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Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
#49161 02/01/17 11:56 PM
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Mt Whitney Lottery 2017                    


Link to:  Mt Whitney 2018 Lottery

Update May 3:  There were quite a few day hike permits available. (Possibly the day use permits weren't released until May 2.) Overnight permits have mostly been taken.

Also note: The administrative fee charged by the Recreation.gov website has gone up from $6 to $10. You can see a notice to this effect on the Recreation.gov page for Inyo National Forest.

Update April 3:  The "mini-on-sale" option on April 1 has passed. Any permits not reserved in the lottery were available at 7 AM April 1.
Next important date is May 1: All unclaimed lottery dates are canceled and released for web reservations (space is released within 24 hours at a random time).
Here are links to check what is available:   DAY USE of Mt. Whitney Zone and Mt. Whitney Trail Overnight Permit

Update March 24:  The lottery has been run, people have been sent an email informing them of their individual results.

        Post-Lottery statistics  (Inyo N.F. PDF is here)
Quote:
                            2017 Lottery Results
15,397  applications submitted (13% more than 2016),   69,125 hikers.
    35%  of Group Leaders were Awarded a Date of their Choice
  3,285  won their first choice date.
  2,110  won an alternate choice.
    65%  of Applications were Unsuccessful
  9,414  unsuccessful: the dates requested were full when the application processed.
     499  Applications withdrawn -- leader already won a date in this year's lottery.
      89  Applications withdrawn by the group leader.


New this year (2017): If your permit qualifies for night box service you can also pre-arrange for express pickup during open hours. (Overnight trips into Sequoia N.P. do not qualify -- face-to-face pickup is required.)

Lottery applications: Inyo N.F. asks that you only make a single application. They actively look for multiple entries and delete them.

Inyo National Forest's lottery information web page:  Mount Whitney Lottery - Permit Reservations

Here is the link to enter the lottery.

Good luck everyone!
Scroll down to see more info on the Whitney Portal Road rock slide and considerations regarding early dates in the lottery.


Lottery Progress Report: As of March 8   12,000 applications, 54,000 hikers
Lottery results will be posted after March 24th
Inyo N.F. has posted a pdf page showing stats as March 8, link is on their Mount Whitney Lottery page.
11,852 applications submitted, (53,938 hikers)
As of March 1: 9,800 applications, 44,800 hikers.
As of Feb 22: 1,500 more than last year.
Click here to see the report.

Numbers:   When you consider all alternate choices on applications, more than 4,200 people want to day hike on August 12, and more than 5,000 people want Mt. Whitney Trail overnight permits for September 2.



2016 lottery thread is here.

From the 2016 lottery:

2016 Mt Whitney Permit Lottery Results

13,638 applications submitted
5,010 (36%) were successful

3,134 won first choice date (34% were day use,66% overnight)
1,876 won alternate choices.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49162 02/02/17 12:00 AM
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Does anyone know if the lottery allows entering one request for any day in a two week period or do they still require entering every single date (with all the attendant information) individually?

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Marty #49163 02/02/17 12:01 AM
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You need to do a request for each date. There is no opportunity to request a date range. You can request up to ten dates per entry.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
walt #49164 02/02/17 12:02 AM
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Thanks Walt.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Marty #49165 02/02/17 12:03 AM
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Hi,
Can one person submit multiple applications either for the same dates or different dates?

And what about co leader? Can co-leader submit separate application for same/different dates?

Thanks

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Kumar12 #49166 02/02/17 12:10 AM
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Kumar, Inyo removes multiple applications. If a leader or alternate leader is named on two different applications, that would probably be removed, too.

There are other ways to ensure you get a slot, such as the Apri1 1 date to pick up any spaces remaining open. And on May 1 all unclaimed winning slots are released back to Recreation.gov.

And finally, there are unused permits available every day at the Visitor Center.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Marty #49167 02/02/17 12:22 AM
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Originally Posted By: Marty
Does anyone know if the lottery allows entering one request for any day in a two week period or do they still require entering every single date (with all the attendant information) individually?


