http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php RSS Feed for Trip Reports WhitneyZone Message Board - UBB.threads(tm) http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/31523/Re_Grand_Canyon_Rim_to_Rim#Post31523 Posted by Steve C:
> [color:#000099][i]And my friends tell me the North Rim "opens" on May 15. What does this mean? Can I not start down from the North Rim before May 15?[/i][/color] It is hard to believe, seeing how many people were packed in at the North Rim Lodge last week. But that is what I am told, too. Julius' trip was keyed on the N Rim opening. But do call: "Backcountry Information Center: (928) 638-7875 between 1 pm and 5 pm Monday through Friday, except on federal holidays" [url=http://www.nps.gov/grca/contacts.htm]GC contacts[/url] With the popularity of GC, it seems like they would begin allowing access earlier in the year.]]> Fri, 24 May 2013 08:42:46 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/31466/Re_Main_Trail_05_20_13_Photos_#Post31466 Posted by Steve C:
Calicokat: Thanks SO MUCH for the pictures! I posted several of them and a link in the [url=http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/31465#Post31465]Current Conditions[/url] thread. People really need to see these. It shows how tenuous conditions are. When it is icy, one slip could be the last. But during mid-day when the snow is softer, it is so much easier.]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 08:28:45 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/31459/Re_Newbies_on_Whitney_main_tra#Post31459 Posted by Steve C:
CKC, in a week, I am pretty sure you and your group can make it just fine with only hiking poles. This year is just as lean as last year for snow levels, and last year about this time, people started using the trail, with a little caution required in the section with the cables. Watch for trip reports in the next week, and that should give you the best info. If you are camping at Trail Camp, get up early and start hiking as soon as the sun hits the snow. That should soften it for good footing, and also give you enough time to get back down the switchbacks before the shadow of the crest blocks the sun and the snow ices up again (2-3 PM). ]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 00:36:23 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/31373/Re_New_Army_Pass_5_11_13#Post31373 Posted by MooseTracks:
Thanks, Sierra Angler. The middle chute on AP had great snow, but I would hate to think of anyone charging up (or down) it without proper gear and know-how. [img]https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/920535_10201193551861356_365884798_o.jpg[/img] ]]> Mon, 13 May 2013 14:25:14 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/31315/Re_111_Days_In_The_Sierra#Post31315 Posted by RoguePhotonic:
I have been working 7 days a week for like 2 months. And at this point I know I will never finish this before I go back into the Sierra. [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/roguephotonic/sets/72157631677921384/]Week 7[/url] [url=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8483/8204165515_fa95ea7320_h.jpg]MAP[/url] Continuing up Gardiner Pass was proving to be an easy task as the slopes were not very steep. Suddenly I came out on a massive [url=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8037/8064276923_bf6dc7ab28_h.jpg]avalanche[/url] area that was staggering. It easily was one of the largest I have seen in the Sierra but luckily for me the primary bulk of debris was further down the hill so traveling through it proved to be easy. After I had crossed over it and entered the forest I picked up what was left of this old trail that could be taken to [url=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8311/8071492202_9124b5cb5c_h.jpg]the top[/url] . From here I had the choice to hook wide around some large rocks to my right or enter a steep small chute with a [url=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8030/8071489100_0f5d456841_h.jpg]metal box[/url] smashed at it's top. I took the chute and after about 15 feet it met up with the switchbacks that took me [url=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8310/8071525825_d4501e33d2_h.jpg]most of the way[/url] to the lower lakes. From here the trail was so faint that I saw no reason to even look for it anymore. After skirting around the [url=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8172/8071513748_9454b6b572_h.jpg]small lakes[/url] I began meandering down anyway I could. Because of other things that had been on my mind I was startled to see a [url=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8170/8071510934_c632e0fe7d_h.jpg]pile of rocks[/url] sealing off a large rock. I thought it might have been someone's tomb but the other side was open. More like some kind of extreme shelter. As