Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Whitney Main Trail Conditions 2015 (Out-of-Date)

Very little snow at sunrise 10/10, and even less that afternoon on the way back. The campers I spoke to only complained about the cold night. Lots of space now to camp out there.

Yessir, we are neighbors indeed!

Brett, Might run into you at Trail Camp on Wednesday as im coming down from the summit. Me and 3 other guys are starting our quest on Tuesday morning before sunrise and currently plan to start for the summit at 2am Wednesday. Best wishes to you on your summit attempt!

Jeremy

Might be time for the freak flag?

Hey all. First post.

Going with a group of 10 with a 10/16 (Friday) start date. Current plan is to camp at Outpost Friday night, camp at Trail camp on Saturday, and summit on Sunday. This is the first time for half the group (including myself and two sons). We have yaktrax for the snow/ice. Will these be sufficient for the hike from trail camp to the summit?

I have a permit for this Friday. going with 2 others.
I'm concerned that one member is a little slow and with the added effort on snow/ice, it might be better to cancel and do Yosemite instead. Does anyone know how much ice there is left on the trail now? I heard it will snow Friday as well. . .

I am also planning to start hiking this friday 10/15/15. Based off of the pictures other people have posted, YakTraks might be good up to Trail Camp but I would be very skeptical of their performance at any incline. I have used YakTraks on San Gorgonio (SoCal, 11,500ft) in the snow this January and regretted it. I was slipping on any ice that was not level. I highly suggest you pick up at least a pair of microspikes. I will be trying the Kahtoola MicroSpikes from REI the first time on this trip, but they look like they'll do the job and had great reviews.

It looks like there are quite a few people going up this Friday. Jaclyn you'll really love the Micros. I've done the Baldy Bowl with just these and they work well.

We( group of 8 on 16th early 2am) are having only yaktrax. We may hike slow based on the trail condition.

Just so people know... There are light snow showers predicted for all weekend by the NOAA. Here is the Whitney area forecast.

Please be prepared! Two weeks ago people were caught off guard because the predictions underestimated the storm.

Here's the NOAA GOES satellite weather loop. Watch it spin!

Thanks jaclyn for the info. I've ordered 3 sets of microspikes for me and the boys. We'll be starting on Friday around noon.

I was able to make it from the portal to the cables wearing only my trail runners (NB leadville 1210) last Sat 10/10. You should be able to make it the same or throw on your spikes somewhere up the switchbacks. However, once things started to get soft, slushy, and sloppy the spikes get a little bit slippery and I did slip a few times coming down. I used the Kahtoola and they fit either the NB or my boots great. In the areas that they were able to dig into firm snow or ice they gripped very solid. Plan on getting to trail camp as early as you can and head up from there before things get slushy.

Thursday, Oct 15: Just so people know, it is currently raining.. a lot! in Bishop and Lone Pine. I see the NOAA forecast for Lone Pine is 50% chance of rain. They are off by 50%!!

While the storm is warm, up high, it will certainly be snow.

If you go this weekend, please be prepared!!!

And remember, your goal is not just to climb the mountain, it is to return home safely. The mountain will always be there, you can always go back and hike another day.

we bailing. ranger recommends spikes and ax.
snow coming.

Does anyone have a sense of snow level and timing for the precipitation? My hiking partner and I would still like to give it a go on Saturday AM on the main trail, so long as there isn't enough new snow to create avalanche danger.

Our group of 4 did the main trail on the 9th. We started at 4am.. By the time we were about half way into hike we had put our crampons on. On this day we saw a total of about 25-30 people out on trail. Most had microspikes but we chose crampons. It was very icy and snow eventually got pretty deep. The switchbacks were around 2-21/2 feet deep snow. Went around them straight up. Very slow moving trying to stay in previous formed steps only to fall straight thru to waist deep snow at least a hundred times. Trail crest was around 2 feet deep. Real dangerous on back side. 1 guy dropped out at this time from sickness and exhaustion. We are in great shape but it took us 10 1/2 hrs to get to summit. 17 hrs total. 2 people went to ER next day from snow blindness.

Thanks for this info - very helpful. I have a sense that there's been a lot of melting over the last 5-6 days, but at the same time, more snow is coming ...

I am planning on crampons and climbing boots, plus axe and poles.

Would love to hear from anyone who's been up (even if only to trail camp) in the last day or two.

Am also wondering whether snowshoes would help at all, or if it's too steep for them to be useful in the spots where they'd be most needed?

Matthew, this storm will not bring enough snow to create any avalanche situations, so I wouldn't worry about that this time. Avalanche danger increases when there is a heavy storm dumping a lot of new snow on top of a solid base of existing snow.

More importantly will be the depth of snow snow and how much it impedes your ability to walk up the trail. Breaking trail in snow is very tiring.

People can see from timb's post how tough the going can be. Their trouble with postholing up to the waist is due to their trying to go up the slope (some call it a chute) west of the switchbacks. The rocks and boulders in that area are big and blocky, and trying to go up that on a thin layer of new snow is a lot of trouble, since you can't see what lies beneath the snow: it might be a solid boulder, or it might be the space between boulders with a big hole. People should try to stay on the trail all the way up until the snow really solidifies, and it takes a few storms before that happens.

A note about the snow blindness: It is sunburn in the eyes! Do NOT hike in snow without sunglasses!!! Even without direct sunlight, you can get a burn.

Matthew - I hit the summit on Tuesday the 13th. I brought microspikes but i did not use them. A little over half the people I saw had micro spikes and half did not (one group just had tennis shoes on). Hiking poles were a must for me. I did not see any need for an axe on Tuesday and I can't think of any place where I would use one. The people I talked to that went straight up the mountain to the right of the switchbacks thought it was a mistake and it looked like it took them much more time.

Hope this helps.

I climbed it yesterday. As the post stated it was totally climbable with various areas of accumulated snow.
None on the trail itself until the switches. Half of the switch backs had been bypassed to the (mountain) side. The (CABLES) are actually the EASIEST PART (usually the,sketchiest). The traverse to Trail Crest was snow covered and packed 90%. (No exposed trail on any switches or the traverse to Trail Crest, but all totally doable with micro spikes at a minimum. And poles (WITHOUT BASKETS) ARE MORE TROUBLE THAN GOOD!!!)

From Trail Crest through the Western Traverse to the Summit again is totally doable with micro spikes.

You must figure 1 mph on the back side traverse to and from the summit! And slower if you're not trained!! Here's the real rub. GOING DOWN the switches is also slower than usual. Towards the bottom of the switches you can cut down but the snow level is at the point where you can still post hole your ankle in between boulders!

The rest is just a long walk. And I'd just add, hiking in snow is very grueling/exhausting; with this new snow crampons would be best and I'd personally take an ice ax rather than poles.
AND boots would be THE wisest choice as opposed to trail runner as you have 10 miles IN SNOW. If the sun comes out the snow deteriorates very quickly and you just SINK.

Early AM start is the key if you rest/take breaks/change layers etc. I typically can do a good 2mph uphill (5-6hr from trail head to summit) it took 7 exhausting hrs.
And 4 to get back to trail camp!

Any later than 1 or 2 am start, and you'll be walking to your car in the dark.
Again I hiked it Wednesday (yesterday) started at 1 am and in my car by 4pm.