I'm a newbie to Whitney and my group is heading out June 16th, planning to camp for two nights on the way up and head for the summit on the 18th. As this is our first time, a couple of questions:

Given the date we plan to summit and the expected conditions, how likely is it that we'll need crampons? I know it's still two weeks out but just wanted to get a general idea.

I'm seeing some posts that refer to an alternate route that doesn't use the switchbacks - is that correct, and if so, what advice can you give us on using that route?

Thanks so much in advance!