Recreation.gov people are supposedly "working on" allowing date ranges. But that has been requested for years.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49180 02/03/17 01:07 PM
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My first post here. Very excited have a group of 7 trying to get into the lottery late September. We did Half Dome a few years ago and now ready to Try Mt Whitney. So a question if we wanted to increase our chances to get a weekend late September should all of us individually apply and add leaders and participants thereby increasing our chances to snag that date. OR should we do just ONE application for the group and hope for the best? When we followed the multiple application strategy for HD we got one application sucessfully approved only. Perhaps Rec.Gov did delete all the rest. But wanted to know if anyone has any opinion on this.
Thank you and looking forward to contributing on the discussion forums
Very excited

Last edited by Indie; 02/03/17 02:11 PM.
Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Indie #49182 02/03/17 02:31 PM
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Inyo will delete multiple applications from the same group.

Good luck!!!


Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49186 02/04/17 10:26 AM
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I am new to these forums, I applied for a permit late August 30-31 with an alternate date of August 16-17. I just asked for a two person permit for an overnight hike. I'm pretty excited for this trip and have started training for what will likely be the most intense hike of my life. Anyway, I'll be keeping an eye on these forums for info and advice.

multiple-night overnight permits
Steve C #49198 02/07/17 02:32 PM
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We (party of 3) want to apply for a 2-night permit on Whitney Trail. ie, exit date 2 days after entry date.

Will this reduce our chances of being selected in the lottery? Or do you "win" first, then get placed into one of your 15 requested trip dates?

Related to this: it looks as though, from reading the Inyo NF website, that camping at Lone Pine Lake, if you do that, counts as one of your overnight nights on your Whitney Trail application. Is that correct?

Thanks for any info on this!

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49226 02/13/17 01:25 PM
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thanks for the info, Steve. Deleting multiple applications is new, isn't it?

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
walt #49230 02/13/17 11:43 PM
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Actually, recreation.gov allows up to 15 alternative choices, aka dates.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Indie #49231 02/14/17 12:00 AM
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Originally Posted By: Indie
My first post here. Very excited have a group of 7 trying to get into the lottery late September. We did Half Dome a few years ago and now ready to Try Mt Whitney. So a question if we wanted to increase our chances to get a weekend late September should all of us individually apply and add leaders and participants thereby increasing our chances to snag that date. OR should we do just ONE application for the group and hope for the best? When we followed the multiple application strategy for HD we got one application sucessfully approved only. Perhaps Rec.Gov did delete all the rest. But wanted to know if anyone has any opinion on this.
Thank you and looking forward to contributing on the discussion forums
Very excited



I know Inyo NF asks groups to submit just one application per group, but I cannot imagine how they can enforce it. For example, if Ernie and Bert want to hike Mt. Whitney and both apply for a 2-person permit without identifying the other as an alternate group leader, how would Inyo NF possibly know the two applications were for the same group? I suppose if Ernie and Bert had the exact same 15 alternate dates and applied on the same day, that might be a hint. But Ernie and Bert can mix up there date choices a bit and apply a week apart from each other. I just cannot see how Inyo NF could possibly know they are the same group. Same holds true for larger groups as long as no name is used twice as applicant or alternate leader. Right? What am I missing?

Maybe a couple might get caught if they use the same mailing address or phone number.

And if Ernie and Bert got caught submitting 2 applications, it's not clear to me what the consequence is. Are both applications deleted, or just one?

Re: multiple-night overnight permits
SueB54 #49233 02/14/17 09:34 AM
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Originally Posted By: SueB54
We (party of 3) want to apply for a 2-night permit on Whitney Trail. ie, exit date 2 days after entry date.

Will this reduce our chances of being selected in the lottery? Or do you "win" first, then get placed into one of your 15 requested trip dates?

Related to this: it looks as though, from reading the Inyo NF website, that camping at Lone Pine Lake, if you do that, counts as one of your overnight nights on your Whitney Trail application. Is that correct?

Thanks for any info on this!

SueB, sorry nobody answered this question. With most trail permits, and these are in that category, the length of your trip has no effect on your chances of a "win". Entry date is the only criteria used in the lottery. Being on the trail additional days does not affect anyone else's chances, either. For the 60 overnight hikers accepted for each date, it is expected that they will be on the trail two to four days. There is no control over the number of days people stay, and in fact, staying longer or exiting earlier than your original plan is perfectly ok.

The only exception is the Trail Crest Exit permit, which is required for people starting on other Inyo N.F. trails, and wanting to exit via the Main Mt. Whitney Trail. In their situation, the length of their trip, and therefore their exit date, affects what Exit Permit date they get. But this situation and these trips are NOT part of the Whitney Lottery.

