Hi Alliefite... Your itinerary looks good. Maybe a bit too long on the mountain but otherwise a good acclimation schedule.

My friend and I were on Whitney last weekend (4/10-4/11). Stayed the night at Trail Camp and went up the chute the following morning. We talked to several ppl at trail camp who had ascended and descended the switchbacks. They told us the cable section was sketchy along with a few other sections higher up, but otherwise the switchbacks are doable. Sunday morning when we were climbing the chute I saw several parties opting to ascend via the switchbacks. Although we did not use the switchbacks, from what I could see I would high recommend having crampons, ice axe and crampon compatible boots for this section. The back side 1.9 also had sketchy sections where crampons and ice axe came in handy as well. I would not recommend using microspikes as they are not long enough the for sections that have snow on top of the ice/frozen snow.

The snow from Lone Pine Lake to Trail Camp is well packed down and easy to walk on. There is a traverse just before Consulation Lake that can be tricky but with crampons you will be fine.

As for camping at Trail Camp/Consulation lake... expect cold temperatures once the sun has dropped behind the ridge. We had our water freeze in our tent overnight.

One thing I cannot stress enough. Learn how to use an ice axe and how to walk in crampons. Just because you have an ice axe and are wearing crampons does not mean you know how to use them. Should you get into a slide for life scenario, how to self arrest should be instinctual, trying to remember what you watched on a YouTube video as you are sliding is too late. There are several guide services in the Bishop area that offer weekend mountaineering course that cover self arrest along with other helpful topics. It is a good skill to know, especially if you continue to adventure in winter conditions.


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