I will be hiking up Whitney this Sunday (The 17th) and am trying to make the call on whether or not crampons and ice axes will be necessary for us to bring.
Last year I hiked up July 2nd and from what I'm hearing on the board, the conditions are comparable to last year in July(after the very snowy/wet winter) when it was still very snowy but clearing up.
Last year was my first time using crampons and an ice axe. After watching a bunch of YouTube videos and talking to the people who I rented the gear from, we felt pretty comfortable using it. Glissading is fun if you get the hang of it. The key is to begin the glissading decent down the snow while the snow is still soft. Also, know how to self arrest. I'll also mention that last year my sister and I glissaded to the right(facing downhill) of the chute as to avoid the traffic in the chute and the slickness of the chute. It worked out for us.
Planning on calling the Park Rangers tomorrow so I can make a good call on whether to bring the ice axes or not. I'm hoping to take the 99 switchbacks. I'm a pretty experienced hiker, I'm comfortable with scrambling, but I don't want to be stuck on a snowy/icy slope without the support and leverage of an ice axe.
If anyone comes back and can share the conditions before Saturday, it would be much appreciated! I'll make sure to loop back here and share my experience next week when I return.
