Off Topic- The Whitney Day Hike Adventure 5/31/09

Every year I head out to Lone Pine to tackle the tallest mountain in the lower 48. I like doing the day hike because of the challenge and it's something I can do then be back to work on Monday and tell everyone about. This year was the 16th time I got to the top, 14 of them being day hikes.

The weather was a big factor in this years adventure. I had invited my two friends that just moved to Lone Pine in Sept but had never climbed Whitney. After watching the weather and hearing reports of trail conditions, there were some scattered snow showers but nothing that was creating much of a problem. Sunday, the day of our hike the forecast called for little or no precipitation and reduced chance of thunderstorms from the two days prior.

Starting off the weather was great, sunny and hardly a cloud in the sky. My friends, F.B. and his wife S.B. are good hikers and have had lots of outdoor experience so I was not concerned about the small amount of snow we might encounter on the trail. The trail was patchy in spots leading up to trail camp where there were numerous snow sections leading to the switchbacks and trail crest. You could see the snow level where fresh snow had fallen over the last two days, it appeared to be sticking somewhere around 13,000.

Following the cables S.B. decided that she had had enough, worrying that the snow fields above might be above her level of capability. She turned around as we headed to the top. Somewhere near Trail Crest the trail became completely covered in snow all the way up. We made it to the top just as some clouds decided to roll in and a tiny bit of gropple began to fall. After getting the photos out of the way, F.B. and I headed down(the time was about 12:30 pm).

Just as we got off the top of the mountain off in the distance a flash of lighting was seen followed quickly by thunder. Over the next two miles to Trail Crest the snow fell harder and the thunder and lighting got closer. I was the first to make it back to Trail Crest where I waited just away from the saddle. At this point the thunder and lighting was all around me and a bolt actually struck about 50 feet in front of me near the "Trail Crest" sign.

After waiting out the near blizzard conditions and lightning for about 15 minutes the rest of the summeteers arrived at TC. All eight of us decided it was a bad place to be so we headed back down the switchbacks. I am pretty sure most went down the switchbacks but a gentleman and his son decided to take the chute. It was tempting but there had already been 6+ inches of new snow today and I didn't want to trigger anything loose.

As we descended the switchers the trail became less treacherous and the snowfall began to lighten up. By the time we made it to Trail Camp it was hardly snowing at all but there was probably 3-4 inches of snow on the ground. I felt sorry for those people at Trail Camp who would have to hike up through the probably foot or more that fell on top the next day.

On the return trip the trail was completely covered in snow all the way down to Trailside Meadow. Below that it was pretty evident that it had rained throughout the day. Good thing for my boyscout training that had us prepared with the right gear. My friends were prepared to do the hike in trail runners rather than boots. Had the storm not come in this may have been a possibility, good thing we didn't plan our trip according to the weather forecast. Every year is different up there on Whitney, maybe another reason why I do it every year. -Dave
P.S. Doug please bring the shower back to WPS!

Trail Side Deer

Lone Pine Lake

The Switchbacks and Trail Crest- AM S.B. Contemplating the Cable
F.B. Crossing A Snowfield Below Trail Crest
The Snow Field @ Trail Crest
Looking Up Top
The Hut and Spa
F.B. and Me
The Backside
The Snow Field @ Trail Crest- PM
F.B. Crossing a Snow Field With 6" New
Two Guys in the Chute
The Switchbacks
Trail Camp
The Cables- PM
The Switchbacks and Trail Crest- PM

Mt Whitney- Up and Down in One Day, 6/1/08

(I know this blog is supposed to be Santa Barbara related but...)

Since 1995 I have hiked Mt Whitney every late Spring or Summer. In those 14 years I summitted as part of a longer thru trip twice and 13 times done the whole trip in one day. This year I was planning on doing the one day trip memorial day weekend. The light rain that got us heregave Mt Whitney up to 2 feet of powder. With a little luck some of the snow that fell all the way down to the parking lot would have melted at least giving a partial dry trail. Having seen photos from weekend past I knew this may end up being a really long slog.


Temps at the trail head were unusually cool for this time of year- 60's. The word on the street was that since last weekend's storm nobody had been able to summit. The low temps at the bottom made me wonder if the snow would be melting enough to make this attempt worth it. I found the best source of information as usual to be the people just coming off the trail. Since Friday I found out that people had been making their way to the summit without much problem.


I started out my 12 hour climb/hike of Whitney a little after 5 am this past Sunday. It was colder than in years past but that was fine with me. I started to see patched of snow covering the trail around Lone Pine Lake. They were intermittent and it wasn't until Trail Camp that the trail completely disappears. From Trail Camp onward it was there was a path cut in the snow from hikers before me. The snow was pretty soft and I decided not to use Crampons going up the chute- I did however use an axe just in case. After doing the chute and comparing it with the 99 switchback I have to say the switchback are probably easier, although longer. As with other summits I have done at this time of year, because of the snow there were probably half as many people on the trail as usual.





Once at Trail Crest you get a good idea of what you were up against the rest to the trip. The snow was easily about 2 feet in depth(so much for the rumors of 4 ft drifts). Because numerous people had already made their way to the top there was a nice packed down trail heading to the summit. Actually had I brought skis with skins this might have been a fun little climb. The snow along the crest was not slippery at all. I did not use my crampons again but just about everyone else did use them. If was howling wind along the ridge and cold! I was expecting my camelbak to freeze solid at any moment but luckily it did not. From my best guess the temps were in the 20's in this area and on top.




Finally on top a little after noon, the trails spread out a bit more and it becomes a little more work. At the top there was just a little bit of snow around the hut and some on the rocks. I signed the book and got out of there as quick as possible. Heading up the trail had been nice and packed but on the way down I was post-holing quite a bit more. I did not use crampons coming down the trail to Trail Crest and had no problems with slipping again. At Trail Crest I attempted to glissade down but the soft snow did not work in my favor. I have done this many times in the past but this time gissading was slow and tedious. I had been wondering if I should have brought my snowboard up for this part and the jury is still out.

Once at Trail Camp the heat was on. All the frozen spots on the trail were now pools of water and the temperature at Trail Camp was probably near 50+. Even with full leather boots they were soaked thru and I luckily had brought an extra pair of socks to change in to. Earlier in the day I saw a guy headed up the trail in running shoes wondering how his feet must feel. From Trail Camp down the name of the game is pain. You forget how many steps you came up and you realize how hard granite actually is. A couple hours later it is Pizza Factory for everything on the menu. Every year at this point I wonder why it is I put my self through the pain. I can't seem to figure that one out and this was a complete success and I am already looking forward to next year and those WPS burgers.

Dave