Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Mountaineer's Route June(ish)

It is almost impossible to predict the route conditions so far in advance - a lot depends on how much snow we will get this winter. In any case, you should be able to comfortably navigate mixed terrain in crampons (5.10B TR skills are useless for that) and move quickly. Lots of people bail at the Notch because they find the final 400 intimidating. Keep this in mind and have a back up plan in case you have to turn around before summiting - a descend via NF trail in the dark is not nearly as easy as descend via Main Trail. Also, keep in mind that snow conditions in June will vary significantly over each 24 hour cycle. Consolidated snow will feel like a paved road but afternoons could be post-holing nightmares. Lastly, the final 400 has numerous variations - you can always traverse on dry rock (and take off crampons) if the snow level is low.