Mt Whitney Trail conditions

[ibexdoc]

My son has a permit for Mt Whitney for June 6th. Hoping to get any trail information for those who go up in the area.
Wondering how the trail looks up to trip date. I haven't been up there in years, he is thinking of bringing crampons and ice-axe. Hoping as the date draws near to get information whether this stuff is necessary.
thanks in advance

[c9h13no3]

You will certainly want to be carrying crampons, axe, helmet, and the skills to use them. The Whitney Zone forum is probably a better resource for this.

The main early season hazard on the Whitney trail is that snow covers the 99 switchbacks region of the trail. If you were to fall in this region, you'd be exposed to going over a cliff. This section usually accounts for a death or two each year. In early season conditions, there's a snowfield to the climber's right of the 99 switchbacks (called the Chute?) which becomes the preferred route if both the 99 switchbacks and the Chute are snow covered.

I thought the Mountaineeer's route was preferable in early conditions, if you're used to Sierra class 3 scrambling. Whitney might not be the worst beginner's snow climb, but it shouldn't be a place where you pull the tags off your gear and go try snow climbing for the first time.

[Gogd]

@ ibexdoc
TLDR: In a nut shell early June is almost always a challenging time to do Whitney. June 2023 is likely to be more so.

Just about any condition he may ever encounter on the mountain can confront the hiker/climber in early June. Snow obscured trails, poor visibility, wet avalanches, iced up routes, freeze/melt induced rock falls, lions, tigers and bears, oh my!... I don't mean to throw shade or condescend, but if you son is asking these types of questions about Whitney in June, especially given the heavy snow season of 2023, he likely hasn't done much travel in the High Sierra in these conditions, and probably should find some other venue. If your son is soloing, Whitney particularly would not be advisable for someone who has inadequate experience. All routes to the top that time of year may have sections that even sage mountaineers will feel compelled to travel as a roped team, or turn back if the conditions warrant such..

On the other hand if your son has the experience and skills, and does due diligence in planning his trips, leave him be, let him make his own choices. Take solace he has chosen mountaineering as his adrenaline fix; consider he could have chosen winter artic trekking, solo trans oceanic sail boating, motorcycle racing or base jumping! In over 50 years of hiking and mountaineering the only significant injury I sustained was slipping off a wet 12" diameter log laying on lakeside beach, breaking my arm while fetching water. A stupid accident; the moral is we are inclined to be careful doing the "risky stuff" but are complacent to the hazards of routine activities. In fact your son's greatest risk on his trip will be the drive, yet we all seem ok with that? Just saying...

The main early season hazard on the Whitney trail is that snow covers the 99 switchbacks region of the trail.

I thought the Mountaineer's Route was preferable in early conditions, if you're used to Sierra class 3 scrambling. Whitney might not be the worst beginner's snow climb, but it shouldn't be a place where you pull the tags off your gear and go try snow climbing for the first time.

Another notorious death trap is the trail just above Mirror Lake. People get off trail and get into all sorts of trouble.

Early season on the Mountaineers Route is preferable for people who are skilled in the use of crampons, axe and rope on exposed routes. There will be a lot of ice, the top section is pretty exposed and icy.

Ed

[bobby49]

And then there is the west side approach. I did 41 ascents on the east side, and then 3 more on the west side. Both sides will get you to the summit.

[codylaeder]

Is the westside as cliffy as the 99 switchbacks?

I have a fair amount of experience snowshoeing, but none ice climbing. My (tentative) plan was to take ~6 day round trip from Cottonwood Lakes/Horseshoe Meadows to Whitney. Mostly following the PCT.

I figure early June permits & high snow-pack means I should give up hope and cancel the permits.

[bobby49]

The west side is not as cliffy. But then when you get two miles from the summit, the two trails merge to get to the summit. There are a couple of spots on that merged section that you really need to think about. However, Grandma Whitney was hiking all of that when she was almost ninety, so how bad can it really be?