Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports Mt. Whitney, Main Trail Conditions 05/28/12

Hey Hikers Association: I went up Whitney on 5/28, and left a TR on the Portal Store Forums, which I'm placing below after a request. Sorry for the double post in case any of you monitor both forums! I've also got a link at the bottom of my TR to my blog which does contain photos of the cable conditions as of 5/28/12. Take care on the trail everyone, and have a good time!

I went up from the Portal on Monday morning. Spent the night Sunday at the portal hikers campground which was full; most of the campers, however, were just hanging out - good for them! Trail was clear of snow and other debris all the way past Trail Camp - there were a couple of minor obstacles (trees, etc) that were down, but from what I heard, a trail crew was working on them later in the day. None of them were anything to worry about at the time.

I arrived at Trail Camp ~8am, surveyed the chute and the snow conditions in it, and decided that due to its molasses-like consistency, I would be better off on the switchbacks. The only real obstacle I found on the switchbacks was at the cables which had snow and ice up to the cables themselves. This was causing a lot of consternation among some hikers; however, I and several other people bypassed the obstacle carefully and were fine. Even though I had an ice axe/crampons, I did not put them on for that obstacle. When I returned after summitting, the area had melted out some; but I imagine it will still be there for another 10 days or so before it disappears for the season.

From Trail Crest to the summit, the route was mostly clear, aside from two icy obstacles of ~3 feet or so in width near the windows. The snowfield directly below the summit is still there, although it is quite slushy. Due to the issue at the cables, and a small breeze (~10-15mph), I didn't see more than 12 people on the final section of trail or on the summit, which was surprising, since it was Memorial Day, and a great sunny one at that. I also can't believe how little snow is up there as compared to the last two years!

For pictures (couldn't figure out how to post them) and a more in-depth TR, check out my blog here: http://lastadventurer.com/last-adventure...l-may-2012.html

Good times, as always!

Thanks for the report, LastAdventurer.

I've added a link to this post, plus two of your pictures in the Current Conditions thread.

Great, useful report. Thanks a lot for letting us know how it is.

This might be out of date now but I just found out about WhitneyZone.com so I'm re-posting my trip report from the Portal Store Message Board (it still appears to be the most recent).

My husband and I summited Saturday June 2. We left at 4 a.m., reached Trail Camp at about 8:20 a.m. We set up camp, refilled our Camelbaks and headed for the summit about 9:30 reaching the summit about 1:40 p.m. After nearly an hour break we headed back to camp at 2:30 and arrived at 6 p.m.

Yes, we were slow, but intentionally kept a steady pace to ensure we wouldn't wear out since it was our first time. We spent the night at Trail Camp and headed back to the Portal Sunday morning from about 6:45 to I think 10:20 or so (I have bad knees so I go just as slow downhill as up).

The first three miles of the trail are mostly dirt, steadily uphill, some switchbacks. The next three miles there are a few stream crossings, the views of the mountains get even better and you break out above the trees while climbing more and more stone steps.

Following Trail Camp of course there are the 97-99 switchbacks. The cables weren't bad this weekend. If you hit them after 7 or 8 am the snow was slushy so you could just use your trekking poles and take it slow. We brought ice axes and micro-spikes and never used either. Others did note that the snow is more like ice and more dangerous before 6 a.m. We saw one guy haul @$$ up the chute but he seemed to be the only one.

Along the switchbacks there is a LOT of water flowing, literally down the trail and across it in several places. After Trail Crest there were two sections with big piles of snow/ice left but a pretty deep track through them; again, just plant the trekking poles and you'll be fine. Near the top there is a snow field with a well worn path. This last two miles is the rockiest and of course accompanied by long drops in places by the windows. It wasn't as bad as I expected though and the trail is plenty wide. Once we got to the top there were a few people suffering from altitude sickness and two guys who I think climbed the east face. While we saw a few people who turned around or didn't make it, it seemed like the majority were summiting. The weather was beautiful and I got sunburned in my tank top. At that altitude I failed to remember/realize how often I should have reapplied and maybe used a stronger SPF.

Our photos are posted in Dropbox here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2zat7yre38vsaku/EDuFVASsyD

Hopefully that works!