Mt Whitney Zone Forums Reference Older Trail Conditions - Mt Whitney Trail, 2019

Wow.

Would sure like to see evidence of the danger. Curious to see if any of those long benches that were cut would cause a slide. Guess I need to go back and look.

I hiked the Whitney Zone today. The switchbacks are being used now (I took the chute but I saw some people on the switchbacks and confirmed they were used to get to the Trail Crest). I got a great pic near Mt Muir (see below). The route from the trail crest to Whitney summit is mostly clear and crampons are not needed. It was not pleasant glissading down the chute today - the snow is very rough.

Whitney chute:


Whitney switchbacks (from Mt Muir area):


Whitney from near JMT:

BFR: Thanks for the pictures! It blows me away how dry much of the switchbacks are!!! Just three weeks ago, I only walked a few sections where there was much dry ground. All the rest was snow!

Sure questions the validity of advice from the "Whitney Ranger Station"

Did you say we no longer need crampons this year??? Like at all? No crampons means no axe and that would be some mighty nice news lol

> Did you say we no longer need crampons
Melissa, I wouldn't go that far yet. Though when I walked the switchbacks 3 weeks ago, my ice axe was excess baggage. My crampons were sure helpful. I think microspikes and hiking poles will be enough in a week.

> Sure questions the validity of advice from the "Whitney Ranger Station"
Frank, I've heard from several who think I may have destabilized the snow slope with the big horizontal cut I made. And that could possibly have been true, except there were no slide-planes within any snow I found. And now, based on the above picture, I'd say enough has melted that risk of anything sliding is nearly zero.

We continue to see and hear about people getting hurt, or at least really afraid of getting hurt going down the chute, so at this point I think the switchbacks are a better option.

Thanks for the pictures BFR! Do you have any of Guitar Lake? I'm going westward after Whitney in a couple of weeks and need to know the need for crampons beyond the WT (Horseshoe Meadow exit). Thanks again!

Great Report BFR. What is the water situation, is there water at trail camp? I was told the pond is frozen over.

Some further comments:
The lake at Trail Camp is not fully frozen over. You can get water there. Same for consultation lake.

I haven't been up the switchbacks but my understanding is that microspikes and poles is all that is needed. Note that you still need to ascend low grade snow to start the dry switchbacks. My guess from looking at the switchbacks is that there are probably 3-4 snow crossings that can be easily done with poles and spikes. Hiker beware, as I haven't done it.

More pics here:
https://www.strava.com/activities/2488400572

BFR, thanks again, we are headed up tomorrow and are relieved we can water up at Trail Camp.

Good Day, thanks for the great updates. Can someone say how difficult the creek crossing, or crossings, are currently? We will be enterering July 2nd.

In the past week or more, the crossing about a mile above the trail head has been causing people to wade. The easiest way to avoid that is to start up the old trail. It is not maintained, but is shorter by 10 minutes, and joins the Main Trail just after the worst creek crossing. I used it several weeks ago and it is in pretty good shape.

Read this thread to learn about it: Old Trail

Trails higher up are less of a problem. But people have been talking about taking:
--water shoes (cheap crock knock-offs are what I use ..."garden shoes"
--wear plastic bags over your boots when you cross
--take a dry pair of socks to change into if your feet get wet.

Good to know. We will do the Old Trail and bring some water shoes too. Those are good for around camp and while boots dry anyway.

Really appreciate all the valuable trail updates! We have a group of 4 going on July 4th. We will not go all the way to the summit. We will just go to Trail Camp, camp for one night, and head back. Thus, We will not be bringing ice axe and crampon (no experience using them anyway), but will have microspike and hiking poles. We are all in good physical condition, most of us have completed or almost completed the six pack of peaks, have backpacked before, and have been to high altitude areas. Now the question, can someone please provide some insight/update on the snow condition going from Lone Pine Lake to Trail Camp? I've been reading a lot about snow cavities, snow bridge, running stream underneath the snow... How are the snows around the trails that are near the streams past Outpost Camp (as shown on the map)? Are snows on the traverse slippery? From what I've gathered from reading other people's post, staying on the main trail is critical as snow is melting fast and off trail areas might be very dangerous. We will have both paper map and Gaia GPS in phone and we will really try to stick to the main trail. But I would still like to gather more information so we know what to expect. Thank you!!

You can see my & another report from the last few days: other than small runs on snow and water on the trail, getting above Mirror Lake is no big deal. After that there are snow fields, but it's still easy to follow and do in just boots and no poles. The melt is incredible right now, so the trail traverse I turned back on and the boot path that cuts across the drainages to the south both will be different by the time you go, but it seems like the boot path is deteriorating. Then again, the traverse i didn't like will probably still be there because of how much dang snow there is, but it will be more worn, likely, as more people use it. If you plant safe footholds in slushy snow, you will be fine - and in the mornings use microspikes: but all that is really only for around Trail Camp.

Here are two pictures posted on FB by Stus O. On June 28, they took the switchbacks up and down.









Here's a picture of the switchbacks shared on FB by BFR, taken 6/28/2019 from near Mt Muir:

What's the general consensus on when the main trail via switchbacks will become non-technical?

The Switchbacks are ALREADY less technical than the chute. We keep seeing reports, almost daily, of injuries and rescues from people descending the chute and getting hurt -- sprains, banged up, skinned up (ice peels skin!)

People can already hike the switchbacks more easily and safely than they can the chute. I don't understand why there is such reluctance to switch -- pun intended

They aren't NON-technical, yet. You still need spikes -- even below Trail Camp, as there is a not-so-easy side-slope traverse people have to get past. On the switchbacks, micro-spikes and hiking poles would suffice to get through several snowy sections.

What's everybody's best guesstimate for the very end of July? No more snow?

Trail runners by end of July