Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Whitney Portal/Trail Opening

Amen. Get lost Bob. In any event it’s opening this Friday.

At this time of the year, I'd argue that opening the main trail would reduce the odds of rescue, not increase it. Before the monsoon season and just after the snow has melted is one of the safest times to hike. There's plenty of daylight, generally survivable nighttime temps, and little risk of being hit by lightning. Based on past years' reports, this year's below-average snowfall, and the webcam images, it's pretty safe to say that the switchbacks are now open and that crampons and ice axes aren't required anywhere on the main trail. The main hazards now are:
- Not carrying enough food and/or water
- Getting lost between Mirror Lake and Trail Camp
- Altitude sickness and/or exhaustion
- Lingering snow/ice on the mountaineers route

If the main trail is open, you have a chance of obtaining food, water, and directions from other hikers on the trail. They may also be able to help you descend, and there'll be fewer unprepared people trying the MR since they'll have that easier main trail route to the summit. But if the main trail is closed, any rebels who decide to do it anyway would be SOL if they get lost, are too exhausted to descend, or run out of supplies, and those who decide to do things the legal way but are unprepared will likely need rescue on the MR.

I never expected the Portal Campground and the road to be open before the upper gate at Horseshoe Meadow Road, but it looks like that is indeed the case:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/inyo/recreation
"Roads closed: Whitney Portal Rd. opening June 19; Horseshoe Meadow road closed at upper gate."
"Whitney Portal Campground Closed to Visitor Opening June 19, 2020"

I don't know what the rationale is for leaving that upper gate closed; it's not a high-risk area or an area that's more crowded than Whitney Portal.

I'm with you 100%. The lack of information and transparency is just disrespectful at this points. I know of 2 fairly large groups who plan to just show up and hike within the next 2 weeks and I'm certain others will do the same. This could get ugly unless these absent leaders start acting. Something... anything! What absolute incompetence!!!

Some of this posting has gotten downright toxic. I'm with you, Bob.

We are in the middle of a global pandemic. Local land managers are all trying to not stick out their necks. The Inyo National forest is suffering from decades of underfunding and understaffing. Local politicians make decisions for the health and safety of their local constituents. It sucks, but really, what's with the name-calling and irateness? Find some love and grace.

A lot of the frustration comes from not just a lack of communication, but also their inability or unwillingness to go along with the loosening state and county restrictions. If it were April or even early June, I'd agree the right decision would be to keep everything closed, but that is not the right approach now given the current circumstances.

Tomorrow, I can go to a bar, tattoo parlor, nail salon, or casino in LA County, which is one of the most densely populated and hardest hit counties in the state. In Lone Pine, I can eat in a dine-in restaurant, stay in a hotel or campground, and try the risky Mountaineers route up Whitney (as a side note, last June's fatality was from someone descending the MR, not the Main Trail).

So, why can't anyone legally go up Whitney via the Main Trail on June 21 if they already had a permit for that date? If packing 160 people in an area the size of a tennis court is tolerated as long as it's a peaceful protest, why can't that same number of people be spread out over a non-technical 11-mile trail that currently has minimal amounts of snow on it?

Big Pine, excellent response.

Ian, you are correct the messages are getting toxic but the toxicity is a direct result of the lack of leadership, communication and transparency by the affected agencies. Are you aware that Country health professionals are being given a great deal of latitude to make decisions? In fact, INF typically referred you to the Inyo County Health Dept. Well about one week ago Inyo County Health Dept moved to a stage 3, allowing campgrounds, bars, restaurants, lodging, wineries, gyms and other services to open. Even Yosemite opened on June 12.

You mention the lack of funding and understaffing. You might be correct but in the age of social media how many resources do you need to post an update on your website????

You also mention political decisions. However if you follow the minutes of several Board of Supervisor hearings you will see a great deal of frustration with the delay in opening recreational sites. Many of the businesses that support the County via tax dollars are on the edge of bankruptcy.

I do not profess to have all the answers. But I will say the lack of leadership and communication by the affected agencies is inexcusable.

I’ve been watching this circus for months, but only commenting occasionally. I just got an email from a girl I met on Whitney eight years ago. She encouraged me to “unleash my wisdom”, so here goes:

The problem isn’t the closures, your power-hungry governor, or the local Forest Service employees. It’s the COVID-19 pandemic. In case you haven’t heard, we have enough dead people to reach from the visitor center in Lone Pine to the visitor center in Lee Vining. Some fools don’t care because they think they are invincible. Just open up the economy and give me my Whitney permit. I don’t care how many more people die. But the economy isn’t going to recover until we beat the pandemic. We need testing and contact tracing to do that.

I read a lot of comments about incompetence and lack of leadership. There is plenty of blame to go around, but the real incompetence and lack of leadership begin with the guy who won’t wear a mask and doesn’t want more testing because it makes him look bad. Ignoring the pandemic won’t make it go away.

For too many of you, “leadership” and “competence” mean nothing more than giving you your permit so you can take a selfie holding a “Whitney 14,505” sign. Whitney Portal is an overcrowded zoo every summer. People get hurt or lost all the time. Many people leave their crap bags along the trail for the rangers to carry out. Opening it up while making it safe for everyone is no easy task. You haven’t heard anything from INF for one simple reason: They haven’t made a decision, largely because so many stakeholders haven’t agreed. Actually, you HAVE heard from INF. They posted weeks ago how they would handle all permits except the Whitney Zone. They are giving you the information they have.

