mtn_pika - Aug 2, 2006 10:26 pm Date Climbed: Jul 30, 2006
Beautiful weather on Whitney Trail
Drove 610 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah to climb Whitney with friends. We camped the first night at Whitney portal -- having never been in bear country, I spent most of the night awake wondering if every noise was a bear. The next morning, we hiked the Whitney trail to Trail Camp and stayed here prior to our summit climb the next morning. The weather forecast called for thunderstorms -- several hikers on their way down commented on the blustery weather at trail camp on the previous night, having endured lightning, hail, snow and high winds. Although dark clouds threatened us for a large portion of the day, they cleared up by nightfall, leaving behind the most astounding star-filled sky I have ever seen. The morning sunrise over the lake at trail camp was equally amazing. We summited on 7/30/06 at about 10:15 a.m. -- again, dark clouds threatening but failing to organize. An amazing experience.
seth@LOKI - Jul 27, 2006 8:53 pm Date Climbed: May 31, 1998
Tele'd the Mountaineeers Route in 1998
We climbed the Mountianeers route. I dtich teh skis at the top to climbe the upper couloir. Great views all to our selves on the flat summit. Went down the boulder rib then had a great ski down after getting past the huge sun cups in the upper section. This was teh exact day that my Uncle Max sold all his posessions and was supposed to be caught in the "Rapture" and lifted to heaven. He is still here...but we were a bit closer thean he was on the prescribed day.
Bill Kish - Jul 26, 2006 6:39 am Date Climbed: Aug 18, 2005
Whitney Trail, East Buttress, and MR
First time via trail with Fraser (2004). Second time via trail with my dad (2005). Third time via East Buttress with Paul (2007). Fourth time via MR with Xavier and Marina (2009). Fifth time via MR in March 2010 with Cindy. 6th time via trail with my sister (2012). 7th time via trail with my wife Cindy and 6 y.o. daughter (2020). 8th time via trail with Cindy and daughter (7/18/22); included epic descent through 11am monsoonal thunderstorm. 9th time via trail with daughter (6/26/24).
clarkr - Jul 26, 2006 4:37 am Date Climbed: Jun 30, 2001
Whitney Portal Trail Camp
Stayed overnight at Whitney Portal. Next day hiked to Trail Camp.
Setup camp, and next day went for the summit. Weather was clear.
Took me about 7 hours. Noticed that some didn't carry any water!
Left my car at the Portal at 2:30am, and reached the summit by 7:30am. There was a lot of thunderstorm activity this week, and, when I reached my car at 2:00pm, it was already starting to thunder. Great day hike -- best to do it at night when it is nice and cool.
Financeguy - Jul 16, 2006 12:49 am Date Climbed: Jul 12, 2006
Main Trail
Went back again this year with Mike after last year's crazy attempt to go up and over the LeConte/Mallory Pass at Mesyan lake was unsuccessful because I think he was still upset I went back in Sept to hike the mountain.
Left the trailhead at Whitney Portal 2:10 am, reached the summit at 10:55 am and returned to Whitney Portal for burgers and beer at 4:05 pm. Weather was picture perfect, unlike the previous 4 days which had afternoon thunderstorms and hail.
Again, a very long day, but well worth it.
The mountain is defintely different in July than it was in September.
Third summit via mountaineer's route turned out to be much more of a challange then the first two due to winter conditions still extant in July. With the climb above the notch iced up leaving only class 4 rocks exposed, we were in over our heads, but made it through. Great learning experience!
Began the day hiking from Crabtree Meadows, past Timberline Lake and Guitar Lake once we hit the switchbacks leading up to Trail Crest the bad weather hit. It started with some drizzle and then deteriorated into full on pea sized hail. The higher up the switchbacks we climbed the worse the weather got. Soon there was thunder and lightening less than a mile away and it was snowing. Once we got to Trail Crest we made the sad but necessary decision not to go to the peak. Our decision was mostly influenced by the fact that our hair was standing on end from the amount of static electricity in the air and none of us wanted to get hit by lightening. The bad weather, the thunder and the lightening continued until we were about half way down the 99 switchbacks and it all cleared up and got almost warm. We continued all the way down to Outpost Camp and spent a mosquito filled evening there and then the next day hiked out. It was a disappointing end to a great trip. I guess I'll have to go back again and try to climb Mt. Whitney when there's some good weather.
