Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Route Feedback for 6/7/19

Hey everyone,

I have a day pass for Friday, June 7 and am planning to hike Mt Whitney via the Main Trail / Chute. We are going as a group of 3 with relatively little mountaineering experience, but are quite experienced hikers. We are acclimating to the altitude at Whitney Portal Wednesday and Thursday night, and starting the hike early Friday. I have ice axes and crampons, and have packed everything on this list: https://outdoorprime.com/mt-whitney-checklist/

We're aiming to summit, but understand that may be tricky given the snow conditions so are open to turning back early. I have a few open questions I'd love to get advice on:

• Is a helmet required for the chute? I haven't seen this discussed in the forums but have seen it in photos of hikers in the chute.
• Is there an optimal time to be starting the hike / arriving to the bottom of the chute? My understanding is that beginning the chute at 9AM is best for snow consistency, which would put us at a 4AM departure from Whitney Portal.
• Is it easy sticking to the trail despite the snow conditions? I have read of people getting lost and having to backtrack.
• Any other safety tips or non-obvious things we should bring / consider?

Thanks a lot in advance! A lot of my prep has been via this forum so really appreciate the collective knowledge here over the years Also, we had a dropout from our group so if anyone is interested in tagging along last minute, let me know!

1) Depending on experience level, the chute can be anywhere between easy ascent of a snow slope and serous challenge. In any case, bringing a helmet is a good idea (though most people don't) because you will have winter conditions. A couple of real scenarios include taking a fall and hitting rocks at the base and getting hit by someone else.

2) 5 hours (or faster) from the portal to the base of the chute is doable for a fit person but there is a good chance it will take you much longer because you will be traveling on snow approximately half of that distance (or more .. I can only guess since I haven't been in the Whitney area this year yet). I recommend starting earlier.

3) Get GAIA GPS app with subscription on your phone and download the trail map before you go - it will make a huge difference! You don't need reception to use the app.

4) Establish a strict turn-around time and don't let others push you to do things you don't feel safe doing.

Good luck !