Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion July 19 hike suggestions (Mt. Gould, Cloudripper, etc)?

We have hotel reservations in Mammoth Friday night and were planning Mt. Dana early morning, then possibly Saddlebag Lake late morning/early afternoon.

I took a look at the forecast a few minutes ago and I'm disappointed.

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=37.899901553&lon=-119.2210926#.U8RkL_ldW1f

Rain is one thing, but I'm not messing around with lightning.

Any alternative hikes where the weather might be better? I've been planning this trip for over a month and it's tough for me to get away for overnight trips with a young kid at home. I don't want to cancel the trip.

The first options that came to mind were Lone Pine Peak and White Mtn Peak, but it looks like they're even predicting rain on White Mtn. I'm not sure if others in the group are ready to take on Mt. Langley (I'd love to if I were going with different people).

The reasons why I chose Mt. Dana in the first place is that a minimal amount of planning is involved and it'd be my 2nd highest peak. A couple of options I've found doing a quick search are Mt. Gould and Cloudripper. I previously haven't heard anything about these mountains.

Some questions:

1. Any other hikes I should look at? I prefer something that will get us above 12,900 and no harder than class 2.
2. Anyone have experience on Cloudripper? Difficulty?
3. Any experience on Mt. Gould? Difficulty?

Mt. Gould is the easiest 13er I know of, but it requires some cross-country hiking after Kearsarge Pass, and it has a class 3 summit block.

Lone Pine Peak is more difficult, involving a long, steep,loose chute.

How bad is the exposure? Any pics you could share?

Thanks for the help/response!

Cloud Ripper and that entire ridge-line is a magnet for thunderstorms, and it also has a lot of loose rock. Looking out of my library window just now, the area near Bishop Pass, including Cloud Ripper, is experiencing T-storms. Same forecast for the next couple of days, most of which will occur after 11 AM and continue into early evening.

It looks like rain is predicted for most of the area between Lone Pine north to Yosemite.

Does anyone have any suggestions outside of this area, within 5-6 hours of driving from Loma Linda, CA (92354)? Just looking for something that's 'worth' the drive. Doesn't need to be 13k+

Who doesn't want a peak with a name like Cloudripper on their resume?

It's a class three trek towards the end. We did it from Big Pine side. Lot'sa beauty.

Lone Pine offers a bit of danger. It's loose all the way up and the there is always the sound of things tumbling down.

Hardest thing about Gould is getting the sand out of your shoes when you return to the trail.

Of the three, Cloudripper is my favorite.

Agassiz.

-It may be in the same weather system, just south of Lone Pine, but Langley, Cirque, Trail Peak, Mt Muah---all out of Horseshoe Meadow, from easy to strenuous;

-Then further south, Olancha, strenuous

-From Kennedy Meadows, Finger Rock and Crag Peak, strenuous

-Moving to the South West, Taylor Dome and Sirretta Peak From Big Meadow, pretty easy

-Further west, Maggie Mt and Moses Mt, from the Mountain Home State Forest area, strenuous

The last two areas will get you into areas, which if you haven't been to, are not often visited and worthwhile to see.

to check the weather for those very different areas, this is my favorite site, just move the map around until it is exactly at your site of interest, then click, and it gives you the 7 day. I've found it to be quite accurate:

Weather

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

Ken, that's the site I tend to use also. In the last year though, I've cancelled two hikes where the weather ended up not being an issue. I've been trying to find a better site and have started looking at mountain-forecast.com also. At this point I have no idea how accurate it is.

Forecast.gov and mountain-forecast.com are giving quite different forecasts for White Mtn Peak:

http://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/White-Mountain-Peak/forecasts/4342

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-118.25537&lat=37.63341#.U8fnmPldW1e

The Sierra weather is unpredictable...I have been rained on many times when the forecast was for perfect weather.

I just hope I bring the right gear and clothing for conditions but I have never cancelled a trip because of weather.

I use NOAA and California Water Resources Board's real time sensors...the latter to historical temperature data.

The two hikes mentioned above were both Skyline Trail hikes (San Jacinto) where snow or freezing ice were predicted for the Traverse.

This trip, two people that are supposed to go don't want to hike if there's rain and will cancel. I don't want to shell out the cash for the hotel on my own.

Funny, everyone told me about the dangers of the traverse when there was snow around. When we got to the area I asked my Skyline experienced partner, when do we get to the traverse? The reply was we just went through it.

I guess if you have winter experience, it ain't all that and a bag of chips. I do know they pulled a bunch of Marines off there without a lick of winter gear the same weekend Ellen Goodman got stuck up on the peak six years ago.

The people that were going on those weekends didn't have any winter gear.

One of the times I did it last year, it started raining at Dry Falls. By the time we reached the Traverse, it was snowing and there was a 1/2 inch of snow on the ground. Without gear, the trail was very slick. I was happy that I had my trekking poles. There are only a couple of spots that may be sketchy, but people have fallen or needed to be rescued (as you state above).

When we started the hike:


When we finished:

Thunderstorms this week in June Lake and the Tioga Pass area haven't been starting until at least noon. You should have plenty of time to get up and down Dana with an early start.
I've been going up peaks in the area all week and getting down well before any lightning, so come on up.
Cheers, John

I've leaving home in a few hours. Dropping off some (unused) wag bags at the ranger station in Lone Pine, then headed up to Mammoth for the night. Hoping to be on the trail by sunrise tomorrow morning.

Are there bear boxes in the parking lots near the Tioga Pass entrance?