1: You only need permits for overnight hikes everywhere in Inyo NF except Whitney. No permit needed for a day hike!
2: I believe the closure includes Whitney Portal Road 100% closed beyond the Horseshoe Meadows turnoff. Even if the HSM Rd is closed there, you can head south from the VC in Lone Pine and get to Horseshoe Meadows via Lubken Canyon Road. It is narrow and wind-y, but any vehicle should be fine.
3/4: NAP is more straightforward but that trail is longer and demands a few extra hundred feet of gain and resultant loss. BUT if you are long-winded you could easily go out of your way to climb nearby Cirque Peak. OAP is shorter and has less gain/loss, but it holds snow longer and is not currently maintained. To be fair, NAP also holds snow and usually a cornice which can be a tough obstacle, but it doesn't stay as long as the snow on OAP.
In my experience, there has been some controversy over the years where folks ascend OAP directly up the fall-line across snow and scralus. Usually, those folks call OAP a very difficult route with no remaining trail. If you are keen-eyed, once you first see OAP from Lake 4, you can actually see the old trail cut into the cliffside on the south side of the lake. Follow that, provided there is no snow, and you have an easy class 1 ramp up.
I prefer OAP FWIW.
Last edited by Snacking Bear; 06/26/21 11:10 AM. Reason: grammar
