Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion The Chute

Hi, we are preparing for hiking to the summit on July 6th. Does anyone know how many miles and elevation gain the chute is? We did a training hike that was 2.8 miles and had 2,700 ft of elevation gain, in the snow, and only used hiking boots and hiking poles. We are trying to get an idea of how that would compare to the chute on Mt Whitney - any insights would be very helpful. Thank you !

If you draw a straight line on the map between Trail Camp and Trail Crest, it is only 0.7 mile. And the elevation change is 1600'

But your entire Whitney hike covers 6000' of gain, and the stretch after Trail Camp comes after you have already covered 4000' of elevation and 6 miles. That slope above Trail Camp, by itself, isn't a big problem. However the elevation AND the energy required just to get to the base makes it a monumental physical achievement.

Thank you Steve!

Steve, would you recommend an ice axe and crampons for the chute?

A few make it without, but if you want to be sure and make it up and down, take them.

We just went down the chute as we had gone up from Guitar lake. I strongly recommend ice axes and the knowledge of how to use them. Microspikes might be as good as crampons depending on degreee of slush vs ice. Conditions are changing daily as the snow is melting rapidly. The chute could be more dangerous if rocks start to get exposed. Check with folks who have just done the hike.

I went down the Chute on Wednesday in the afternoon. The weather was nice and the snow very slushy. You could brake with the ice axe a bit, but it required some effort. The easiest way was to brake with your feet, with the knees slightly lifted. Most people I saw going down at that time did not have ice axes.

Guys, just a few cautionary points while glissading down the Chute. I nearly had my life in danger because of my partners mistake.
1. Do not let an inexperienced guy to glissade behind you. Always maintain a sa safe distance of long enough distance before the other guy comes in to join.i was doing great in glissading and properly breaking with the axe, except for the fact that my partner was glissading down uncontrollably and banged into me taking two of us rolling down with extremely high speed.luckily his ice ace did not pierce through me. Finally I was able to stop by breaking it using axe.. but when I started again, he again slipped and banged into me. He and i got some minor scrarches only by luck..
But please make sure you keep safe distance or may be let one person to glissade complete and then other person. I thought it as my responsibility to share this experience.
Thanks