Bob R posted this elsewhere. Click on his links to see excellent pictures of the area. We are having an unusual amount of snow this late in the spring.

Whitney trail, 23 May

My friend Paul and I wanted to get out for the day, but weather predictions called for storm and high winds seemingly everywhere. Opting for snow instead of rain, in spite of a predicted high of only 18 deg at Trail Camp with winds gusting to 30, we decided to head there and turn around when it ceased to be fun.

Since this was just a hike up a trail, I wouldn't normally have mentioned it here. But there was an interesting twist. As we were about to leave the Portal, a fellow named Steve came over. He had climbed to the summit the day before with his friend Peter, but they had gotten separated on the descent to their campsite a little east of Mirror Lake. Steve reached camp for the night, but Peter never showed up. Steve asked us to keep an eye out.

About an hour up the trail, we met a fellow descending. It was Peter. He had gotten off trail in the dark and eventually found himself in the trees west of Lone Pine Lake (I determined that from his description). He bivouacked. Then, in the light of the morning, he encountered three others who admitted they were also lost. Together they figured it out, however, and got back on the trail at Bighorn Park. Peter then hiked up to his campsite and found the tent,...but no Steve.

He packed everything up and was hustling down to turn off a possible search. He asked if I had a radio (I did), and so I alerted Inyo that Peter was OK. Somewhat relaxed now, he talked about his summit of Mt. Whitney the previous day, his 60th birthday. I offered to video his comments, upload them to YouTube, and he could find the link on this message board. His story: Mt. Whitney Excitement

Everyone did every thing right. When Peter didn't show up, Steve hiked out to report it, but left the tent, stove, etc., in case he did come down and needed shelter. Doug suspected what had happened and told Steve to give Peter a few more hours before he got seriously concerned. And Peter had so little to say about his bivouac, I knew he was well prepared for it. Other Whitney climbers, especially in winter, should take note.

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As to the conditions, there was a little fresh snow at the Portal, deepening to about a foot once above Mirror Lake. Paul and I made it to Trailside Meadow, then turned around. The weather was not as severe as predicted.

As always, my trip report is contained in the pictures and their captions.