Mt Whitney Zone Forums Reference Older Trail Conditions - Mt Whitney Trail, 2020

Yeah, I hadn’t contacted anyone at all and received an email from Bishop FS with my permit attached as a pdf and all info needed for the hike. I already have a bear canister so haven’t looked into rentals for those, sorry

We summitted yesterday (6 July 2020) coming up from Guitar Lake and then hiking down the switchbacks to the Portal Store (amazing cheeseburgers and fries again!). On the western side (coming up from Guitar Lake), there is no snow at all on the switchbacks to Trail Crest. On the ridge crest trail to the summit, there were three very short patches of 10-20 feet. One was somewhere in the first mile from Trail Crest to the summit--the snow comes over the path but still leaves more than enough space for you to walk on the trail without touching the snow. It is melting rapidly and likely won't be there long if the weather holds. The other two patches are found as you begin to loop around the summit base, around 1.5 mi from Trail Crest--one is only a few feet, the other is about 20 ft. or so. It was easily passable simply by walking in the footsteps from previous hikers, no microspikes required.

On the switchbacks, it was very similar. Around the 55th switchback (same location as shown in the picture above) coming down from Trail Crest there is a wall of snow, but there is now enough snow-free path to easily hike up/down without any issues.

The entire trail, west up to Trail Crest, to the summit, and back down the switchbacks all the way to the Portal Store is also free of any kind of damage that would obstruct your progress for anybody wondering about any issues relating to earthquake.

Found this picture (from July 7) posted on FB in the High Sierra Trail group, posted by Nate W. It shows a snow patch just before the Whitney summit.

Regarding descending the switchbacks, he reported "The trail here is very icy in many, many places so be extremely careful if you’re in this section while it's still early in the day."

BP posted the following in another thread:

Pictures from Chetan B, July 11, 2020.

The cables



The only snow left, near the summit



Near the summit, looking back at the Needles.



The NEOWISE comment from Trail Camp

Just checking to see if anyone knows if there is still much or any snow on the trail. Many thanks!

The pictures you can see above are the total snow you will find on the trail.

Does the patchy snow photos mean that there's any water streaming/pooling available above Trail Crest?
thanks!

No. Last water is at switchback 25 above Trail Camp, where a tiny stream trickles across the trail. Best to take 3 liters from the inlet to the Trail Camp pond.

I made it up to the top on July 20. Some highlights:

- No snow or ice on the trail (this applies to the Main Trail; there may or may not be some snow and/or ice on the Mountaineer's Route)
- No issues with getting your feet wet at any of the stream crossings despite some recent afternoon rain showers
- There's plenty of water flowing on the lower switchbacks. Last water source is about halfway between Trail Camp and the cables.
- There were a ton of WAG bags on the trail this time. Ugh!
- I saw a ranger at Trail Camp at around 1 PM who picked up the trash and the WAG bags I saw earlier that morning. He didn't ask for my permit but may have checked others.
- Traffic (number of hikers on the trail, number of tents at Outpost and Trail Camps, and number of cars in the parking lot) seems to have returned to normal.
- There are 3-4 boulders on the trail, probably from the earthquake, but they're all very easy to go around. There were no rockslides that day.
- There are plenty of WAG bags available at the trailhead.
- Bugs are present but are barely noticeable. No need for headnets or insect repellent.
- The sky pilots in the higher elevations (over 13,200' ish) are blooming, but those in the lower elevations (~12.5K - 13.2K feet?) seem to have wilted. There are still some nice purple flowers in Trailside Meadow.
- I didn't take Diamox and didn't have any problems with the altitude. For acclimatization, I drove from sea level to Mammoth Lakes (8000') on Friday afternoon (7/17), did a short one-mile hike from 9000' - 9300' on Saturday afternoon (7/18), drove from Mammoth to Whitney Portal Sunday afternoon/evening (7/19), and started hiking the Whitney Trail early Monday morning (7/20) just after midnight. I found that a similar acclimatization schedule has worked for me in the past, but I do get AMS symptoms if I go from sea level to 11000' without spending at least one night at 7000' or higher.
- The summit register is back in its original location. Based on the number of entries in the register and the number of people I saw on the upper portion of the trail, I'd estimate that 30-40 people made it to the top that day.

Approximate weather & sunrise timeline:
4:30 AM: Skies are no longer pitch-black. You can tell that it's slightly brighter in the east than it is in the west.
5:25 AM: No need for headlamps
5:44 AM: Sun appears above the horizon
6 AM - 9 AM: Almost completely clear skies
8:55 AM: First small cloud appears in the west
11:30 AM: Skies in the west are almost completely overcast, can't believe that some people are still heading up even though they're 2 miles from the summit
12:30 - 1 PM: Got rained on at the lower switchbacks. It's more like a drizzle than a downpour.
3 PM: Got rained on again between Mirror Lake and Trailside Meadow, but the rain isn't heavy or long. Heard some thunder in the distance.
4 PM - 5 PM: No rain, but cloudy and breezy
6 PM: Mostly clear skies and calm winds again

I was hiking on that same day. I made it to the summit at 11:30 ish. I didn’t spend much time up there other than pictures and signing the book. On the way back down it started to snow. By the time I hit the switchbacks it was just a light sprinkle. I couldn’t believe how many people were still ascending the switchbacks in attempt to summit with the weather being like it was. When I got back to Trail camp some campers told me the we’re hearing thunder but while hiking I never heard anything. Also we had a bear steal some food from my group while getting ready at the portal @1:30am.

Jim Porter climbed the main trail Sat, Nov 21, 2020. The trail is really dry for this time of year. It will change drastically when the next storm comes.
Microspikes is the most anyone needs just now.

Above Lone Pine Lake


Waterfall at Outpost amp


Trail Camp Pond


At the cables


Near Trail Crest


Near the JMT junction


Hitchcock Lakes


Whitney Crest


Whitney Summit

Here are Anton's pictures from his hike up the Main Trail, approx. Dec 1, 2020.






Lone Pine Lake



Outpost Camp



Trail Camp


Owens Valley, Consultation Lake



Hitchcock Lakes and the Kaweah Peaks & Great Western Divide

Pedro L posted this report on the Mt Whitney FB page. Posted with his permission:

Ebersbacher Ledges



Iceberg Lake



Main Mountaineers Route chute, the notch at the top



The traverse from the notch to the summit



Summit picture

Hi, does anyone know what the current conditions are like on the Mountaineers Route?

Thanks!

Alex, the post just above yours are pictures from the MR. But now some light storminess has moved in, so it will have a bit of snow.

Summited 12/20/2020 via main trail

Cables on switchbacks


Summit

skeleton, Thanks so much for posting the pictures. They will help people who might want to try a winter hike.

Bill D posted this on FB (shared with permission)

Great pics. Thanks for posting!