Penny, you are definitely part of the problem, not part of the solution. You have posted the most toxic comments and done the most name-calling. You even started a thread for the sole purpose of bashing the Forest Service. Yesterday, Ben asked a question about the rules, and I explained the rules. You responded with “Follow the rules???? What rules????” You seemed too hysterical to see the irony. I see from one of your earlier posts that you want to avoid having to learn how to use crampons or an axe. You have no interest in mountaineering; you just want the selfie. That’s too bad. There are literally hundreds of other worthy peaks in the Sierra. While you were obsessing about your Whitney permit and trashing the Forest Service, I tagged 86 other summits, snagged six wilderness permits, and secured two passes to Yosemite. Maybe you should spend more time hiking and less time posting.

Words of wisdom

Thank you for that, Bob.

Preach on, Bob. There's an entire wilderness out there. The obsession over 10.5 miles of trail is mind boggling.

Thank you Bob, for a dose of reality. The selfie crowd have ruined the enjoyment of many beautiful places all over the world, just so they can show their friends and relatives what wonderful travelers they are. The last time I visited Paris, the river cruise boat was crowded with people at the rail to get a picture of themselves with a Parisian view as the background to a picture of THEM! The same situation in Russia last year: people from a certain Asian country pushing and shoving to get their selfies. During a performance of the ballet Swan Lake in St Petersburgh (I was a witness to this), Chinese tourists had to be warned against taking selfies and talking loudly. We later learned that this is normal behavior in their home country.

Will most Whitney selfie baggers, and bucket listers, ever do any thing else in the Sierra Nevada range? Probably not. This is the crowd that leaves trash and wag bags along the trail. The whinners and complainers that can't get their permits in time to fit their travel plans.

Yes, that was the first selfie I ever took. I would have asked someone else to take my picture, but I was the only person in the entire Whitney Zone on January 28, 2011. You should read the trip report HERE.

Permit Update: I am on the phone with the Wilderness Permit Office right now, speaking with someone who is both very pleasant and patient. It took 22 minutes of repeated dialing to get a live person and I will admit that the lack of a proper phone tree or hold system is nuts. The only option is to press "0" which yields three possibilities--a message that the line is busy and a transfer back to the beginning, a dozen or so rings before a hang-up, or--eventually--a live person. Also, be warned--the permits need to be located by reservation number, converted to pdfs, have signatures added, be rotated, saved, moved to a folder, and then attached to an email. Not kidding. However, I ultimately succeeded in having all three of my upcoming permits (Shepherd Pass, Cottonwood Lakes, and NFLP Exiting Trail Crest) processed and emailed to me. A small hassle now in exchange for not having to stop at any ranger stations or visitor centers.

I confirmed that the road to the portal and the portal campground will be open today, Friday, June 19th.

I can also confirm that the MWT will not be open until the cables and chute are free of snow which is currently expected to be on or after July 1st.

And finally, I also confirmed that the last, upper-most gate on Horseshoe Meadows road is still closed and that Inyo County has sole authority over its opening. Anyone may park near the gate and hike up, however.


In closing, as one of the old, quieter geezers on the forum, what you misperceive to be an obsession with selfie-takers is a genuine care that people treat each other with respect here and take care of themselves out there.

Let's try to steer this in a more positive (and productive!) direction.

Looking forward, is it even remotely possible that Whitney Main Trail permits will be cancelled after June 30? So far, I haven't seen anything to indicate that the closure will last into July and August. I've also been watching Recreation.gov pretty closely over the past week or two and saw several permits pop up for dates in July (some as early as July 5), but nothing in June.

Also, will the Mountaineers Route likely be snow-free by mid July?

Are there any notable peaks in the Sierra or elsewhere in California that require crampons or rock climbing equipment? I think that just about any California peak can be day-hiked in boots and poles; it's just a matter of having the right skills and fitness, going at the right times, and picking the right routes. For example, most people think "ice axe and crampons" when Shasta is mentioned (which is true if you go up Avalanche Gulch in June), but it's doable in boots if you go up Clear Creek in late August. I also know someone who comfortably free-soloed the Milk Bottle on Starlight (he can climb 5.13 walls), and I have read reports of people dayhiking all SPS peaks: https://www.snwburd.com/bob/trip_reports/table_n1_1.html

Heck, you can even go up Aconcagua in trail runners if you choose the right route and season, and that's at almost 23,000 feet!

I don't condone breaking the law, but a friend of a friend went up the MWT earlier this week and took the switchbacks. He brought microspikes, but told my friend that you can get through the cables without them by stepping on the rocks to squeeze between the snow pile and the cables. He says that area is currently doable with some caution, but he thinks that pile won't be completely melted out until late July. According to him, the conditions look very similar to this: https://www.timberlinetrails.com/sitebuilder/Photos/Whitney/W137Y.JPG , though the section you have to squeeze through is a bit narrower.

He did the ascent in the dark on a weekday to minimize the risk of being caught, fined, and escorted back down the mountain. He summitted just before sunrise and took the MR back down.

Since MWT is not open, can anyone recommend other good (challenging, scenic, elevation) hikes out of Whitney Portal? Our permit on 25th was cancelled, but still planning to camp at the Portal campground. Thanks in advance.

Lone Pine Peak would be a good option. There's also Mt. Russell, but that may be technically illegal as it may (IIRC) involve entering the Whitney Zone.

Mt. Russell is fair game. One the permits I received this morning is for the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek exiting Mt. Whitney at Trail Crest. There are four NFLPC permits available on 6/24 right now.

Since when Mt. Russell became a hike? The East Ridge (the "easiest" way up) can be intimidating even for experienced climbers. It is certainly in a different league than MWMT.

Mt. Langley would easily satisfy the "challenging, scenic, elevation" criteria and you may day hike it without a permit.