This excellent picture from just above Trail Camp was posted on Instagram by timwoo, taken 5/9/17. The "chute" or slope west of the switchbacks is visible with his tracks. Traces of the actual switchbacks can be seen in the rocks at the left edge of the picture. Mt Muir, 14,019' is in the center.
TimW's caption:
Quote:
@curtishowell and I made first tracks up to #trailcrest on #mtwhitney yesterday (5/9) after a storm hit this past weekend. Follow the zig zags on the right for our trip up, and the straight line down on the left for the #glissade down.
*on getting to the rocks in the middle of the picture* Curtis: we're about a third of the way there Me: ONLY A THIRD?
(Click on the picture for a larger view.)
They made it to Trail Crest, and turned around, as the trail down to the JMT junction was completely buried with snow coming off the cliff side. No picture though. Here's his text:
Quote:
#mtwhitney turned me and @curtishowell away a second time. We made it up to #trailcrest at 13,600ft before being turned back by the narrow trail (read nonexistent) and steep cliffs of the #jmt. We determined it too sketchy to pass, and so made our way down. Sad, but happy to be back home safe and sound! We also learned a lot of lessons first hand: (1) snow path does not equal summer path, shortcuts are your friend (2) early start and crampons make a lot of sense together so the snow doesn't get too soft to travel over (3) summer water sources might be frozen in May (4) weather changes real quick (5) you haven't made it until you're at the top (6) you haven't actually made it until you've taken a shower. Anyone make it to the summit on #mtwhitneytrail this past week (5/7)?
Edit: Good luck to anyone going today. NOAA weather forecast is for wind up to 50 mph at 12,000' (Trail Camp), on Saturday decreasing to 25.
