I've been researching it all morning.
Basically, Whitney Portal is closed because it's a tourism draw and the county is worried about a lot of people with COVID-19 coming up from LA. There is a lot of political tension around the issue because the region depends on tourism. Re-opening will require the coordination of the forest and the county, which adds a layer of confusion. The county has control over the winter gates and can open or close them when they want to. I wouldn't hold my breath for a May 15th opening. I think it'll be more like June 1st at the earliest, maybe into July. Basically, Inyo County seems set on tracking the governor's exact position, and won't open up earlier unless people start boarding up their stores.
In other news, I'm almost back to running marathons...