Originally Posted By: Brent N
thanks for the info, Steve. Deleting multiple applications is new, isn't it?
Hi Brent. It was new last year, I think.

Originally Posted By: Carry on
I know Inyo NF asks groups to submit just one application per group, but I cannot imagine how they can enforce it. For example....
Carry On: I think what you wrote is pretty much the case. I think they will delete all but one duplicate, but I'm not sure.
      In the past, the same person could submit multiple entries -- same login, same credit card, same group leader, etc etc. Those are definitely deleted now. Just be aware, with many groups and many trips planned months in advance like this, people drop out of a group at the last minute. If your "group leader" who won the permit drops out, nobody else can walk in and pick up his permit. ...and permits that are cancelled online are made available on the 'net "at a random time in the next 24 hours".

Lottery Progress Report: As of Feb 8
Inyo N.F. has posted a pdf page showing stats as February 8, link is on their Mount Whitney Lottery page. Applications are more than 1000 ahead of the first week last year.
Click here to see the report.

Re: multiple-night overnight permits
Steve C #49240 02/15/17 04:56 PM
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Inyo National Forest reports on their Facebook Page:

Quote:
U.S. Forest Service - Inyo National Forest
The lottery for Mt. Whitney permits is currently underway. For those who are entering the lottery and looking at the early season, please plan for the rockfall/road repair along the Whitney Portal Road and the substantial snow on the trail when you consider the dates you select. With the #EpicCAWinter we have been seeing, hikers in May, and perhaps June, should have technical skills. They should be prepared for avalanche conditions, be able to traverse steep snow and ice fields, have winter navigation skills, and be skilled in the use of ice ax, crampons, etc. BTW, more snow is in the forecast for this week.
Photo: Road crews assess the rockfall area, which is still unstable--rocks continue to fall.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49268 02/22/17 07:43 AM
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I notice that in the lottery request for overnight permit they ask for your itinerary (where you're camping). Does anyone know if you are locked into this choice? Also, does your camping choice affect your chances in the lottery? Thanks.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Bruce G. #49272 02/22/17 09:09 AM
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this is not a Whitney Dayhike lottery question

but a Trail Crest exit permit for cross country or JMT'ers.

when you apply online (6 months in advance) does a new day start at midnight Pacific, or 8am or other?

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Bruce G. #49273 02/22/17 09:13 AM
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Those things have no effect on your chances.

The only thing that does is number of hikers, and that is only if, when your entry is processed, if that particular day's quota is nearly full, if your number of hikers is greater than the available slots, you don't get the slots.

The camping locations are only used in the rare situations when a party is reported missing or overdue, the camping locations are a possible place to send a search party. They should really collect that info only after you win the slots, when you pay for them.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49274 02/22/17 05:43 PM
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Thanks Steve.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Harvey Lankford #49277 02/23/17 12:20 AM
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Originally Posted By: Harvey Lankford
this is not a Whitney Dayhike lottery question

but a Trail Crest exit permit for cross country or JMT'ers.

when you apply online (6 months in advance) does a new day start at midnight Pacific, or 8am or other?

Harvey, those exit permits come available at 7 AM PST, 10 AM EST. Unfortunately, only people with the fastest fingers and mouse are able to get them -- they disappear in the first second they become available.

Last edited by Steve C; 02/23/17 09:32 AM. Reason: added link
Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49342 03/08/17 07:22 AM
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I had a question on the lottery process, hopefully someone here might have some insight. How does requesting alternate dates work?

I chose Sept 14 as my primary date so I feel pretty confident I'll get my permits. But am I only competing against all others that chose Sept 14 as their primary or does that include those that chose that date as an alternative as well? I probably shouldn't be too worried, but I'm just anxious to get back to the top for the first time since 2012.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
kowalofjericho #49344 03/08/17 10:08 AM
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Actually, most dates, except some in May and some in October completely fill up in the lottery. But lots of people drop out -- first by not paying for the slots they win, or by not showing up on the date to pick up their paid for permits.

If you are looking at the count of "first choice" people, that really isn't a good thing to trust. People put in lots of alternate dates, so the count gets much higher for your date.

Note that the Lottery Progress Report page states: "This data is from the first choice only. When alternate choices are considered the number of people requesting a date is greatly increased." What that means is that the entries processed earliest in the lottery may grab your date. If an entry's first choice is not available, the process then tries the second choice, then the third, until all choices are tried, or one of the choices is successfully satisfied.

