Mt Whitney Webcam
Mt Williamson Webcam
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 121 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
6/12 Whitney Summit
#37433 06/13/14 11:07 AM
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 51
2
OP Offline
2
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 51
Went up 6/12, and I agree with the 6/11 poster that the switchbacks are open. There are some spots still covered in snow: immediately before the cables and just past as well as just past the JMT junction. The Chute is completely unusable. I suppose if you really wanted and it was early enough in the morning, you could use crampons to get up the chute, but glissading down is not an option. Give it another week or two, and the switchbacks as well as the area beyond Trail Crest will probably be completely clear of snow/ice IMO.

Beautiful weather on 6/12. Not a cloud in the sky and very little wind. Made it to the top no problem, but coming down kicked my bu**, lol. I'm having problems with my phone (which I used for taking pics) right now, so no pics to post.

Re: 6/12 Whitney Summit
2Old4This #37472 06/15/14 09:26 PM
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 7
M
Offline
M
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 7
I don't get why you said glissading down the chute is not an option. We did it today.

Well, I think it was the chute. When we got to the bottom of the snow we ended up having to scramble over boulders and loose rock for forty five minutes to get to trail camp.

Re: 6/12 Whitney Summit
Mastiff #37496 06/16/14 03:54 PM
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 51
2
OP Offline
2
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 51
I meant that the condition of the chute was not amenable to glissading. Very short run of sun cupped snow. Maybe I've been spoiled, but I wouldn't glissade on that. If you did it, I guess I was wrong.

Re: 6/12 Whitney Summit
2Old4This #37499 06/16/14 05:01 PM
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 7
M
Offline
M
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 7
Fair enough. I'm new to glissading and am not regular to the snow. How does sun cupped snow affect a glissade? Does it just make it bumpy, or does it affect other factors as well? What condition do you hope it's in for a good and safe ride?

And why is it a short run? We went down a good 1000 feet at least.

Sorry for the questions. Just trying to learn.

Re: 6/12 Whitney Summit
Mastiff #37510 06/16/14 08:43 PM
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 671
Offline
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 671
Originally Posted By: Mastiff
How does sun cupped snow affect a glissade?


On my glissade down the chute, I found that the suncups made it bumpy and easier to lose control of my speed.

Re: 6/12 Whitney Summit
Mastiff #37516 06/16/14 10:40 PM
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 51
2
OP Offline
2
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 51
My limited eexperience with glissading has been on smooth runs with few bumps and no noticeable cupping, almost like an icy sled run. It also seemed like less tham 1000 feet of elevation loss between the bare spot at the top and the huge boulders at the bottom that I wouldn't want to get near. Just my opinion.


Link Copied to Clipboard
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.4
(Release build 20200307)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.4.33 Page Time: 0.026s Queries: 26 (0.018s) Memory: 0.5935 MB (Peak: 0.6590 MB) Data Comp: Off Server Time: 2024-03-28 12:54:17 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS