Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Mt Whitney in March

Hello! Looking for some advice on an early March attempt on Mt. Whitney (Mar 6-10) this year.

We will be a climbing party of 2. I'm a 31M with 3+ years of trad climbing experience, and 5+ years of scrambling in the Canadian rockies. My partner is quite inexperienced, but fit. I have some winter experience (~2 months in high Andes, several attempts on Mt Washington)

Here are some questions I have:

- What obstacles would we face on the Mt Whitney Main Trail? As my partner is not as technically experienced as me, I'm considering this approach. I've read it will be longer, with more snow, difficult trail breaking, but non-technical.

- Are the avalanche hazards higher for MWMT than MR?

- How technical is the Mountaineer's route? We are generally comfortable with snow travel but I would prefer to avoid any 5th class. The videos and photos I've seen show roped parties, as well as rappels. It seems the steepest is in the last 400ft.

- what kind of protection would be most useful? snow anchors? ice screws? rock pro? are there boulders to sling? I understand this depends on conditions, but I wanted to get a sense from other climbers' experiences before packing my ENTIRE rack.

- rope: I plan on bringing 20m twin ropes. I feel it's an appropriate balance between weight and length. I don't imagine there will be rappels/pitches than need longer rope?

- boots: I've done all my high altitude climbs in stiff-soled leathers (La Sportiva Makalus). In the videos I've seen, everyone is slogging around in cinder-block double plastics! I'm even considering using my hiking boots (Scarpa Kailash). Any advice on this? Am I going to lose my toes.

The MR is Class 2-3. You will encounter precisely 0 5th class unless you're looking for the hard way, or the wrong way.

IF you're comfortable with tread, the final 400' is a cake-walk. Many people rope up for more mental security. In March you'll be running with spikes, so a running belay with your partner might be advisable, but if you have solid footwork and point-placement, you won't have too much issue. Twin ropes will likely be helpful if there is a cornice at the top though (for like maybe 6m).

I'm no snow mountaineer, but both the MR and MWMT deal with narrow gullies below broad and steep N. Faces. You'll face some danger going up Whitney's E. Chute, but it gets the most sun so it should be pretty well consolidated in March.

We'll have to see how the snow season ends.

As far as shoes, I can't say.

Welcome, Echo! 95% of the winter-spring hikers take the MR over the MMWT (Main Trail), mostly due to the distance difference. It's a lot easier to break trail in snow over 5 miles instead of 11.

There can be avalanches on both trails. I recall a report from one guy who camped in the low area just s of Iceberg Lake, and they were buried under a light avalanche, and dug themselves out! (It was stormy during their overnight.) It can happen on the MMWT too. Worst danger is right after a significant snowfall.

The MR is Class 3 in the steepest places. As for boots, I suspect the guiding companies have a supply of the plastics on hand for their clients.

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated! I'm watching the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center website for their reports on avalanche hazard. I'm guessing with an el nino year, that there's going to be pretty heavy snowfall this year (or maybe not!)

March is when the snow depth is greatest right? Are there still frequent snowfalls in march? It seems we'll be right at the cusp of winter/spring.

Also, can you guys recommend any other resources to judge the snow conditions?

thanks again! glad I found this forum, tons of good info and experience.

It may just be my imagination, but it seems that in spite of the heavier snowfall this year, the Whitney east side is not receiving as much snowfall as might be expected. In other words, snow appears light so far.

However, March weather can bring significant fresh snow, so you can't be sure until your trip date arrives.

Don't know of any other snow conditions resources.

echo8, I was snowmobiling on the Sierra west side today, and if conditions continue as they are, you are in for a very pleasant climb! The weather is warm, snow is consolidating, and El Nino seems to have disappeared -- no storms on the horizon.

Great

We've settled on doing it the MR way. the plan is to make it to upper boyscout on the hike in so we can explore both Whitney and Russell over the next 2 days.

Russell looks amazing! I think I'm more excited for that than Whitney now, haha!