Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Late May Summit via John Muir Trail

Saltydog wrote:
> ...but the first HST hikers to push Kaweah Gap (except for two experienced winter climbers) 10,500 were about 2 weeks later.

Salty, could someone negotiate those areas if he were ok using crampons and ice axe?

Coming from Precipice Lake to Hamilton Lake in 2007 (look along the right hand wall to see the trail):









Looking back up at Eagle Scout Peak and the top of the headwall:

Depends: "OK"" I don't know. "Highly competent" would be better, Look at Laura's photos below and imagine snow cover. Two hairy stretches if snow covered: the headwalls above Hamilton and just below Precipice lakes. Lots of exposed traverses. Above Precipice, where snow is most likely, slope and exposure is less than on the MWMT chute, but route finding is tougher. Last year, even though it was basically clear to somewhere below Precipice, about fifty feet to the right of the tunnel, in Laura's middle shot, there was a huge , thick slab over the trail, giving the choice of crawling 50 feet under it, with 2-3 foot clearance and ice water dripping, and collapse imminent (it happened a couple days later) and traversing over it at the point of greatest exposure on the wall. Not a choice I wanted to make with my family. So the answer is technically yes, it not that hard going, but between exposure above Hamilton and route-finding above precipice, its not one you want to take lightly. This was built as a recreational trail, and intentionally took on the engineering challenge of carving it out of the wall most of the way from Crescent Meadow to KG: not one established by long use, like other HS trails.

LOVE those pictures. I have GOT to hike that trail! Preferably without the snow.

Its a beauty. Easy acclimatization, too. Starts out just over 6000 and only goes to 8240 at Hamilton, but the scenery, dramatic exposures and terrain rival that found at much higher elevations on other trails. Then Kaweah Gap is only 10,700 or so, dropping after that down to just above treeline for a good stretch along the upper reaches of Big Arroyo. Finishes at Whitney, of course, but gets there soon enough over days by very manageable increments. This is the MWT for me.

Hey ya'll,

I promised I'd give a report when I made it back, and so here I am.

First off, wow. We had the adventure of a lifetime.

So Kaweah Gap was DEFINITELY snowy. There was about 2 feet of snow at Precipice Lake and above, and we were post-holing for about 1/2 mile -- ended up scrambling the talus and boulders for the final push. We definitely needed snowshoes, but we didn't carry them in an effort to go light. We're just glad we made it over before the afternoon build-up really hit.

The JMT section of the Whitney is definitely passable, even after the storm that hit a few days ago, although it certainly made us nervous getting ~2" of snow at 8,000 feet two days before we were set to summit. We had only a few icy sections, and with microspikes and poles, we made it through just fine.

Photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a...mp;l=3174594591

Thanks for all your help.

Glad you made it Connor. Where were you when the super cold weather hit?

I like this picture of the cables on the switchbacks of the Mt Whitney Main Trail.




...and your view of Precipice Lake:

We were at Junction Meadow (only 8000 ft) after a 15 mile day, and I can't even begin to describe the sense of dread we had that night...

Serious story regarding the weather though... the next night at Guitar Lake we encountered a mountaineer who had become lost in the storm that day (high winds, lots of snow, poor vis). He couldn't find the right way down off the summit, and, fearing for his safety, decided to descend as fast as possible (sans navigational tools). He descended the Guitar Lake side when we found him (he approached us and asked how to get to Portal around 5 PM)... gave him some food, water, boiling Nalgenes, etc. and put him up in our two-man for the night... pretty tight squeeze. He survived the night (albeit, very chilly...), and we made the push toward Portal in the morning. I'll tell you the whole story if you're interested -- it was pretty serious stuff.

Even day-hikes can turn VERY serious in the wrong conditions...

Yes, we want that story -- start a new thread with it! Hikers do that on a regular basis; fortunately it is infrequent.

Somehow, due to fatigue or low oxygen, or whatever, they miss the sign at the junction on the west side and down from Trail Crest. Somehow they don't realize on their way to the summit, that they have descended a little, so need to ascend at that spot. Instead of turning left and climbing the short distance to Trail Crest, they just head DOWN to the WEST, and into trouble.

Sure glad you were there to help the guy! The results could have been far worse.

Yes! We want the story! We want the story!

No pictures: It didn't happen.

I don't suppose it could have been the First Tent guy from BackMan's adventure . . .

Here you go:

http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/24572#Post24572

Regarding pics: I meant to get some, but honestly, it wasn't appropriate during the situation. I meant to get one of all of us at Portal, but by the time we reached it, we had forgotten about it. I don't want to go around putting his face on the internet either. It was a mistake and unfortunate, and I hope the story sans photos will be enough for people to learn from it.

Thanks Connor. You have his contact info, I think. If he might be so inclined, it would be great if he could post a write-up of his experience. Many people can really learn from first-hand reports. Please extend the invitation to him to write.

I'll do my best to get him to do that!