Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Mt. Whitney - Main Trail - May 6-8

Hi just an update who is still looking at being on the mountain 6-8, particularly making a summit attempt on the 7th

Hi just for an update, who is still looking at being on the mountain on the 6-8, particularly anyone going for the summit on the 7th

Newclimber, be sure to read Shri S's trip report here:   Mt Whitney Main Trail in April

He did very well, took his time, and stayed safe.

If you need to melt snow, the pump-style MSR stoves (Dragonfly or Whisperlite) are way better than any canister. Canister stoves just don't put out enough heat to melt snow for drinking water. Also, I would think that the inlet to the Trail Camp pond would be accessible to break through the ice and dip water, but I can't be sure of that.

Newclimber - me and a friend are still planning a May 7 summit ... weather permitting.

ericploeb- I am planning on climbing May 1-2. I'll let you know how it goes and what the conditions are like. I talked to the ranger station today and they said to expect snow 2 miles up and be prepared for drift due to the high winds. I am staying at trail camp for the night which I am told is camp-able even with all the snow they got on Friday. Definitely bringing an ice ax and crampons for my mountaineering boots.

Happy Climbing!

@newclimber my +1 and I will be hitting trail camp on the 7th, then hanging out the rest of the day scouting routes for an early summit on the 8th.

That trip report was a good read thanks Steve, however does leave me a little unclear on what a realistic turn around time might be considering earlier on in this thread we were about being back at being trail camp by 1.30. The 2 late summiters must not of passed trail camp until 5 or 6 and got back safely. What are your views. I have to say my hopes of getting to the top have diminished a fair bit since a 1pm return to trail camp was suggested.

Ericploeb, so are you doing the walk to trail camp on Friday now? If you are to have a go on sat 7th it would be good to run into you guys at the bottom of the chute.

@NewClimber - we are going to leave Whitney Portal early in the AM maybe around 8am or so and head to Trail Camp. I'm not sure how long that section will take.

We will then attempt to Summit early Sunday morning and return back to our cars/Los Angeles.

What's your plan? We'd love to meet up.

Thanks @JGerber!

Newclimber - Steve C and the others are definitely more qualified to answer your question but I'll offer my two cents. The reason for getting back to the chute as early as possible while returning from the summit is because the MT chute faces east. Once the sun goes beyond the Trail Crest ridge after noon, the chute is in the shade and the snow on it begins to firm up quite fast. This is dangerous while traversing down in case of intentional (for ex glissading) or unintentional falls as your ice axe and crampons may not be able to get a good bite.

Personally, the turnaround time from the summit I had set for myself was 2pm as I knew that I would have to get down only to the Trail Camp for the night since the tent was there. I was also okay with not glissading down the entire chute. Also, the weather at that time and the forecast for the next two days were very good so that was one less thing to worry about.

The two people who summitted after I did, they did fine but I would not have been comfortable in their position at all (3pm+ summit and 530pm for the chute, 8pm for Outpost). But they probably had a higher risk appetite and prior Whitney experience.

Newclimber, Not sure where you saw the "Trail Camp by 1:30" That sounds like a good time if you're day hiking and want to be back to Whitney Portal by dark.

Shri S has explained the chute icing issue very well, and if you have crampons and axe, even that isn't a big issue. Just understand that glissading can become hazardous in icy conditions. People have died on the chute (a number of years ago), but in extreme icing conditions, and they did not have any gear for the ice.

The turnaround times have often been issues for people arriving at the summit at something like 4 PM. Last year a fellow apparently thought he'd shortcut off the north side and fell to his death. Another several years ago was last seen descending the switchbacks around 6 PM, and he got lost just above Mirror Lake, missing the switchback and continued walking west, trying to downclimb in the dark, cliffed out, and fell. They found him a number of days later. Another years ago was seen in October heading for the summit near Trail Crest at 4 PM. It is guessed he was overcome by cold and darkness and was found at the base of the chute, after he fell from the Mt Muir area. All these deaths are due to darkness falling on people unfamiliar with the area.

So go, with full knowledge of what can occur, and I think you will be just fine.

The May 3-5 (Tue-Thurs) weather window is looking pretty good right now, so I'm shooting for that slot. I don't have a permit, so I'll have to try for a cancellation.

I think the OP might be referring to my recommendation about getting back to the Trail crest and beginning the descent of the Chute by 1-2pm.

My calcs are based on the following schedule (assuming camping overnight @ Trail camp):

6-7am begin the Chute
8-9am reach Trail crest
10-11am reach the summit
noon-1pm get back to Trail crest

If you spent 1/2 hour at the summit, then you'd be looking at 12:30-1:30 or so @ TC. Easy for me to say after being up 5 times before, but first timers might want to hang out a bit more.

Anyway, the idea is to be up and at it early - both up & down. An early start - after all, that's why it's called an "alpine start" ie pre-dawn, is that it gives you plenty of daylight to allow for unplanned events. Presumably, you've still got a lot of energy, the temperatures aren't yet falling, people can find you, and the snow/ice is softer.

