Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports Mt Whitney Trail Trip report 5/17-5/18

Previous trip reports have helped me in the past and I hope my report can be of use to someone.

A group of 5 of us drove up Saturday morning at 630 am. Arrived at Lone Pine 3 hours later, got the permit, bear canister, blue bags, etc. then headed for the trail head (about 20-30 min drive from the ranger station).

We began our hike from the trail head around 1045 am. Our goal was to reach trail camp, spend the night there and begin our summit bid the next day.

The trail was great up until you pass mirror lake. After that, you begin hiking above the tree line and the winds get stronger and the temperature gets colder. (Note it took us about 3 hours to get to outpost camp).

Above Mirror Lake to Trail Camp there were various patches of snow which at times made the trail hard to see. Most hikers made their own trails in the snow to get to trail camp. (This began above trail side meadows and consultation lake).

We finally reached trail camp about 5 hours after leaving Whitney Portal. We were averaging a pace of 1.0 to 1.5 mph.

If you are camping at trail camp, make it a priority to find a camping spot that protects you from the wind. The wind blows from west to east (from the switch backs and down) and it does not let up. Ever. Everyone was camped to the right of the trail by the small lake there. The left side was all covered in snow. Although I did see a couple good spots on the rocks to the left. You just had to climb some snow to get there. I have an MSR Hyperflow water filter and that filtered the water just fine at Trail Camp.

Right so we began our hike from trail camp at 645 am, I did not see or hear of anyone going up the switch backs. You're better off going up the chute. I hiked up the chute with micro spikes and an ice axe. I saw another guy with just regular boots and trekking poles. So it's doable without crampons and an ice axe, but not recommended. Depends on your level of risk tolerance and fitness. It was a bottleneck up the chute. There were at least 20 people going up around the same time. Made some good friends though, and everyone is very supportive.

You top off at trail crest and what a view it was. It's also very windy here and you are tired from the chute already so be careful. It took me about 2 hours to get up the chute from trail camp. (would have been much faster had I had crampons on).

From trail crest to the summit the trail is mostly clear of snow. There are about 2 or 3 sections that had snow which should be taken seriously as it drops off steeply to the left. And it is very windy the entire way to the summit. At the summit, we took photos, hung out in the hut with like 13 other people to get warm and trade stories. Sky was clear. Great day.

Going down the chute was fun and easy. I used my ice axe but you didn't really need it. I was able to stop by just digging my heels into the snow. The other people in my group slid down using trekking poles. Got down in about 20 minutes (from trail crest to the bottom of the switch backs). However, earlier in the day the snow wouldn't have been good to slide down without and ice axe. It was slushier in the afternoon so easier to stop. You could even walk down. I didn't even use my micro spikes. The snow was that easy to walk on.


Some tips:

1. The sun began to go behind the mountain around 530 pm. Even though the sun set is around 730, it get's darker earlier if you are anywhere below trail crest. So consider that when making camping plans.

2. Consider staying the night at outpost camp instead of trail camp. It's easier on your legs because you don't have to carry so much for a higher altitude, it's warmer at outpost camp, and you might be able to get a better night's rest.

3. Stay hydrated. At least 3 liters of water/day. Add a sports drink if you can.

4. You will lose appetite at higher elevations so don't forget to eat something even if you don't feel that hungry.

5. Take a base layer, mid layer (fleece/wool), and an outer layer to protect you from the wind.

6. Waterproof boots won't hurt either.

7. For weather predictions check this site out:
mountain-forecast.com

Well that's it. It was my 3rd time summitting Whitney. I burned close to 10,000 calories in total on my overnight ascent. Any questions,comments let me know. Thanks!

Congrats! I am hoping to bag Whitney for the first time this weekend but coming from Horseshoe Meadow. How did Guitar Lake look from up there?

Thanks! I'm sure you'll reach the summit. Guitar Lake looked frozen from the trail. I have some pictures I will post as soon as I figure out how.

smasherbot wrote:
> I have some pictures I will post as soon as I figure out how.

smasher, here you go:   Uploading Pictures to the Picture Gallery
The post below it is "Instructions for including a picture in a post in other forums."

Okay here are some pics I took from the trail. Enjoy!

Nice shots! Congrats on your success!

Thanks for your report. Dig you carry a helmet? Do you think there's any need for one?

You're welcome. I did not take a helmet. I did see some hikers with helmets hiking up the chute but there were no rocks falling down or anything or like that. If it makes you feel safer go for it. But most people did not have one.

You said that you saw people in the chute with only hiking boots and trekking poles. Would you have felt comfortable with this? If not, how about microspikes and trekking poles?

Hi Nick,

I did see a couple guys with only hiking boots and trekking poles. I wouldn't have because there were some parts where the snow was a bit icy and finding grip was rather difficult. I used microspikes and trekking poles half way up the chute then I used an ice axe by digging it in front of me with every step (you want 2 points of contact at all times e.g. one foot and the ice axe). The easiest thing to do if you're not taking crampons is follow the footprints of the ones who have gone before you (a metaphor for life too haha). You might reach a point of no return half way up, I did, and you'll just have to continue up the chute because it's the only route you can take. Once you pass the cables, you basically have to continue up the chute.

Hi smasherbot - nice trip report and welcome to the site. Looks like we're practically neighbors. I live Colton.




I hiked Cirque Peak this past weekend. One thing to think about is that climbing and descending are very different. As we neared the summit, I hiked with just hiking poles. On the descent, I put on my micros and headed down the same route. I quickly realized it was a bad idea and found a different way down. The chute looks much steeper than what I was dealing with and your options are very limited.

I agree. It sounds like going with crampons and poles will be a faster and more efficient way to summit at this point. We'll see what conditions are like after the snow finishes up.