snow has melted away and anything remaining on the mountain isn't too troublesome. That being said, we are always at the mercy of the mountain, so keep checking in to read about hikers' experiences this season between now and July. Happy prepping!

That's totally dependent on the storm coming through this weekend. As well as if there are any other later storms that come through in May (not typical, but not impossible) and then how warm the weather is in May/June. It was a very slightly below average snow year - so in early July, I'd def expect snow on the trail still.