Hello All!
I am planning a climb to the summit of Whitney from Portal beginning Sunday Aug 14th and ending Monday Aug 15th. I have a party of 5.
We have been hearing all this discussion that there is still snow and crazy conditions on the trail.
Have a few questions and anyone can feel free to answer any and all.
1) Do the conditions currently require (or even recommend) the use of crampons? and if so, where would be the best place to rent those in Lone Pine? Ice axe?
2) Have the logs been fixed along the river crossing sections?
3) What is the adjusted time of accent for Whitney with these conditions?
If anyone has any other recommendations or updates on the trail or recent trail reports, those would be much appreciated!
Can't speak to current conditions. I summitted on July 19th. Was glad to have an ice axe although most people crossed the snow with just trekking poles. Crampons would have been overkill. If you're coming from the north, Wilson's eastside sports in Bishop is a good place to rent. There is likely less snow now than when I summited. Nevertheless, even if there is snow, it will not likely have much of an effect on your time to the summit. It occurs only in patches in a few places. Acclimitization to altitude and our physical condition will be much bigger factors.
