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

Oh and one more thing is , I am not an expert ice axe user and was hoping to use the switchbacks if they are in a good condition. I understand using the chute will help save time but assuming I end up using the switchbacks, are my timing still reasonable?

IdEaMaNi, how long it takes really varies among people. I was surprised Shri made it to Trail Camp in 4 hours. Trail camp is about 6 miles up the trail and is 4000' higher than Whitney Portal. Shri was only carrying 30 lbs, I think, which is quite a bit lighter than many who head up.

I would plan on 6 hours to haul a pack to Trail Camp, and if you get there sooner, that is good.

The switchbacks are completely snowed over at this time, so following those is going to take you longer, since you would be breaking trail (tromping through soft snow) for a lot more steps than if you go straight up the chute. Most people don't use the switchbacks until June after most of the snow has melted.

Oh ok. I will keep that timing in mind. Thanks Steve C.
We are planning on a backpack in the order 35-40 lbs not more. This in itself will be heavier I think but hopefully it will be ok. I have one more question, Shri had mentioned that he tried to slide on the chute on his way back down but stopped after a point and started walking down the path. Can we actually walk down the chute the way we walk up? I am sorry for asking too many questions but trying to get a real good idea about the climb. I understand the climb up will be gradual over the chute. How is the climb down? Do people only slide or even walk back down the chute? Thank you for taking time to reply to my queries! Have a nice day!

If the slope is not completely iced up (which is not common), you will be able to walk down it, or plunge-step down. If you don't feel comfortable on the slope, you can always move over to the switchbacks and descend that way.

Got it! Thanks

Hi, just want to say thanks to everyone particularly SteveC for all the advice you have given me over the last few months. I ended up changing the dates of my climb due to the bad forecast for this Saturday. I left Las Vegas Monday at 4am. Drove straight to Whitney portal and did an acclimatization hike to lone pine lake. I the walked back to the car and drove to get my permit. I slept at the portal until 1 am when I begun my hike. I was solo in the dark until 6am when I hit the chute. If you didn't already know Whitney had A LOT of snow over the last few days. So unfortunately I was only able to get to trail crest due to massive amounts of snow and ice on the Whitney side of trail crest. Although I could feel the altitude and the hike was tough and cold at times I know I would of made the summit had conditions at the end been slightly better. I reached the top of the chute at 8.15 spent roughly an hour at trail crest and I was back in my car by 12.45 and back on Vegas by 5. It was a big day but an amazing experience and I definitely do not regret the challenge of a day hike, although if I had more flexibility more acclimatization would of made a difference.
So once again thanks, I look forward to getting to the top next time and for those of you planning trip all the best for the summit.

Newclimber, that's awesome that you made it as far as you did considering the conditions.

Glad you had a safe trip!