I figure this forum gave a lot to me, I might as well give some back in the form of another trip report!
My friend invited me to join his crew climbing Mt. Whitney, and how could I say no. What a great opportunity!
So we started our hike at 3:30 AM because we knew it was going to be a long one. The first few hours flew by in the dark. We hit our first snow before the sun came up, but it was only patchy all the way to trail camp. It was beautiful hiking as the sun came up. Some of the switchbacks above mirror lake have snow on the corners, but people have either made trails through the snow, or just cut the corners (since it's mostly bare rock.. I didn't feel too guilty).
The last water we saw was the small pond at trail camp. Where we filled up. It looked like maybe people we're taking the switchbacks, but I didn't see anyone on them and they were still covered in snow. Everyone we saw was headed up the chute, so away we went. Besides being a tough slog, I never felt in danger, even with snowballs being sent down from people above me descending. The snow was soft and kick stepping was easy and effective.
The hike from trails crest to the summit definitely required crampons, I saw one group that didn't have them, that had made it, but I definitely wouldn't have wanted to do that. Most of the ridge trail is a small track in sloping snow. Not much ice at all, but still slick (without crampons), and some pretty hefty drop offs in places. About half way to the summit, two of our party were complaining of lacking concentration and light headedness and didn't want to risk a push to the summit, so 2 of us continued, with the agreement to meet them in trail camp. We made it to the summit around 3:30 PM (I know it was late, I guess I had a little summit fever), but besides a FIERCE wind that would not let up, we had no problems with the weather. The wind also blew into the mountain side (except for very brief periods at the windows), so I didn't really feel like it was a danger. We spent about 15 minutes on the summit, as it was getting kind of late, still enough time to see the hut, the plaque, and the USGS markers (and all the views).
Heading down was relatively easy (much easier than that last half mile...). We posthole stepped down the chute. What had taken almost 2 hours to get up, took us 25 minutes to get down. The snow was plenty soft and deep, and I never really felt in danger with my ice axe in one hand and hiking pole in the other.
After that we found the rest of the party and proceeded down the mountain, finishing at 9:30 PM. That is a beast of a day hike.
Notes:
-Wear Sunscreen (and lip balm), I had a large brimmed hat that protected my face/neck from the overhead sun, but I still got pretty burned from the snow reflections, though I maintain that it's partially burn, partially wind/cold chapped.
-It was below freezing from trail crest on, and we met a few people who's camelback tubes had frozen.
-Crampons and an ice axe are still a must have, and plan on using the chute for at least a few more weeks.
-We didn't have or use snow shoes, none of the snow we found was more than 3 feet deep.
Hope this helps anyone going up in the next few weeks.
