I am new here......is there wi-fi internet access at Whitney Portal?

Thank you!
Peter2

At the Portal...no.

At the hostel...yes.

On the tram...no.

At the summit Starbucks...maybe...dependent upon position of laptop.

I thought they had free WiFi at the summit Starbucks.

I stand corrected!

You won't get 3G or cell coverage up there either. And it's a good thing!

Doug Sr has some type of "Air Card" device that he has used. It connects his laptop to the Internet using cellular phone service, I believe.

Peter2 is a new member - Axeman, perhaps you could post the pic?

Oops,I shouldn't be treating new members like this.

My apologies, Peter2.

See what you did, wagga?

McDonalds in Lone Pine has free wifi

Thank you all for the quick response!!

Peter2

Only if you buy a card, only for a couple of hours a day. For unlimited WI-FI at an overpriced foo-foo establishment you need to go to Whole Foods Market.

Just so everyone knows, the original pictures were posted by Jeff M (aka AxeMan) on wpsmb here: Doug's Hotel

And here are the famous pictures, thanks to Jeff's expert tools.

The hotel at Whitney Portal


The tram to the top


Here's a map of the tram's route:


And most famous of all, Starbucks on Mt. Whitney:


And they do have WiFi at the hut. Note the antennas on the roof. There are so many so that the signal can be accessed from many other Sierra high points.

And the airstrips (one just South of Iceberg Lake, the other North of the center span) look to be short and nasty. Definitely LUTOD.

I've got a specific sign in mind for that hotel . . . and a General Manager.

Couldn't help but notice that the hut is also solar-powered! Perhaps a couple of wind turbines can help on those "cloudy" days. But I do not recall any electrical outlets!



Ooooooooooooooooooooooo, Bulldog34, do tell what and who you had in mind?

I know the answer!

Sheesh looks like I have been training for nothing.Forgot I could just ride the tram.

I wonder if the hotel closes the same time as the WPS. If it does, I'm going to have to seek our accommodations Thursday evening.

I thought they had free WiFi at the summit Starbucks.




---------------------------------------------
wifly-city wifi password cracking crack wpa2

Great photo shop work, Steve! Sorry to be picky, but those gondola things are called telepheriques, not trams. I'm sure certain business people in Lone Pine (hint, hint) would love to see podunk turned into another Chamonix, complete with high-end gear shops, etc. Perhaps with an up-scale Snells Field and an Eastern Sierra version of the Bar Nationale for the economically challenged. (Those who have climbed there know what I mean.) And...let's not forget, a little office for buying rescue insurance...

Wouldn't it be just ducky to ride a telepherique from Whitney Portal to Trail Camp or Iceberg Lake, avoiding all that unnecessary hiking, and just get on with "The Climb?"

http://www.chamonix.net/english/sightseeing/aiguille_du_midi.htm

Hmm - above Upper Boyscout Lake, full bars and 3G with ATT. Didn't make it to the top after that in April, but I would expect a similar signal up there, as the summit was less than a mile away and line of sight was the same down to the valley.

Spent 3 days/2 nights on the MMWT trail a couple of weeks ago and never had a single bar on my ATT BB. Maybe more direct line-of-sight up the MR?

Bulldog, there is somehow partial cell coverage that reaches Whitney's summit. After taking my iphone up the trail last year and getting ZERO bars or signal on either 3G or Edge network, I decided to leave the brick in the truck this go around. To my surprise, I make it to the top and there is this group of four calling family and friends. The man in charge of the phone allowed me to make a call to my wife from the summit... I talked for two minutes with no issues. Perfect signal. Dont ask me how.

Awesome set of photos... it gives "the cables" a whole new meaning... from the Portal to the summit via cable/tram with no switchbacks to speak of... will have to look for the ticket booth the next time.

ROTF,
Luis

I have AT&T regular cell service. During my recent week in the Whitney-area mountains, I was startled by an incoming call while my cell was in my pocket heading up the first steep part of the MR (in the woods) somewhat before the first water crossing. Seeing 2-3 bars, I was also able to make an outgoing call from that spot as well.

Ditto for somewhere on the lower part of the MT during the same week.

I was also able to make several calls from the top of Kearsarge Pass out of Onion Valley, with almost full bars. Of course these experiences were off and on and couldn't be relied on 100% of the time.

CaT

something changed with ATT service in that area since last year. In summer 2010, I didn't even get service in downtown Lone Pine with one of our phones, and nothing at all up on the mountain. This April, full bars at the hostel, and full bars at Upper Boyscout, a location where you do have full line of sight to Lone Pine.

Yeah, must have changed. Four years ago, different phone, same AT&T service, top of Whitney, could only get enough of a signal to make an outgoing call and get a open line (maybe), but not enough of a signal, it seems, for the open line to actually ring the phone, even though it said it was dialing and was connected -- in short, a connection with no substance, if that makes sense.

Fast forward to now, my experience is more like yours this time around -- a signal in lots of unexpected places.

CaT

We didn't get reception anywhere between the Portal and the Summit, which we didn't care about. Getting on facebook on our phones at the summit was pretty cool though!