Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Early season info

Hey guys. Making an early season trip to Whitney next week to see the snow, understand the conditions, test some new gear, and generally have a good time. Before doing so, I wanted to reach out to the group to inquire about a few things.

1. How far up the portal road until the gate closure? Is this the best jumping off point of would it be better to stay low (thinking tuttle creek for example) and take the old trail up to the portal if gate is closed? How much further would the old trail be, if any, than parking at the gate?

2. I have been reading and scouring for info on winter MWMT shortcuts, but have been unable to find any real detail. Seems like a snowfield all the way until trail camp from outpost camp. Is there a shortcut going from the portal store up towards lone pine lake I am reading about via the creek? We would like to make trail camp if possible, we are NOT going the mountaineers route.

3. Other considerations outside of weather, gearing, etc.? All that is covered and being monitored. Looking for specifically logistical advice for an early season trek.

Thanks,
805

I'm pretty sure driving up the road as far as possible, and then walking up the road past the gate(s) would be much easier than anything else. There is a hard closure gate at the lower gated point, so it's a 3.5 mile walk just to the trail head.

There is an old trail from the Portal Store up to the North Fork Lone Pine Creek crossing, but I doubt it would save any time in winter. There are always a few hardy climbers going this time of year. Most go up the Mountaineers Route, since the route is shorter. In fact, that route might have a better track from hikers before you.

I have seen a report that there is 5 feet of snow at the Portal. Fortunately this time of year, it is becoming consolidated, so you won't sink in too much.

When you go, please take pictures so others here can see the conditions. Thanks, and good luck!

Me and my friends got an overnight permit for May 27th. We have hiked White Mountain Peak in 2021 and Langley last year both in May but dont have a lot of experience in extreme snow/ice conditions.

Eager to know how the conditions are at this time. Please share your experience and post some pics if you can. Thanks!

I can speak to the amount of snow at the Portal Store. I was there April 6th and the snow was at least 6 ft. To give you an idea of how much snow, I could look on top of the trellises at the trailhead (I’m 6’5”). I’m sure some of it has melted since then.

The old trail from the store up to the North Fork Lone Pine Creek crossing was well established; nobody had started a bootpack on the Mt. Whitney Trail proper. I ran into a few hikers who had snowshoed up to Lone Pine Lake, they said the trail was pretty well established from all of the snowshoers.

The biggest issue with hiking up to the Portal will be the landslide debris on the road. It’s easily passable, but clearing it will take some time. There’s also evidence of a wet slide which ran over the road about 200m down the road from the store. The debris included trees and rocks, the slide appeared to start above the trail so there might be some trail damage there. We won’t know what condition the trail is in until the snow fully melts.

Is the road to drive up to the portal blocked? My wife read on a FB group that we have to hike to even get to the portal. If true, how long is the hike and what is the elevation profile? Thanks!

I was there last week and here are notes:
1) The gate is still locked at the lower lot just past Alabama Hills
2) The road between the gate and Whitney Portal has numerous rock and mud slides blocking the road and as of last week had some snow closer to portal.
3) This adds an extra ~3.5 miles to the portal (and ~3.5 back from portal) as well as almost 2000 ft of elevation.