So much has changed in 10 years... the general popularity of the mountain saw huge growth - then even more so in the times of Covid, where hiking is one of the few 'safe' activities and even more folks have gotten into it (and thus now heard of Whitney/want to try it). Each year is a new record for the # of lottery applications submitted, and I think it was just over 25K submitted this year.
Also - when you went in May previously - that was/is still relatively early in the hiking season and generally requires some snow skills/experience in making decisions based on conditions as typically the switchbacks aren't 'open' yet due to snow and the chute is the main route up.