I made my way down the final hill to Lake 9,530 I almost tripped on a big stretch of barbed wire. It was wrapped very oddly around the area in a manor I could not make any real sense of. Nothing more than a hazard now! After skirting around [url=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8186/8098505337_c77f54fd79_h.jpg]the lake[/url] close to the outlet I found an okay camp and went for a dip in the lake but was displeased to find a couple fresh water leaches on my ankles or at least that's what I thought they were. The whole area had allot of trash for being more or less a cross country location. While at the outlet a thin strip of silver was showing itself under a narrow water channel on the rock. It turned out to be a [url=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8469/8079138760_2e06c561f6_h.jpg]large knife[/url] that probably had been sitting there for many years. A bit too heavy for me to pack out I thought so I left it at my camp. For the first time on this trip I caught some fish and cooked them but my cooking method was not so great and I felt it was hardly worth all the effort. What was left of the ]]> Thu, 09 May 2013 21:03:49 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/31277/Re_Mt_Whitney_Main_Trail_amp_M#Post31277 Posted by So.BayMark:
Thanks for the pictures Jim, you guys were moving!! Congrats to you and Patrick mark]]> Tue, 07 May 2013 17:04:48 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/31257/Re_MR_4_29_13#Post31257 Posted by nyker:
Here are some more photos and details from the climb: http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=13461&cpgm=tripmain&ski=Include ]]> Mon, 06 May 2013 20:19:20 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/30981/Re_Mexican_Volcano_Trip#Post30981 Posted by nyker:
Hey Bama, thanks. I'd like to get back to Orizaba too. Trick is as least for me being able to properly acclimatize for more than a couple days before going down, rather then spending 8-10 days there again higher up, which for various reasons was not the most convenient thing to do.]]> Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:37:20 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/30951/Re_Mt_Whitney_Trail_Conditions#Post30951 Posted by Fishmonger:
[quote=lastadventurer]Hey all; had a great hike on Sunday up from the Portal to just beyond Trail Camp. Surprised to see almost no people (what the!!!), [/quote] we were all on the Mountaineer's Route :grin: Conditions there are about the same - good snow above 10,500 feet and solid before noon, after that the occasional chest deep post hole moment becomes more likely. The ledges are dry and only very little snow is found along the North Fork, then above LBSL you need to deal with snow on and off until you hit Iceberg Lake, where snow goes 3/4 up the chute. Iceberg and Frog pond still frozen, liquid water hard to find above 11,300 Grass is starting to grow at the lower elevations, and some flowers are beginning to sprout, too. Very quiet at the portal still, probably because the store is still closed. ]]> Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:24:56 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/30865/Re_Weather_Window_MR_3_30_31#Post30865 Posted by Brett Dean:
Outstanding! ]]> Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:09:25 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/30837/Re_Adirondacks_in_the_Spring#Post30837 Posted by nyker:
Here is a trip I did in the fall 2011 around the same area: Just caught some nice foliage! http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=11156&parmuser=nyker&cpgm=tripuser ]]> Mon, 08 Apr 2013 06:58:57 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/30827/Re_HST_High_Sierra_Trail_and_P#Post30827 Posted by 2600fromatari:
Not sure how I missed this before but great stuff Steve. The HST is on the to-do list one of these days.]]> Sun, 07 Apr 2013 21:36:25 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/30630/Re_Death_Valley_Wildrose_Peak#Post30630 Posted by Bulldog34:
[quote=bobpickering]Gary, if you need a snappy caption for those shots of you and John wearing your school hats, how about "42-10"? [/quote] I like it, Bob!]]> Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:14:33 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/30618/Re_Mountaineer_s_Route_March_2#Post30618 Posted by scott1120:
As a group, we decided to get the winter camping experience since not all of us had it. And we would have just stayed that night in Lone Pine which isn't nearly as exciting as UBSL! Of course this required lugging another 12 lbs per guy half-way up the trail, but it was worth it. We certainly could have trekked for 2 more hours to get back to the TH in one day. But it would have really pushed the physical limits. ]]> Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:36:41 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/30569/Re_Circle_of_Solitude_July_12#Post30569 Posted by Steve C:
