Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Portal Road Status

Ridgecrest is patrolled by the local Ridgecrest police, Kern County Sheriffs Dept, and the CHP. I have no idea who is responsible for the where, what and when - all I know is that it's unusual to go more than 2 minutes with R/C itself without seeing one of the above. Occasionally I'll get gas at a station just outside the China Lake NWS gate, and one of their cruisers will pull in.

Have never seen any place with such a high level of police visibility.

While no one likes a ticket, the frequent references to driving around the "Road Closed" sign on this and the WPBB is like waving a red flag in front of bull. What was the line on "Miami Vice"? - if you can't do the time, then don't do the the crime? Something like that.

While I realize Wikipedia is not infallible, this is what they say about the jurisdiction of CHP. It is indeed quite broad. This is consistent with the fact that counties are considered subdivisions of the State.

"The agency has specific jurisdiction over all California state routes (including all freeways and expressways), U.S. Highways, Interstate Highways, and all public roads in unincorporated parts of a county. Local police or the local sheriff's department having a contract with an incorporated city are primarily responsible for investigating and enforcing traffic laws in incorporated cities, but the CHP can still enforce traffic laws on any public road anywhere in the state."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Highway_Patrol

More than a few times I have been stopped for a violation and the officer let me off with a warning. It's called discretion.

There is nothing forcing a CHP officer to give a parking ticket to vehicle parked in Whitney Portal...unless blocking the road or preventing InyoTrans from doing road work.

You are right the officer did his job. That doesn't make it right.

Hikers and climbers have benefited from discretion all winter.

The only thing that isn't right here might be that the beneficiaries of the winter's discretion feel so entitled as to suggest that they shouldn't be restricted by anything less than someone who would have to be additionally stationed on site during road opening maintenance.

Dale B. Dalrymple

hey guys. i have a permit for may 6th. i've never hiked mt whitney this early in the year but i feel encouraged that the lack of snow this winter will give me an edge (or at least i hope it will!). however, all this talk about the gate being closed has me wondering if the road will be open for me to make use of my permit and hike. does anyone know if the gate will be open? thanks in advance!

I would say yes, they will keep the road open.. the permit season is a big bread winner for the area so its in their financial interest to keep it open

It's opened only when road/weather conditions warrant it. Safety is always first. Even if there is a lack of snow, there is usually leftover rockfall/slides, etc. from the previous winter that need to be cleared first. There is no set date to open the road that I am aware of. Each year is different.

CaT

Dale,
I bet if someone watched you in your local neighborhood there just might be a time where you rolled through a stop instead of the full count to 3.If not you might have OCD (just joking) What you call entitlement is just a home territory phenomenon that we all do occasionally, and when someone climbs or hikes or drives in an area often enough it does start to feel like home territory. But it has nothing to do with entitlement or lack of safety first.
I would love to hear from others but my guess is that most have great respect for the officers who put their lives on the line every day not to mention the rescues they do.
The real life stories I have read on this board have been true real life adventures and often calculated risks. This is the enjoyable part, but I also enjoy hearing about everyone's opinions backed up with their life experience.The opinions that are cut and pasted are just well, boring.
P.S. Have you ever watched Mike Row's show about Safety First?
It is one of the funniest shows and it helps us to not take ourselves too seriously.
Hope to see you on the mountain.

So, by your own logic, it's OK to break the law as long as it's your home turf? Hmmm... that makes most of the periphery of CA my home turf, having grown up in the Bay Area, LA for grad school, and now living here on the east side. Someone else can look up the actual law regarding Road Closures and such, because I'm tired (the workout this morning was called "Mt. Tom" for a reason). But now that I know it's perfectly ok to not follow the rules wherever I consider to be "at home", well...

entitlement: the act of giving (a person) the right to do or have something

No matter how many times you go up there, by going around the sign you are breaking the law. Each time you do it, you run the risk of getting caught. There's your calculated risk, clear as day. I've done it myself, many times, and I've been lucky not to have gotten a ticket. But I would not be surprised if, one day, I came back down to the TOF and there was one there. Bummed? Sure! I mean that's that much less dinero for gear and trips! Kvetch? Probably! No one likes getting a ticket. Do it again? Yup! I like hiking the road for a workout in the evening, but starting the trip from there: blech.

I don't know that I see the people feeling entitled here. But I do hear a crapload of whining.

The road does make for some good television. I still fondly remember last year's longest-running telenovela, starring the Subaru that got stuck and then unstuck through hard work and ingenuity.

Moosetracks,
My posting was issue orientated, not fact orientated,no where in it did I say. It is okay to break the law, this was outside that particular box and yet still on subject. My best friend is a sheriff.
Actually I used to be a legalistic until I started to see many things from others point of view.I still have my own opinions but I enjoy hearing about others. I guess I developed mercy and grace. I have been in 100's of outdoor shops and and even at these places,many feel and act like locals even when they have live 300 miles away.
Oh and by the way, if you want to go there I actually did get a ticket one time when it wasn't even my car that the officer ticketed. The judge cancelled the ticket because while my vehicle was white,it was a different model.
And, I do enjoy your postings and your pics.Thanks for your comment.

