I learned a lot from the trip reports and general discussions board; and would like to do the same to contribute.
A few main lessons from our July 4th summit if you want to skip the boring part
1. reserve your crampon and ice axe (if you are first timer like me)
Due to high demand, we are not able to find any crampon or ice axe to rent on July 3rd at Lone Pine. At the end, we have to drive an hour to Bishop (Wilson's sporting goods) to secure 2 crampons and 2 axes. One of our teammates wasn't able to summit since he didn't have the ice axe.
2. do you really need crampon or ice axe?
Three of us have never used crampon or ice axe before; it took a while and a few very nice hikers to teach us on the spot (especially the down hill part), so if you are like me, find some Youtube video and even practice a bit on the gentle slope of the chute. That said, we have seen a brother and sister going up and down with only trekking pole and no crampon. At the end, it is certainly up to your comfortable level.
3. watch out for the thunderstorm
On the night of July 3rd, there is a 20 percent chance of thunderstorm and it rained at trail camp; the weather forecast for July 4th is still 20 percent. But by the time I got to the top of the chute, it snowed and I can see dark cloud moving in our direction. By the time I got to summit at 11am, I have heard a few thunders and the summits south of mt Whitney are covered by black cloud. I was really scared and literally ran back to trail crest. I have met people giving up the summit worrying about the weather. At 12pm, it started to snow more heavily and I was so happy to start the descent of the chute. Looking back, I think safety is a lot more important than summit.
Trip report:
Three of us never had high altitude hiking experience and after reading a lot of related articles, our plan is to camp at Grandview campground (8500 ft.) on July 2nd, hike white mountain peak on July 3rd before hiking Mt Whitney on July 4th. To keep the story focused on the Whitney part, we didn't summit white mountain peak due to a large snow slope and lack of crampon or ice axes. But we did learn the hard way of high altitude hiking. The key take-way for us is drinking a lot more water and breath more forcefully.
We started the Whitney hike at 3:25am, at trail meadow, instead of walking up the switchbacks, we put on crampon and reached trail camp at 7:30am.
After resting for half an hour and refilling water, we started the ascend of the chute. At 8am, the snow is still quite firm and you can literally following other people's step. It is strenuous; take as many break as you can and drink lots of water. I only used crampon and almost no ice axe. But I saw people going up with just trekking poles. From the people I talked to, the real danger is falling rocks and AMS. I met two people who gave up the ascent because one of them developed AMS on the chute (met both of them again at the store and they seem both fine). By 9:30am, I got to the trail crest.
Right at that time, it started to snow and I can see dark cloud covering some summits on the west side of Mt Whitney; I decided to speed up the pace to avoid the possible thunderstorm. As I found out along the way, lots of smart people just dropped their bags on the side of the trail and summit with just water bottle and trekking poles. As such, the supposedly 1.9 mile trip from trail crest to summit took me forever. I think another reason is part of the trail are rocks and you have to be careful not to trip yourself. The last snow slope right before the summit is a bit scary, but if you firmly plant your trekking poles or ice axe into the snow before every move, you should be safe. I got to the top at 11am and heard the first thunder. I quickly signed my name, took a few pictures and started the descent, there were a total of 5 people on the top at the time but nobody planned to stay one more min.
I met a bunch of people on the way to the trail crest and they all asked if it was safe to go up; I think at that point (there are many thunders already and the summit south of Mt. Whitney is completely covered with dark cloud), anything I said didn't really matter. They have gone through the chute portion and the summit was already in sight. That is why I was impressed by a group of 3 senior hikers who gave up the summit and started the descent. I got back to the trail crest at 11:45am; but I realized that I didn't know how to go down the chute and it started snow heavily.
Thanks to a couple (with southern accent), they not only taught me how to descend but also lead the steepest part. I don't know if what I learned is text-book accurate, but as I practiced more, I become more and more comfortable with the technique. You shouldn't trust anything I said below, instead, talk to some expert and practice on some gentle slope first. What I learned is assuming you are at a cliff covered with snow, first plant your axe firmly into the snow (make sure you can hang you life on it), put your stronger foot down, make sure it will support you, then put your other foot down. After you are comfortable with your standing, move the axe down the slope and repeat everything. There are already plenty of ice axe holes and footings on the chute, but only descent when you felt safe to do so. It is very slow at the beginning, but as I felt more and more comfortable, I walked a lot faster, I started at 12pm and got back to trail camp at 1:20pm.
The trip from trail camp to portal is also longer than we thought, the 6.2 miles took us two hours and 40 min but overall it is hard to miss the trail at broad daylight.
It is certainly a good experience and I learned a lot and made some friends. If you are going to Mt. Whitney in the coming few weeks, please remember: safety first, help other if you can. For those people who generously give their advice to me on the chute, I am forever in-debt to you!
