My son (25) and I (58) have a multi-day permit for July 25th. We are hikers, but not snow experienced and this is our first attempt at Mt. Whitney. We have microspikes, but have never used them. Have read some of the recent reports and does anyone have experience to know if the switchbacks will be open? Also, I don't read much about it, but are there any cliff exposures to be worried about other than where the cables are?