However, if you look at our "Unused Permits page", you can see that for every Thursday in September, there have always been plenty of unused permits available. If you didn't even enter the lottery, you could show up in September on a Tuesday or Wednesday, and always pick up (for free!) a permit for the next day. Unfortunately, most people don't like to gamble on that, so therefore we have lots of permits going unused.

...edit: I just looked back through the past 5 years of Unused Permits numbers, and there is Not One Thursday where there weren't unused permits available! (Too many negatives in that sentence. It means that on any Thursday, there are always permits available.)

Last edited by Steve C; 03/08/17 10:21 AM.
Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49345 03/08/17 12:48 PM
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Ohh I see what you mean. That makes sense. So I think I'll feel comfortable taking a flight out to grab a permit either way.

Worst case, I'll still be spending the rest of my weekend in the Sierra Nevadas and take a trip over to Yosemite. Thanks for the info.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
kowalofjericho #49346 03/08/17 03:25 PM
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Yes, you should really come out. If Plan A doesn't work, there are plenty of options for Plan B. But you should expect to get a walk-in permit for Whitney.

Options for other places to see (and day hike):

Mt Langley (just S of Whitney)
White Mountain (NE of Whitney in the Inyo/White mountains)
Mt Dana in Yosemite starting from Tioga Pass
Clouds Rest in Yosemite, starting near Tenaya Lake.

Others can give you plenty more options.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49348 03/08/17 06:03 PM
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Originally Posted By: Steve C


Options for other places to see (and day hike):



Steve did not mention all the touristy destinations in Yosemite Valley - Vernal Falls, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, Panorama Trail, etc

Re: multiple-night overnight permits
SueB54 #49372 03/12/17 01:47 PM
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Thank you so much, Steve C, for answering this! and Bruce G's question about declaring campsite had also been weighing on our minds... good to know. Thanks for all the great input on this forum.
Keeping fingers crossed... we applied for 15 weekday-only spots, June-Sept, so hoping it works.

Re: multiple-night overnight permits
SueB54 #49385 03/14/17 09:22 AM
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Tomorrow, March 15, is the last day to enter the lottery to hike Mt Whitney.

Here's the link:     Mt Whitney Lottery 2017

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49430 03/23/17 10:35 PM
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Made it .. Sun Sept 24 first choice.. 7 of us.. Lots of things need to go right from now on but the critical first step is was this!
Shout out to Steve C for reaching out to me.
Good luck and God Speed to you all..
See you on the summit.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Indie #49431 03/24/17 06:20 AM
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Congrats. I got mine for September 14, so I can officially start planning. Good luck getting your group together!

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49432 03/24/17 06:22 AM
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Disappointing, how is it a two person overnight hike at the end of August in the middle of the week gets denied? I don't understand this...

Re: multiple-night overnight permits
Steve C #49434 03/24/17 07:15 AM
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I got my first choice. Looks like I and an unknown other will be headed up the North Fork Wed 8-16. It appears I can't confirm, accept, or pay till April 1.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49435 03/24/17 07:27 AM
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Wow. I got denied. I had 15 dates selected, throughout end of july/early august for 2 people for a day hike and I didn't get any of them. I am very disappointed.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
HappyHolidays #49436 03/24/17 07:34 AM
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Originally Posted By: HappyHolidays
Wow. I got denied. I had 15 dates selected, throughout end of july/early august for 2 people for a day hike and I didn't get any of them. I am very disappointed.



Don't be discouraged. You can get walk-in permits. Steve has info on this forum about the abundance of permits available.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
RenoFrank #49437 03/24/17 07:52 AM
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Approved for Tuesday, June 27th overnight. Not sure if we'll be able to make it to the top this time with all the snow, but we'll still make a run.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
jor_in_the_north #49438 03/24/17 08:03 AM
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Congratulations to those who got their reservations!!

For those who didn't, here's the Unused Permits 2016 page. It has a link to the prior year, and each one goes back to the prior -- all the way to 2007.  If you look through those numbers, you can see that you can pretty easily walk-in the day before, especially mid-week, and pick up a free permit.

