Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Williamson or whitney

Hi there!
Can anyone tell me if crampons are needed for the whitney or the williamson? We are a group of four from a small town of Barcelona and we would like to climb a 4000m, we didn't get premits for the whitney, so we are looking other options. If anyone has any suggestion it will be welcomed!
Thanks
Pat

Hi Pat, glad you fixed your post. Odd (European) characters cause the problem, those like à, á, â, ã, ä, æ, é. If your text has one of those anywhere, nothing will display.

One of these months, we will get the problem fixed.

Your original post:

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Now, first question: Are you and your friends looking for a long day hike, or do you plan to do an overnight back pack trip?

Also (as to the crampon questions) when will you be coming out to climb?

SB, from Pat's original text, he'll be here in a week.

Pat: Looking up Mt Williamson on Summit Post, I see this: "Update: The long-standing bighorn sheep closure on Mt. Williamson has been rescinded."

If you're looking for a DAY hike, Mt Williamson is extreme: 8000' (2400m). Mt Langley is a more reasonable day hike.

But, if you arrive at the Visitor Center at 8:30 AM the day before your hike, and check every 30 minutes or so, you are almost sure to get the Whitney day hike permits. Mid-week permits are easier to get. For Overnight permits, you can get them the same way, but also, might get a permit to start same-day. Mt Whitney is the only one you need a permit for day hiking. All other trails are open for day hiking without a permit.

Yeah, I agree with Steve on Langley.

Williamson via Shepherd's Pass and the West Face (easiest way) would be a days effort reserved for someone super familiar with the area or someone with loads of mountaineering experience and the stamina of a trained athlete.

Aggregate elevation gain for a dayhike of Williamson is 2900m (9500 ft) (taking into account the drop to Mahogany Flat and the Williamson Bowl).

It is 19 km (12 mi) from the TH to Shepherds Pass, a 3km (2 mi) cross country trek, just to the base of the W. Face. It is then 600m (2000 ft) vertical foot climb to the summit (Class 2/3).

Then the descent, it's all that in reverse with 100m gain to get back on trail and another 150m section of climb on trail.

George Creek is shorter, but steeper and one heck of a brush-buster. I've never done George Creek though, so I can't attest to the difficulty.

Steve, Thanks very much for the information! We though about an overnight trip for the whitney or two night trip for the williamson, and if possible the Tyrrell.... I didn't check the langley, but i will! We arrive to san francisco on saturday so probably we'll try to get premits for the whitney during the week-days let's see if we have luck! Thanks again! Pat

Thanks SB! We are quite familiar with mountaineering, but i understand that we are not familiar with the area, and 2900m elevats on is not a silly thing! I let you know what de have decided! Thanks a lot for the information. Pat