Snacking Bear, my trip also depends on the snow levels. I'm ok with a thin layer of snow but will cancel if it's too much. The hike is hard enough without having to trudge through the snow.
As for my expected hiking time, I'd like to go up and back in 10 hrs also, but am not sure that's realistic. I hiked Whitney last year but was with an out-of-shape hiker so it was much slower going than I wanted (15hrs). In the last week and a half, I did an 18+ mile hike to San Jacinto peak (10,800ft, 5,000ft +/-) in 8 hrs. and a 26+ mile hike to San Gorgonio peak (11,500ft, 6,100ft +/-) in 10 hrs. Given these recent hikes, I think I can do Whitney in 10hrs but not sure how the added elevation will effect my time. That being said, we could start out together then each go at our own pace.
