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WHITE MOUNTAIN
#49933 05/25/17 03:08 PM
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Does anyone have current information on White Mountain? I understand the road is currently only open to the Visitor Center. Does it get plowed? Or is it necessary to wait for the melt? Any info would be great, thank you.


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Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
CanadianGirl #49935 05/25/17 07:43 PM
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The road beyond the visitors center is all dirt, which does not get plowed unless the White Mountain Research Station needs it for moving equipment.

In most years it is left to melt...and get muddy.

Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
CanadianGirl #49938 05/25/17 09:42 PM
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Call the White Mountain Ranger District office (of Inyo National Forest) in Bishop:

(760) 873-2500

Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
Bob West #49941 05/26/17 08:48 AM
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Makes sense... thanks for your reply!


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Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
Steve C #49942 05/26/17 08:49 AM
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Thank you! I did find out the Visitor Center opens this weekend, so I will call next week and hopefully get more information. Thank you again for your reply!


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Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
CanadianGirl #49944 05/26/17 10:05 AM
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By "Visitor Center", it sounds like you got info on the Schulman Grove facility. It is at the southern end of the White Mountain range, nearly 20 miles from the point you start hiking to White Mountain itself. It's that 20-mile section that you need to find out if/when it will open. It leads to a closed gate about 2 miles from the University of California's Barcroft Research Center, that you hike past when you climb White Mountain.

Here's a Google map. You can see the pointer at Schulman grove. Drag the map down (south), and beyond the end of the white line (the dirt road), you will then see the "Barcroft Field Station". That's along your hike. If you zoom in on that map, it shows where the "locked gate" is where you would start your hike. Switch to Satellite view and zoom in more, and you can see the trail, etc.

You could also track down the UC offices in Bishop and ask them about the road. They are the ones who will be trying to get to their facilities asap.

Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
Steve C #49945 05/26/17 03:00 PM
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Thank you for your information! Really helpful! I have gotten in touch with part of the Barcroft Station team. They have indicated the station will not be active until most likely July this year. A team was up a couple of days ago to check out the road. They tried clearing some snow but just do not have the plow equipment to allow them access. I guess they have asked for assistance from County and USFS but are not having any luck with them willing to assist. So they wait for the melt. I believe that means Crooked Creek will not open June 1st either. The contact at UCLA did indicate the snow drifts were just to large for them to make any kind of dent in with manual and small equipment crews. Sounds like it could be a good adventure... maybe snowshoes, cross x skis, a couple of nights snow camping.

Thanks again!


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Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
CanadianGirl #49946 05/26/17 03:17 PM
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The USFS office told me its 12 miles to the Barcroft gate from the visitor center. WMRC has driven in farther than the visitor center.


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Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
CanadianGirl #49947 05/26/17 07:32 PM
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I drove up to the Schulman Grove a few days ago. The first gate was open, and a few patches of snow were easy to drive around. At the Schulman Center the road remains open, but there's a sign posted that there's deep snow ahead. Later, I spoke with a lady ranger at the USFS Ranger Station in Bishop who said she'd just been up, so a call to her would give you exact info. When the road is completely snow-free, it's a 6-7 mile hike from the gate below Barcroft to the summit of White Mtn, following an old road. White Mtn is located off CA168 (13 miles east of Big Pine) and then about an equal drive on White Mtn Rd.

Don't underestimate the length of time it takes to drive from Big Pine.

I doubt there's a phone at the Schulman Center, nor electricity either. It's rather far off the grid.

Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
CanadianGirl #49980 05/31/17 04:04 PM
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I'll be heading up to that area this weekend. If I remember, I'll come back and post how far up the road I was able to get.

Cheers,
Rex

Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
rex #50012 06/06/17 01:25 AM
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Hi, do you make it to the trailhead?

Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
1104 #50016 06/06/17 10:05 AM
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Ah! Thanks for following up. I almost forgot.

No, I did not. The road is blocked by a snowbank, about 11 miles from the trailhead.

If I had to guess, that snowbank will probably melt enough to be passable within the next 3-4 weeks. But I don't know what lies beyond.

Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
rex #50018 06/06/17 11:14 AM
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This post prompted me to call the U.C. research station down in the Owens Valley near Bishop, as they coordinate the summer activities at their Crooked Creek and Barcroft research facilities.

I was told they have just been able to open their Crooked Creek station, but they also said the road is blocked by snow beyond that. The person said U.C. does not have any snow-clearing equipment, Inyo National Forest will not be clearing the road, and Inyo County will probably not work on it either.

So we are left with waiting for the snow to melt. The person told me I should call back around the end of the month for a possible update. (You will get a better feel for the terrain if you pull down the menu --upper left corner-- then select "terrain".)

Here's a Google Maps view of the area, with a line showing it is 7 miles from Crooked Cr. to the locked gate.

Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
Steve C #50019 06/06/17 11:15 AM
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good to know! Saved me a long drive, thanks!

Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
1104 #50020 06/06/17 12:03 PM
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OK, here's a picture of the snowbank -- if you had a truck with a plow you could get through. Or perhaps even a few people with snow shovels. But it is pretty hard, compacted snow.



Not a great image (it's captured from video), but you get the idea.

Here's a map link to where this is:
https://goo.gl/maps/RDUDXWg954H2

Getting above this (there's a little peak next to it), I could see that there were a couple more snow banks like this further along the road.

Here's another vid capture of the other snowbanks:


Another note: the road is *really* rough in spots. Risky for anything not designed for off-road use.

Last edited by rex; 06/06/17 12:13 PM.
Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
rex #50030 06/08/17 08:20 AM
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GREAT INFO! Thank you all!


CanadianGirl
Re: WHITE MOUNTAIN
rex #50084 06/12/17 05:13 AM
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Thanks for the info/pics! Was planning on doing this pre-Whitney in a couple of weeks (around June 25th). Any more updates on road conditions would be greatly appreciated!


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