Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Mt Whitney Hiking Dates Calendar

HTML!  Copious use of the <pre></pre> preformat tags (where the monospaced text is).  Extra spacing (like     this) in the variable-spaced font provided by many &nbsp; &nbsp; sequences.

Oh, and one more thing: The "Markup" choice, just below the text composition window, is set to "using HTML and UBBCode".

Well, thank you for that, Joe, but there was no real sacrifice in parting with the permits. I knew when I filled out the app back in February, using a blanket "any type hike, any available date in July" strategy, that a really early July date would probably not work. Listing you on the app as the alternate group leader, and therefore capable of utilizing the permits if we couldn't, was the plan all along.

What Joe didn't mention in his narrative was that, after my first attempt at Whitney in the summer of 2009, he was the first person from the WPS board to contact me and offer his regrets (and his desire to meet Tucker some day!). That's really how we first became friends, and I'm very glad he took the time and effort to make that initial gesture.

Looking back, that was the spark that eventually led to my sticking with Whitney summit plans, and ultimately to making so many friends among the fine folks on these Whitney-centric boards (I'd never participated in a message board of any kind prior to deciding to try Whitney). My winter Death Valley getaways, and first Whitney attempt, were all solo before this happened. Now, these twice-yearly trips to Cali are as much about hooking up with the wonderful, mountain-mided people on the boards as they are about the mountains themselves. I've had the great pleasure to meet and/or hike with many of the board members, and that generates a unique sense of community I've never quite experienced before. I can't begin to express how cool it was a few weeks ago to start up Corkscrew Peak in Death Valley with so many great folks from the boards. Overnighting on and summitting Whitney with Joe last year was the first of what I hope are many such climbs with my bud from Murrieta, CA (I live in Marietta, GA - go figure).

It captivated my wife and daughter as well when they experienced it last year, and we now consider the Eastern Sierra our "second home" because of this. We greatly value these relationships, and are eager to get back out there this summer to reunite with existing friends and make new ones. Oh yeah - and climb a mountain or two! And gorge on pancakes, moose burgers, twice-fried fries . . .

So Steve, put us down for a targeted entry date of July 20th for the MWMT, preferably overnight, if we can snag the walk-in permits. We'll be in the area between roughly 7/13 and 7/25, so we're pretty flexible with what we can get from a permit standpoint. I hope these dates work well in order to get together with as many Zone and WPS members as possible.

Looks like Brianne's "Uncle Joe" will just have to make peace with the fact that he'll be doing Whitney twice in a two-week span. Get the Snickers ready, my friend!

SOrry, my bad for leaving a garbled message. My summit date should be Friday July 22. Thanks for doing this

I met with wagga and + @ti2d last night for pizza.  Wagga brought up the situation of people here ending up with spare slots due to friends dropping out.

He suggested that, you find yourself in that situation, and might be willing to share the slots with others, you might post here and invite people to join in with your group.  The decision to do that is entirely up to you.

The other alternative, and of course is quite commendable, is to call the Wilderness Permit number (760-873-2483) and release the empty slots from your reservation. That allows others to call in and reserve the permits for themselves.

along those lines....since I didn't win the lottery this year..

I would love to fill

1-Slot (me) overnight or dayhike...anytime in July/August
2-Slots (me and my 11yo son)....overnight, anytime July/mid-august
4-Slots (me, my son and two friends)....overnight, anytime july/mid-august

We are self sufficient, have all of our own gear. Don't need guidance.

How about two more columns... Spare slots & origin (like Bullet777 from Oz, etc). Good work!

add Lankford party, Aug 7 from Kearsarge/JMT

Thanks for the hard work, David! I took what you did, added some months, and borrowed a trick from Versatile Fred to eliminate the left column. Looking better all the time!

June 28-29. Likely overnight Whitney Portal. Hope snow isn't bad at switchbacks! First Time, by myself.

Add me for a Sept 14 day hike. I'll be hiking alone on the Whitney Trail, with a goal to summit.