Here's another of his great pictures. Somewhere along Bubbs Creek. ]]> Mon, 25 Mar 2013 23:13:53 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/30496/Re_MR_Route_Conditions_3_19_13#Post30496 Posted by pBerg:
Great TR, thanks for sharing!]]> Sat, 23 Mar 2013 16:27:23 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/30423/Re_Trippin_the_Tuolumne_Light_#Post30423 Posted by MooseTracks:
Thanks, saltydog. :blush: :grin: ]]> Wed, 20 Mar 2013 07:16:31 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/30270/Re_Mountaineers_Route_3_7_3_9#Post30270 Posted by Steve C:
Karin, thanks for posting such a great trip report. What luck, though. I think you picked the coldest weekend since December to climb! What an excellent trip!]]> Tue, 12 Mar 2013 22:52:52 PDT http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/30001/Re_Tuolumne_Grove_Big_Trees_Yo#Post30001 Posted by Bee:
Continuing with my objective of seeing all the Big Tree groves in Yosemite. Tuolumne Grove is easier to get to (the road is shorter with very little grade) so there were families and casual walkers taking in the trees. Even with the new snow, the trail was patchy, icy, and easily managed by microspike (absolutely no need for snowshoes). Once again, I was not disappointed. [img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8514/8509433840_023bbd5102_z.jpg[/img] The first giant on the path [img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8102/8509429342_b487e8a47b_z.jpg[/img] A fallen giant tree with the heartwood rotted away (allowing complete passage through the tree)]]> Mon, 25 Feb 2013 20:41:39 PST http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/29928/Re_Mt_Whitney_Mountaineer_s_Ro#Post29928 Posted by falcon568:
Myself and a climbing bud headed out this last weekend (15-17 February) to climb Mt Whitney’s Mountaineer’s Route. I haven’t really done any Trip Reports, but thought I’d put one together since there’s very limited route info on the MR thus far this year. Hopefully new snow fall doesn't render this out of date too quickly. On Friday, we drove up to within a mile of the Portal before the snow was too much for 4WD. It was a very short walk to the trailhead and we quickly set up camp, ate, and went to sleep. On Saturday, we broke camp and headed out around 0800. Sadly, I was too zealous in my packing as my backpack weighed in at 67 pounds. It didn’t take long to reach the canyon leading up to Lower Boy Scout Lake, and the trail was mostly packed snow. We put on crampons just before the rise leading up to the Foxtail Pine offshoot marking the start of the ledges. As there was enough snow to cover the willows and an established trail leading up the canyon, we bypassed the ledges and followed the trail up to Lower Boy Scout Lake. To generalize the climb from here to Iceberg Lake, the snow conditions for the most part were very good. We chose to keep our crampons on the entire way and this worked well except for a few scattered areas of loose snow and associated postholing/cursing. We brought snowshoes, but didn’t feel like fiddling with having to keep putting them on and taking them off, and there just wasn’t enough postholing to really warrant using them. There’s an established trail leading up to the 2 chutes before Iceberg Lake. The 1st chute didn’t look all that great with glaze-ice covered rock, and the 2nd chute was marginally better. The snow conditions weren’t ideal here as the last section of the chute was a short section of awkward 3rd class rock/ice which made for some fun mixed climbing in crampons. I was exhausted by this point and beyond happy when we reached Iceberg Lake and could set up camp for the night. The temp dropped pretty low at night, and I was glad for my -20F degree sleeping bag which let me get some sleep. We woke at sunrise on Sunday and watched a couple groups who had also set up camp departing, having decided to forgo the summit. We set up the Mountaineer’s Gully around 0820, leaving most of our gear at camp. The snow up the gully was about perfect, much more consolidated than I expected at this time of year. There were a couple spots of deeper soft snow, but for the most part is was either kick-stepping or front-pointing to get to the last bit before the Notch. The last 200’ or so before the Notch was scree, bleh. It had been getting colder and colder as we made our way up the gully, and when we reached the Notch is was downright freezing. The wind was screaming and my face/hands quickly went numb (around -20F degrees wind chill). We threw on most of our remaining cold weather gear and tried to get warm before starting up the last bit. While my friend had brought a rope up, we decided against using it as the ‘F]]> Wed, 20 Feb 2013 07:34:22 PST