I have a bad feeling about the events here.

On Wednesday, 4/4, SammySam asked about the road. So I hunted down the number, and spoke to the road foreman. And then I wrote:

"The gentleman I talked to asked me to pass along that the "Road Closed" sign really means the road is closed."

On Monday, 4/9, this was posted:
"Friends just got ticketed yesterday by the CHP for bypassing the sign and parking at the Portal."

and another wrote:
"...likely they received a complaint."

I have the feeling my phone call triggered the entire situation.


You can be sure people going around signs happens at places other than Whitney Portal Road. This sign was being ignored by a few people on Monday when I was there. I sure hope my posting this here doesn't trigger an official response.

People have been rolling through the closure without tickets since the road closed sign went up this winter. Most winters I'm one of them. This has been at the discretion of the authorities. The issue here is not a legalistic one.

The ticketing is entirely about safety. The ticketing occurs every year to protect the workers and the hikers during the road opening effort. As reported above in this thread, the road closure is beefed up to make it clear when this is happening.



The others have already posted in this and other threads, on this and other boards that the safety period is here and requested respect for the safety concerns. The CHP gave out warnings before they gave out tickets. It would be cheaper and easier to close the road all winter with a locked hard gate. Those who like the neighborhood, and rolling through it, don't want the uninformed and the willful to demonstrate that such a gate is the only safe alternative. Hopefully this thread has helped with the uninformed.

Dale B. Dalrymple

I'd like to take this opportunity to sidetrack the thread slightly while hopefully offending someone - two birds with one stone.

I'm from Ohio, so naturally I've got those midwest values / ingrained respect for God / Country / Police - all of which have evolved over time as I've been away from the motherland.

Seriously though, growing up I've had a great respect for law enforcement, and have always been glad they are there to help.

I've often read the back and forth comments about how terrible / awesome the police are below every online news story involving a police shooting / possible error made by law enforcement, and have just written off those that slam the police, etc as hippies / idiots / etc.

In recent years, my view has started to shift.

Reason #1: Girlfriend is sexually assaulted in her apartment building lobby one night. Police take report, then proceed to do nothing. Wait, I take that back. The detective on the case decided his time would be better spent hitting on my girlfriend the victim, while telling her "jokingly" that he was going to see that I was pulled over/harassed by his colleagues until I broke up with her so he could have a shot. Etc etc. Each time she interacts with this guy he repeats his attempts. They actually figured out who the guy was because my girlfriend did her own detective work ( guy had a sister in her building ), but apparently he didn't assault her enough to get in any real trouble. Hi-five!

Reason #2: Sheriff tracks down my girlfriend, telling her he has video of her stealing purses from a store and video of her car leaving the scene. When she tells him she's at work during the alleged crime, and that the car he's referring to is actually her mother's car (in my girlfriends name), he changes his story to he has video of her mother stealing them, and that he's sure it's her. When he then finds out her mother was taking care of her elderly client that day, and was at that shopping center but not stealing purses, he confesses that he hasn't actually seen any video yet, but he knows that her mother's car was one of several cars in the parking lot that day. I called them shortly after and gave them an ear-full. Hi-five?

Moral of the story is - if I have any trouble, I'm not calling 911...I'm reaching for my .40 - not impressed with law enforcement on the west coast so far.

This thread has become positively toxic. Steve C. should, you'll excuse the expression, shoot it dead.

I don't want to blow it away, since it has some good information within. And this is where we differ from other boards -- We don't wipe out useful info.

But I would like to remind people to keep it ON TOPIC, and please -- when you post an opinion, you don't have to direct any type of discredit to someone with a different opinion. You CAN write what you think without offending others.

And keeping it on-topic, I am very curious to know what the "parking ticket" fine was for MooseTracks' friends.

I'll also jump in with an on-topic question and ask what's the lowest elevation the snow from this storm is reaching? I'm guessing this could have a big impact on when they'll open the road up

Thanks, Steve. I wouldn't actually want to see the past rewritten or eliminated. My metaphor, though seemingly apt, was not quite accurate.

Toxic? Hardly.... I personally don't have a problem with someone ignoring posted signs that are put up for their own safely, as long as they are willing to accept the responsibility and the costs involved if they get caught or get in trouble.
In other words, no bitching and complaining about it when you get a ticket or are rescued. Yes, I'm also a believer that one should be charged financially if they need to be rescued out of a disregard for law.

But, what surprises me most about this thread.....Burchey has a girlfriend?

Yea, Burchey, I'm sure it sometimes surprises you too!

Yeah! Burchey - Girlfriend picture or it didn't happen.