My 2 buddies and I want to make our way to the summit memorial day weekend (Saturday-Tuesday) from the west.
Starting at Horseshoe Meadows to Crabtree Lake to Guitar Lake to Whitney Summit and then exit through Whitney Portal.
Has anyone done this route during this time period? Is this route manageable with all the snow?
It's probably manageable. Snow level in the area is around 10,000 (higher on south-facing slopes, lower on north facing). Rule of thumb this time of year is that snow level rises about 500' per week. So maybe 11k on your trip. If you use Cottonwood Pass you will hike mostly on dry ground until you get around to Guitar Lake. Then snowy up and over Whitney.
Now... if you are doing this because you don't have a Whitney Main Trail permit reserved, you can pretty much depend on picking up an unused permit for that weekend. If Road construction hasn't closed the upper section of road to parking, then you are home free. (Only reservation holders will get a parking permit to use the official parking spots.)
