*Disclaimer: Despite the boneheadedness of this trip report, we do have winter camping/climbing experience and knew what we were in for. We had the right gear, but just the right combo of things went wrong to sandbag our summit attempt.
Departed Whitney Portal for Outpost Camp in the (late) afternoon of 05/07. From the first snow, route finding was more challenging than expected as there are multiple tracks. Managed to reach what I now know was Outpost by dusk, but saw others up above at Mirror Lake and thought that was Outpost, since the winter trail we followed put us into the Outpost meadow right where a "no camping" sign was located. By the time we set up camp it was dark, and the winds were fierce - it was difficult to set up the tent and we made the decision to not mess with our stove and eat our non-cooked foods (bars, gels, etc.). Big mistake - hunger/cold/and fatigue had already set in. The winds howled all night and blew the tent around us making sleep difficult. We awoke to snow squalls and undiminished winds. Fortunately we had caught up to the hikers ahead of us the night prior who told us we had overshot Outpost, so we knew were were starting out from Mirror Lake (I know...you aren't supposed to camp there). We geared up, secured the tent and left to head towards the summit with some doubts about our chances for success. Route finding was much easier (go up) above the tree line, obvs, and we reached Consultation Lake. The wind and snow had been increasing all morning. As I turned to ask my partner a question we experienced a temporary whiteout - 25 feet away and I couldn't see him, and vice versa. At this point we decided to head back give conditions and not knowing if the weather would clear or get worse.
Headed back to camp, packed up and on the way down again encountered a lot of trouble with route finding. Looking back, I wish I had wanted to hang out at the camp since our trip ended up being a 24 hr. whirlwind, but the winds offered no respite and made for a really unpleasant camp. Postholed on the way down until I put on my snowshoes. Arrived at the car humbled, hungry, and pissed off at ourselves for so many things. The next day (Monday May 10) the clouds over the entire range confirmed that the weather did not seem to have improved.
I learned a lot this trip, and will be better prepared for winter route finding the next time at Whitney (which I hope will be soon). Being CA folks, we approached Whitney as a "local" hike and didn't put enough research into the route in the winter. Next time, GPS data will be loaded, and we will try to hike on a Saturday when there are more people heading up (we were alone on the mountain from what we could tell, but probably not true). Having to carry the bear box for food should be something we are used to, but this trip exposed the fact that we are too light on calories as a result of having to fit everything in. For next time we are trying different combos of high energy powdered drinks, moose goo, more oatmeal, etc. Stuff that is easy to prepare, quick to consume, and highly packable. Any tips appreciated! If you've read this far, I have a few questions for next time:
-Where does the route go from Consultation Lake? With the low visibility, we couldn't tell.
-How hard is it to hit the switchbacks under snow cover, or are they pretty much obscured completely. If so, do people just head straight up in the general direction? Any dangers to getting off route here?
-Any other tips for winter route finding above Consultation? It looks like the trail stays to the right of the Lake (judging from the map...which was not the most helpful in the snow, but figured that would be the case going in).
Thanks and good luck to others! Hope you have better conditions than we did.
"Turtles, Frogs & other Environmental Sculpture"