Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Projection 31 July

Greetings,

My sons and I will be climbing Mount Whitney on 31 July. Does anyone know the projections that the switchbacks will be open then, i.e., the trail free of snow/generally hike-able without the use of any technical (boots/crampons)?

Would appreciate any knowledgeable feedback.

Thank you!

You will most likely be fine. There will be snow on the trail, but you are unlikely to encounter dangerous conditions. I would recommend hiking poles.

I'm making a wild guess that the switchbacks will be in full use by the end of July. There may be snow still in some places, though, but it should be hard-packed.

Thanks. Our permit is for 8/1/23.

Thanks. Our permit is for 8/1/23. Can you (anyone) tell us a little about the short cuts. The old Whitney Trailhead and trail is shon on maps but the shortcuts at the Lone Pine Lake trail and Trailside Meadow are not shown on any of the maps I have seen. It seems obvious that they save some “trail distance” but are steeper and more difficult to climb/descend. We will have full backpacks headed towards the Trail Camp area.

The Old Whitney trail starts right around where the parking lot loops around back. You can see it here:

Caltopo Old Whitney

the upper area "shortcuts" are only used if there is so much snow that the trail is covered and unuseable. Stick to the trail, unless there is an obviouis boot track through the snow.

Thanks. I imported that to Basecamp from All Trails and then transferred to my 66sr. We are now planning to arrive two days early and checking out the trail to Lone Pine Lake to acclimatize and hopefully get some current advice from Doug Sr.

Thanks. That makes sense. The main trail is hard enough. Good advice.