As for hiking in June, with this year's snow levels, the switchbacks may not be passable until mid-July. So people will instead be climbing the steep snow-slope just west of the switchbacks. Most people use crampons to do that, since it gives you a lot surer footing, and an ice axe is a good idea in case you slip, especially in late afternoons when the snow turns to ice on the descent.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49439 03/24/17 08:21 AM
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Got my first choice, Monday 9/11. Already reserved my campsite at the Portal too. smile

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
bruce #49440 03/24/17 08:45 AM
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I've updated the stats on the first page of this thread.

In the lottery, 35% of the applications won a slot. 65% got nothing. Of the winning apps, 21% won their first choice.
There were 15,397 applications, 69,125 hikers!

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
HappyHolidays #49441 03/24/17 09:40 AM
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Originally Posted By: HappyHolidays
Wow. I got denied. I had 15 dates selected, throughout end of july/early august for 2 people for a day hike and I didn't get any of them. I am very disappointed.


About the same date range as mine, but for 6 people. Same results though. frown

I have all six people lined up, not reserving with hikers to be named latter, or reserving a table without all the diners.

I think it's probably better to have all six hikers enter the lottery independent, and maybe have some with unique names (not family members) apply for two people.

Learning the gamemanship for the lottery by asking around... however after I entered the lottery listing the others.

Last edited by jeff6845; 03/24/17 10:03 AM.
Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
jeff6845 #49445 03/24/17 12:22 PM
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Sat Sept 9th for 2 hikers, first choice! Yow!

Cya up there!

-Dan

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49448 03/24/17 01:05 PM
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My group of seven pulled three overnight permits all together, including a Friday in July. Some of us put each other as alternate leaders, some not. It seems in our case our applications were not thrown out because of it.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
UChiker #49449 03/24/17 02:05 PM
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Snagged a Saturday day-use permit for 3 of us mid June. Will be interesting to see how the snow conditions net out in the coming months to determine if that's really feasible for the group.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49451 03/24/17 04:28 PM
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So if I walk up on any random date can you still get an overnight permit? Or are walk up permits only given to for day hikes the next day?

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
87preludea20a3 #49455 03/24/17 11:10 PM
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Originally Posted By: 87preludea20a3
So if I walk up on any random date can you still get an overnight permit? Or are walk up permits only given to for day hikes the next day?

The overnight permits are less available than day hike, especially in July and August. Check the Unused Permits 2016 page, and from there, the prior few years to see.

Those are the unused permits at the end of the day, and for overnight permits, they start becoming available mid-morning the day before, as groups picking up permits shed their cancellations. At 11 AM on the actual date of entry, the no-shows become available, and there is a drawing of numbers to see who gets first shot at them.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Indie #49489 03/28/17 02:58 PM
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Congrats!

We have got it for Sept 25th. I have heard that late September may be risky due to thunder storms and possibility of snow. Is it okay to go for a day hike on this date?

Thanks!

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Kumar12 #49492 03/28/17 04:57 PM
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September is often drier than August. Just watch the weather forecasts for your hike date.

Late September, you are looking at more hours of darkness, so a good headlamp is in order.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49493 03/29/17 07:21 AM
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Early to mid-September is my favorite time because of the dryness. I don't mind hiking in the dark.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49606 04/19/17 01:03 PM
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Hi, my lottery to Whitney this year leads me to this forum, and I really appreciated all the info shared here.

I have a question regarding adding member to my group. I put group size of 2 when I applied and want to add one more member (still way below max group capacity), however the system won't let me change or I cannot checkout to pay.

The system does say that I can increase group size if daily limit is not exceeded.

Any suggestion on what should I do next? Should I check online after permits are all confirmed?

Thanks!

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Kec #49611 04/19/17 05:10 PM
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You can't add another person to your group because there aren't any slots available within the quota limits. However, on May 1, any slots won in the lottery that have not been paid for will be released back to the online system. They release them throughout the day at random times, so you should check very often for the date you are trying to add.

If your entry date has an available slot, you should grab it as quickly as you can (as there might be others checking at the same time). Make sure you are logged in to recreation.gov already before you start looking for slots.

What date are you looking for, and is it day hike or overnight? I can set up a link for you to bookmark.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49612 04/19/17 06:04 PM
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Hi Steve, in a similar situation as Kec. I have an overnight permit for August 10-11.

On May 1st, should I just go to my reservation and click on "Update Reservation", enter a new group size and see if it's accepted?

