Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Hiking Memorial Day weeeknd

Hello,
I am hiking mt Whitney Memorial Day weekend (May 27-29), and planning on an overnight trip. Based on usual conditions this time of year, do any experienced Whitney hikers know if I will need cramp-ons? What about poles?
This is my first time and I could use some advise.

Hi, just be aware of the limited parking this year. Read Steve's thread on the road construction.

paul

Parking will be ok until the construction company moves up to work near the Portal. When they do, there will be no parking along the road. But until then, parking should be ok.




Adam, most people leave the snow shoes at home, but crampons are mandatory, and an ice axe is a good idea. But you should learn how to use the ice axe. View the links here. Hiking poles are good to have, too.

Hi Steve,
thanks for your feedback, that is very helpful!
I think we will use cramp-ons and poles.
Due to the cold weather, I am guessing we should probably camp at outpost camp and have subthermal sleeping bags? Do you have any thoughts on this?
Sorry for so many questions, but do you know what date we will not be able to park on the road anymore?
Again thanks for answering the questions it is a lot of help

Camping at Trail Camp has two drawbacks: Higher means colder, and 2: people are affected more by the altitude there--staying overnight lower reduces that risk. Of course the benefit is that you are closer to the summit.

Outpost is 2k feet lower, so you are several hours of hiking from Trail Camp, so adds 4 hours to your time to summit and return to camp. Big advantage though is that you don't have to haul all your overnight gear that extra 2k' elevation.

As for the road, my wild guess is sometime in June.