Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion dmatt / continued unsettled Sunday and Monday

Please, please weather gods, let it not snow next Saturday!!! Let the snow be hard, the skies be clear, and the chill be bearable. I keep checking the weather report and one minute it's nice and sunny, and at the end of the day the forecast turns to partly cloudy, back and forth.

EDIT: Seriously, I refreshed it right after posting this message and now it's saying there's a slight chance of showers. Jinxed myself!

Whoa! Checking the NOAA weather for Mt Whitney, there is a chance of snow for most of the next week!!!

Whoa is right. Had to check it twice. Reads like a February forecast in my area. SO if melt restarted next week, at the end of the current forecast, snow line on the trail could be where by say July 15. Trail Camp? Switchback 50? Trail Crest? Trailside Meadow? Portal Store? Hostel?

PS: I love that NOAA lists "chance of thunder". As if the thunder were the important piece.

Salty, it's really tough to say. So much depends on the temps higher up. Last year there was a lot of concern in June about snow and ice impeding the trail till deep into summer. Temps soared in the latter half of June, however, and by July 15th the MT could be negotiated pretty easily in lightweight hikers, though caution was necessary in some areas. Quillansculpture and I were up on the mountain the 14th and 15th last year, and the only substantial snow on the trail at that time was between Consultation Lake and Trail Camp, at the cables, and just below the summit.

That said, I don't recall it snowing regularly into June last year, and I think the overall moisture level on the mountain was lower than it is this year. I'm in the same boat as you, heading up on 7/20, so I'll be watching condition reports really closely. I'm pretty sure I'll be packing the micro-spikes for the trip.