I've been also following the forum, gathering important information even though conditions on the trail change rapidly, and yes, "play as you go! I will post our experience as soon as possible. Meanwhile, if this helps, here is a summary of the recent posts related to the switchbacks and chute experiences (from the general Whitney Zone forum, but from different threads):
Posted on July 1:
"summit 6/29/17- i slept at trail camp overnight 6/28 into 6/29. left camp at 5 am, headed up chute. Hillsound trail crampons (microspikes), and trek poles ONLY. climbed halfway up chute, felt totally unsafe without real crampons and/or ice axe, so traversed left towards switchbacks. that was scary. got to rocks, and scrambled till i found switchbacks uncovered. scrambled around, cutting up wherever i could find exposed switchbacks. got almost to top ridge, and started heading right towards trail crest. crossed over the snow towards the top, till crest. walked to summit, arrived about 9 or so. back down to crest, and wasn't even trying to go down chute from top without the axe! traversed across ridge till above where switchbacks are. cut down wherever i could see switchbacks. finally got to cables, which were still covered in snow, but was able to hang onto them from outside and across. found more clear switchbacks and cut down them till i felt i was low enough to slide without an axe safely. again, i did it w microspikes and trek poles only, but would've felt safer w the axe. but if anyone feels nervous about descending chute for whatever reason, maybe explore this route. the rocks were a little loose and gravelly cutting switchbacks but i felt more comfortable this way. hope this helps!"
more details from the same guy:
"...started climbing chute at 5. got halfway up chute and felt totally unsafe without axe, so traversed left to the rocks where some switchbacks were findable. went straight up switchbacks over rocks, scrambling, up way towards the ridge. at the top, traversed back to the right and towards trail crest over snowfield just below ridge, until crest. from there to summit no snow. descent- back to trail crest, and across rocks and snowfield to above the switchbacks. i did this figuring get myself as low as i could, to limit my chances of something bad happening w a slip, less distance to slide. well, found a lot of switchbacks, and cut straight down where snow covered them. was able to get to the cables, which were still under snow but the tops were able to be grabbed. crossed them, and cut more switchbacks down to where i felt comfortable sliding without an axe. FYI if you find yourself at trail crest headed down without axe and real crampons, explore this method.
One more post:
“We had heard about a few people making it up the switchbacks, which were still covered with snow towards the bottom. -We opted for the chute but only made it about halfway up when we hit our turn around time of 11am. This is where I wished that I would have opted to bring crampons over microspikes. -The snow got very slushy very fast. I personally would not climb the chute or attempt the traverse to the cables without an ice ax, but I am also an extremely novice climber. -Glissading down was lots of fun, but remember to either hold on tight or use a leash on your ax! We saw multiple people lose their axes because the couldn't hold on to it while glissading.
One more post:
“I talked with a young couple on 29th in Trail Camp, they said they went up trail crest thru switchbacks and came down at chute.”
More:
“Many people would prefer to use the switchbacks, so a few hardy souls will go up as far as they can. If it's too tough, they bail and move west to the "chute" (actually the snow slope). At some point, people will succeed all the way on the switchbacks, and lots of people, then most people, will take that route. I think it's a word-of-mouth message that is passed among hikers sharing notes in Trail Camp.
If there is too much snow on the switchbacks to make them unusable, then there will be enough snow on the slope to climb up and glissade down.”
More:
“During the winter, the chute is the clear choice. It takes you directly to Trail Crest with no route-finding problems, and it is much faster than the switchbacks. It also offers the opportunity to glissade or even ski down. The switchbacks are difficult to find, let alone follow, in the winter. However, given enough determination, the switchbacks are always passable.
Little by little, the chute melts out, and rocks get exposed. It becomes dangerous to glissade and easy to punch through and scrape your legs. At the same time, the switchbacks get better as the snow melts.
Mountaineers will use the chute as late into the year as it is safe to do so. Hikers will head for the switchbacks."