Compare that to later: there's only a few hours of daylight left, the temps are rapidly falling, any search would be with torch/flashlight, and the snow/ice on the Chute firms up like a high-speed ramp.

Assuming you get back to Trail camp by 3pm, then it's a pretty straightforward march down to your car, hot food & a beer (or two). Push the schedule back just a few hours, and all these variables begin to change.

Hi Hobbes/Steve,

I'm nearing the trip and getting really excited! I've read so many articles about the importance of conditioning for Whitney that it's got be a bit uneasy - but I'm going for it!

As far as a schedule - I still need some help My friend and I plan on driving up from LA Friday night - do you think we should leave right after work? Or leave LA later so that we arrive at Whitney Portal around 8am? I'm thinking we'd like to hit the trailhead between 8am and 12pm (Saturday) (time TBD).

We plan to make it to Trail Camp on the first day. What time do you recommend we leave to summit the next morning (Sunday)? I hear some people leaving before the sun rises. What do you recommend?

Last question (sorry!) - is it possible to depart trail camp (Sunday), summit, and return to LA Sunday night?

Thank you again so much!!! Can't wait to report back. I hope the weather is good!

E

I missed this!

I think we'll start as early as possible - I'll find out when sunrise is (I prefer to hike in the light). I think that should put us in a good position to summit (spend a few minutes up there) and return to our cars and head back to LA.

What do you think? Doable?

Thanks again!

E

Eric,
I hope you have read Shri S's report.

He started from Whitney Portal at 11 AM, made Trail Camp by 4 pm. It might take you longer, but you certainly don't need to start too early the first day. Try to get some sleep Friday night somewhere.

Shri was lucky that he didn't get hit with altitude issues. Many people do who camp at Trail Camp the first night. If all goes well, and you start early from Trail Camp, you could make it back to the car for a late drive home. I've done that sometimes -- share the driving and trade off taking naps on the trip home.

The general concept is earlier/longer is better. Earlier, as in arrivals & starts, longer as in acclimatization period.

I've only summitted a 14er once with just one night @ 10-11k. (I live @ sea level, so I'm talking about driving up, hiking to 10-11k, then summitting the next day.) The result was stopping every 50 yards to catch my breath - and I'm in pretty good condition:

http://www.highsierratopix.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12632

That's (sort of) ok in the middle of summer with perfect weather, but not so good when you're trying to make time, and especially not ok in spring snow conditions.

In the situation I'm considering about just driving up & shooting for a cancellation, I won't be able to get one until 11am. Add in the traffic construction, etc, and I'd be lucky to be on the trail by 1pm.

So my options are:

(a) Hike to Trail camp, arriving by 6pm, then get up @ 5am the next morning on just one nights sleep; or

(b) Go up a day early, day hike up to Kearsarge, spend the night @ Onion valley, then cruise down and grab a permit. The problem is it still puts me at a late start and arrival to TC; or

(c) Go up a day early, get my 11am permit & get up to Portal by 1pm per (a), only in this case just hike to Lone Pine lake. Set up camp, do a little fishing, maybe day hike up to TC (higher than Kearsarge pass), then come back.

The next day, my "true" hiking day would then afford a leisurely noon start from LP lake, getting to TC by 4pm, and doing all the normal camp stuff. This way, I'd have two nights at elevation and be ready for a 5am wake-up alarm.

Side note: I'm also planning on carrying 6 liters of water from Outpost. 3 liters for the summit (1 pint per hour ie 6-8 hours travel), 2 left at camp, and 1 for drinking*/cooking the first night.

* Don't underestimate how much water you will want/need to drink during the night. And take aspirin: headache + thirst will keep you up and prevent a good nights sleep.

Hobbes, I am amazed that you are planning on carrying 6 L of water! Why not a stove and fuel -- they only weigh about as much as 1-2L, and you can melt all the snow you need?

When you are at Trail Camp, could you try to dig down to the inlet to the TC pond. There should be running water there, and it is a really shallow stream. I'd like to know if that is a viable water source this time of year.

It's only 2 miles or so from outpost to tc. 6l equals 12 lbs. Easier and less hassle. Imagine how long it would take to melt. All that time I can practicing on the chute.

Hi everyone!

I was reading through this post by Eric and was a little confused with the timing he gave in one of his posts. I also read Shri S posts and he had mentioned it took him only about 4-5 hours to get to the Camp spot. The next day morning, if we started at the first sun light (~6 AM based on the sunrise sunset over the past few weeks), I am calculating about 4-5 (11 A.M) hrs to get to the summit ( given altitude adjustments happen well and no other problem). Is this a reasonable timing? After spending about 30 mins or so at the summit start the descent and get back to the camp site by 4 PM, pack up the tent and other stuff and come back to the trail head possibly by 8 PM (just after the sun sets).

Do you guys think, my timing calculation is reasonable?

Thanks!