Hi everyone - I also wanted to give back to this community thread as I relied on it heavily to prepare for my overnight trip to Whitney, and my trip had a lot more action than usual…we summited on Sunday 06/10/2018.
I was a part of Robbie's group from the prior post above, and was the last/slow group. The main Whitney trail was very well graded - it's the distance and elevation that would play the biggest factors in your ascent. I am from SoCal and did the 6 Pack of Peak challenge and that really helped me prepare for the hike, distance-wise. For the elevation, I had Diamox prescribed to me and will attribute 95% of my summit success to it. If you can get your hands on some - do it!
The hike up to Trail Camp was smooth. Beautiful trail. Trail Camp was very windy Saturday night and made it feel colder than it should have been. If it wasn't for the wind then the weather would have been a perfect temperature. The wind came in spurts but the time frame when it is the worst/really picks up is usually between 3pm-7pmish. Overall, the entire weekend had great weather! We were able to practice self-arresting and glissading on some of the slopes near Trail Camp. I highly recommend doing this before doing the real deal.
Our group of 10 split into sub-groups because of different speed and schedules. I know my body and pace and that I'd need more time for everything. My partner and I started the ascent from Trail Camp around 4am and was surrounded by celestial beauty until daybreak around 5am. You don't really need headlamps after 5/530am. From Trail Camp, follow the path to the switchbacks and hike up until the switchbacks eventually disappear into the snowy parts.
It took us 3 hours to get to the top of the chute: arrival at 7am. Chute conditions were perfect. Hard packed snow that was favorable for cramponing up. I initially was going up with hiking poles but did not feel safe or comfortable and switched them out for my ice axe. Glad I did. Don't underestimate this part. The climb up the chute was brutal for me - but the views at the top are breathtaking! Just go slow and be careful. If you can, try to find a route that already has footsteps in them. It will make for a much easier climb - think of it as climbing up steps, like on a stair master machine! Dig your toe in and secure your footing. Throw your ice axe in front of you for a self-belay.
If you want to skip some of the snow then an alternative (that was recommended to us by the Whitney Portal store owner and other groups) would be to crampon up to the pile of rocks on the chute. It's a long stretch of boulders that are pretty obvious - you can't miss it (I'll try to post photos later). Boulder-hop on those to skip some snow = once at the top, you'll have about 200-300 feet of snow left to climb up on! I would definitely recommend using the rocks if you only have hiking poles. Some people from our group had only micro spikes and hiking poles and were carefully and slowly making their way down to the pile of rocks.
It took my partner and I 2-2.5hrs to ascend from Trail Crest. Perfect weather. Even with the diamox medication, it was very hard to breath on the last 1.9 miles from Trail Crest to summit. Take it slow…
The 1.9 miles from Trail Crest to summit was in good condition! There were 2-3 sections of snow and a bit of ice, but you can get through it without traction if you do a little careful maneuvering. It wasn't enough for me to feel like I had to put on my crampons/microspikes (I had both) but definitely be careful traversing it.
On our way back down, we were told the horror stories of the series of unfortunate events that happened… We got to Trail Crest by 10am and the chute conditions were slushy/the sun was melting it already. Don't forget to wear sunscreen!! Because I sure did…
I glissaded down with my rain pants, rain shell jacket, gaiters, waterproof gloves, and an ice axe (among other things). I went very slowly as the beginning is very, very steep. I was braking with my left arm and my entire left arm is sore/done for the next couple of weeks. It is a workout! I got down the chute in 2 hours or less. From the bottom of the chute there is still a stretch of snow to walk on until you're back at the open part of the switchbacks that lead into Trail Camp. You can walk this snow stretch with just your boots, hiking poles, and careful maneuvering. --- As for the multiple injuries that happened - they were very unfortunate and terrible. Bless those kinds souls who forgo' d their summit to become trail angels and help these folks out! I met the BF of one of the injured people and he told me that his group started to ascend from Trail Camp around 6am. His GF had crampons, no ice axe. Somewhere along the way she had unstable footing/missed a step and slipped….and it was downhill from there. Literally. Thankfully some kind souls were able to help slow down her momentum (I don't know how, didn't ask for details) so she didn't get as injured as she could have been. She had broken bones, sprains, bruises, etc. But shortly after she fell it was a domino effect. Another girl fell 30-60 seconds after she did and sustained worst injuries. The 2nd girl wasn't as high up as the 1st girl but had more serious injuries. She was initially unconscious but on my way down I saw her wrapped up in emergency space blankets in the snow, wailing/groaning. The 1st girl was wrapped in blankets on a rock, not too far from one another. I don't know how long it took search and rescue to come but I did see the helicopter attempt to land multiple times. The chute isn't exactly a place for safe landing. I could still hear the helicopters coming and going as I was making the hike back down to my car between 3pm-7:30pm.
Just some personal tips: Remember to hike your own hike and ascend slowly to acclimate properly! It's a marathon, not a race. Seriously. And, I would highly, highly, recommend crampons and an ice axe. You can get by with micro spikes, but definitely not just hiking poles. Better safe than sorry!! Doesn't matter if you're experienced or a novice - these tools will save your life! Other than that, if you have the right tools and don't underestimate the trail (aka mentally prepare and practice self-arresting/glissading) then you'll do alright! It was my first time doing anything like this and yes, it was scary, but I think it's doable with the right preparation.
Before we started our trip we were told that the temperatures were warming up and that the chute was getting slushy earlier on. I would recommend getting to the top of the chute before 8am latest and down it by 12 noon. It might be too slushy if it's any later and would bring on more potential hazards.
