Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports Mt. Whitney via Whitney Trail: 05/20-21/2023

Mt. Whitney via Whitney Trail: 05/20-21/2023























Full Album: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAET4j

Wow!!! What beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing them.

Congratulations on making the summit.

Notes:

It's 80% dry from Trail Crest to last 400ft. Maybe 3-4 very short "sketchy" sections with decent boot tracks. Late morning and early afternoon wasn't really icy, so I didn't bother to use crampons.

Last 400ft would be pretty dangerous without crampons. Hard and icy snow.

I saw 4 PCT hikers who ascended from the West Side. They said it's ok, some icy sections, but nothing really bad.

The worst part was from Trail Camp to Trail Crest. First, post holing to the bottom of the chute, then very hard snow, so no step kicking. Later, it gets a bit better, but it's a mix of everything including knees deep snow just before Trail Crest. I left a nice boot track from step plunging on my way down.

Right now the "old trail" behind the store is much more nicer/safer. I took it down on Sunday evening because I didn't feel like trying to cross the raging creek. It's in better condition than the regular trail covered in avalanche debris.

Thanks for the info. I'm looking to go up the Chute this Thursday. I've done the MR in snow before. How would you compare the climb on the chute to MR? Thanks for any info, and congrats on the summit!

The couloir (chute) on the Mountaineers’ Route is harder than the “chute” bypassing the switchbacks on the main trail. And the “Final 400” on the Mountaineers’ Route is harder than the chutes.