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
david_garza #49614 04/19/17 09:22 PM
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No, I wouldn't "click and see". I would first check the availability page. Make this link your top bookmark or home page or something. Then if you see anything available on your Aug 10 start date, go to Update Reservation very quickly and go for it.

But also remember, if you don't get a permit on May 1, since you are going mid-week, slots WILL open up. The no-shows are declared at 10 AM on Aug 10, so at the very least, if you are there on that date and time, you can probably add a person.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49615 04/20/17 09:26 AM
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Thank you, sir.

Re showing up the the day of and "probably" getting another slot -- no f'in way would I ask anyone to risk a drive to and overnight hotel in Lone Pine unless it was a near certainty of getting a permit. The whole non-refund thing is really stupid.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49616 04/20/17 10:52 AM
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Originally Posted By: Steve C
You can't add another person to your group because there aren't any slots available within the quota limits. However, on May 1, any slots won in the lottery that have not been paid for will be released back to the online system. They release them throughout the day at random times, so you should check very often for the date you are trying to add.

If your entry date has an available slot, you should grab it as quickly as you can (as there might be others checking at the same time). Make sure you are logged in to recreation.gov already before you start looking for slots.

What date are you looking for, and is it day hike or overnight? I can set up a link for you to bookmark.


Thanks so much for helping out. I am looking for a day hike on July 2nd.

https://www.recreation.gov/permits/Mt_Wh...amp;entryType=1
Was this the link to check for slots on May 1 and after?

Last edited by Kec; 04/20/17 10:53 AM.
Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Kec #49617 04/20/17 12:31 PM
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Originally Posted By: Kec
Thanks so much for helping out. I am looking for a day hike on July 2nd.

https://www.recreation.gov/permits/Mt_Wh...amp;entryType=1
Was this the link to check for slots on May 1 and after?

No, that link is for the overnight slots. Here's your link to day hike entries:   Day hike availability, 6/21-7/4

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49630 04/21/17 03:54 PM
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Thanks! I will check frequently to steal another slot.

Just got my "preventive" prescription for altitude sickness today and will do more long distance hike to stay in shape laugh

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Kec #49631 04/21/17 09:50 PM
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Keep seeing sporadic openings and snagged two for Aug 14th!

It's been 5 years since my first and only previous summit. YEAH!

Last edited by jondotcom; 04/21/17 09:50 PM.
Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49632 04/22/17 04:54 PM
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I was awarded another day trip in July for 4 people. A friend mentioned she thought I could have added another person to my permit when I confirmed mine. Is this true? Also, if 100 permits are given out each day, are my 4 ppl considered 4 out of 100 (96 permits left) or 1 permit out of 100 (99 permits left).

edit: I may have answered my question by reading earlier posts. 100 spots a day, could be 10 permits of 10 people, or 100 permits of one person each. I could only add another person to my permit size IF not all of the 100 slots are taken...right?

Last edited by tollermom; 04/22/17 05:02 PM.
Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
jondotcom #49635 04/22/17 09:50 PM
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Yes I also saw an overnight permit open for one hiker on August 14 and grabbed it.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
tollermom #49637 04/22/17 10:42 PM
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Hey tollermom! I remember meeting you at Trail Crest several years ago!

Yes, you answered your own question. On May 1, keep checking throughout the day to see if a permit for your day shows up. When it does, get into your existing permit, and add a person quickly -- before someone else claims the available slots.

I wrote something similar in post 49614 above.   Here's the link for day hikes starting July 1. Good luck!!

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49675 04/25/17 07:27 AM
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Thanks! thanks

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Halfdomer Homer #49694 04/26/17 08:48 PM
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8 available on July 4 according to the site right at this moment.
Some folks are in luck!

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
jondotcom #49696 04/27/17 03:20 PM
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I just snagged a permit on 8/31, saw a bunch listed in august surprisingly.

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49715 05/01/17 09:16 AM
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I was lucky enough to snag an extra permit for my friend on 7/2. Kept refreshing web page for about 15 minutes and it showed up!

Thanks for all your help!

Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #49717 05/01/17 01:32 PM
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2 for the N. Fork LPC on Sunday July 15!

Shooting for Russell, but we might do Whitney.


@jjoshuagregory (Instagram) for mainly landscape and mountain pics
Re: Mt Whitney Lottery 2017
Steve C #50295 06/23/17 08:28 AM
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I just saw three overnight permits for this Sunday, June 25 available right now.

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