One year ago I had never heard of this mountain. Then I got a bottle of iced tea out of the vending machine and read about Mount Whtney on the "Snapple Fact" under the lid. Ever since then I've felt an unexplainable calling to take this challenge. I'm new to Whitney but I've climbed in CO and AZ. So all winter I read the books, learned the red tape, studied the odds, and just this month I was fortunate to get a permit for right after the September full moon. I even have my campsite resserved at the Portal. My gear is almost ready and I just need to prepare physically.

The mountains are calling, and I must go.

Congratulations getting your permit reservations, passion2explore and Kokopelli! Kokopelli, mid-september is a nice time to go, only the days are getting shorter.

Passion2... is your permit for overnight or day hike? Watch the conditions others report here, and you will see, closer to your time, just how bad the snow is. If you want to "go for it", and there is still lots of snow, come several days early, rent crampons, try them out, even walking around on dirt!

Both of you: read the Orientation Notes, and learn about acclimating.
____________

The calendar is here.

June 28 for 2 nights whitney portal

hi passion2explore,

I will be hiking up whitney the same 2 days as you. It's my first time and I saw your comment about snow on switchbacks. I haven't really given that idea much thought. Do you know if it is possible that crampons would be needed? My thought was that by the end of June many others will have broken through anything tough???

My last trip was on June 20 of an average year. Most of The 97 were buried under several feet, and nobody was on them. The clear route was up the snowfield directly below T-Cr with crampons and ice axe. Switching back until the crust softened, then straight up cut steps. That was only 10 days earlier than you are going and in an average year.

(Ah the good old days. There were exactly 4 parties above Trail Camp by 6 AM that day, and the only guy ahead of me was headed for Muir first, so I had the incredible experience of having the summit all to myself for about 1/2 hour on a warm, perfectly clear morning within hours of the solstice. A Sunday, no less. But I digress.)

Beta may differ come June, but I would be prepared with spikes and axe. Given this years snow pack, I am packing them to California mid July, and will decide whether to carry them in after I get there.

I'll be doing it twice, most likely early June and late September, but won't make a decision until a few days before as it depends upon my schedule & weather. I'll post a conditions report for the June hike unless someone else has posted similar info recently.

I know it's a ways off, but if passion2explore, DolbyBear, onehotchili and anyone else going up in June could give TR's about trail conditions.....it would be appreciated by all.

Thanks Steve C. Knowing the days will be getting shorter in September is what prompted me to shoot for dates close to the full moon. I know I'll be up early and hiking long before the sun rises.

As far as the acclimation, that does concern me. I'll be spending almost a week in the upper meadows and peaks of Yosemite before finally camping at the Portal. Hopefully that helps because I live in Ohio at 1175 feet above sea level.

The only other concern I have is the bears. I've read what I can on dealing with bears, but haven't seen much about aggressive bears at Whitney. Do people carry bear spray? What are the odds that I'll be eaten at any point on the trail? I would have to rank that as a highly undesirable outcome.

KevinR, if you could make the trip mid June and make a report, it would be a most appreciated contribution!

Kokopelli, the only thing you need to worry about with the Whitney Portal bears is one sneaking up while you are getting ready to go, and grabbing your backpack and running with it. They're notorious grab-and-run thieves, and have never even touched anyone. If you are starting your hike in the pre-dawn darkness, assume they are close by and waiting for you to step away from your pack. Here's a quote from the North American Black Bear Center website, page title "How dangerous are black bears?":
Thanks to Ken for posting links to this site.

I didn't get in on the lotto for a permit but will try to get a walk-in permit for a hike on 8/5 using the main trail.

I have an experienced friend, and dependent on his schedule, we'll try to go up the Mountaineer's Route if conditions allow for the main trail late May or early June.

I carried bear mace the first time I went, but not the second time. If nothing else, it'll give you peace of mind and let you enjoy your hike more. Honestly, I'm more worried about deers. I pulled my mace out at Yosemite on a buck that looked like it wanted to charge me. Some people might laugh, but after that guy got gored to death by the goat in Washington, I'm not taking any chances.