swampclimber - Jul 4, 2006 6:39 pm Date Climbed: May 1, 2006
Mountaineer's Route
30 days early or 30 days late. It was hot, postholing, freezing at night. Too windy and no gear for the East Face in winter so we opted for the MR. Challenging route. The descent from the summit to the Notch is pretty exciting.
madmallard - Jun 24, 2006 4:03 pm Date Climbed: Jun 20, 2006
seventh peak in four days
I waited a year to be able to sign this. in june of '05, whitney won the battle, but this year, I did. total travel time was fourteen hours and five minutes. crampons and ice axe were mandatory. this summit was my forth ultra-prominence and seventh peak in four days. what a way to spend a vacation!
tb00957 - Jun 21, 2006 11:55 pm Date Climbed: Oct 23, 1999
trail
my first sierra peak. Felt the altitude.
Steve Gardner - Jun 20, 2006 6:29 pm Date Climbed: Jun 19, 2006
Single Day Summit
Up and down the main trail in a little over 14 hours. Snow above trail camp required crampons but otherwise pretty straight forward hike. Great weather.
dervin - Jun 20, 2006 3:44 am Date Climbed: Sep 23, 2005
The Tourist Highway Route
Ran into a bit of snow, and ice that made the descent challenging for some of our group.
Very fun route. We were wanting to do East Face but small avalanches and poor conditions made us re-think our route options. Decided to do the "for sure" thing and did the Mountaineer's route. Was surprisingly fun and decent challenge. Wish I wouldn't have carried all that rock climbing gear in though. Will try East next time in summer.
jleduc - Jun 8, 2006 9:29 pm Date Climbed: Jun 4, 2006
Normal Route
Up and down in 2 days. Weather couldn't be better. Glissading was the best part.
lingana - Jun 2, 2006 7:47 pm Date Climbed: May 28, 2006
Fast-Paced Climb by MR
Lost a day in Vegas, because of Airline people goofing up my luggage (sending it to Chicago).
1st Day - Portal to UBSL
2nd Day - UBSL - Summit - UBSL\
3rd Day - UBSL - Portal - Vegas - Houston - College Station, TX
It was exhausting ! But we made it !
downbooties - Jun 2, 2006 5:58 pm Date Climbed: Oct 15, 2003
Mt. Whitney- Main trail hike
The day before, I was able to walk right into the Lone Pine Ranger Station and pick up a permit. Didn't know any better at the time, but now I feel lucky (maybe because it was a weekday after school started?) Spent a peaceful night at the Whitney Portal Trailhead campground (also just walked-in). Began hiking 0300 and witnessed a spectacular red sunrise when I got to the Trail camp. Summitted around 1030 and down by 1500. Thinking of the views from the junction with the JMT onward to the summit still make me shiver with happiness.
Bill562 - May 30, 2006 8:30 pm Date Climbed: May 27, 2006
Main trail
Climbed from Trail Camp, snow was rock hard, winds were strong and gusting. Had the summit to myself - now how many people can say that on Whitney? And yes, ice axe/crampons and knowledge how to use them came in handy (seems to be the burning question for the area) :-)
kommish - May 22, 2006 5:05 pm Date Climbed: Oct 15, 2003
Main trail
Left at 3am made the top and was down having a burger by 3pm. Fun day friend had a touch of altitude sickness though.
mtn_pika - Aug 2, 2006 10:26 pm Date Climbed: Jul 30, 2006
Beautiful weather on Whitney TrailDrove 610 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah to climb Whitney with friends. We camped the first night at Whitney portal -- having never been in bear country, I spent most of the night awake wondering if every noise was a bear. The next morning, we hiked the Whitney trail to Trail Camp and stayed here prior to our summit climb the next morning. The weather forecast called for thunderstorms -- several hikers on their way down commented on the blustery weather at trail camp on the previous night, having endured lightning, hail, snow and high winds. Although dark clouds threatened us for a large portion of the day, they cleared up by nightfall, leaving behind the most astounding star-filled sky I have ever seen. The morning sunrise over the lake at trail camp was equally amazing. We summited on 7/30/06 at about 10:15 a.m. -- again, dark clouds threatening but failing to organize. An amazing experience.
seth@LOKI - Jul 27, 2006 8:53 pm Date Climbed: May 31, 1998
Tele'd the Mountaineeers Route in 1998We climbed the Mountianeers route. I dtich teh skis at the top to climbe the upper couloir. Great views all to our selves on the flat summit. Went down the boulder rib then had a great ski down after getting past the huge sun cups in the upper section. This was teh exact day that my Uncle Max sold all his posessions and was supposed to be caught in the "Rapture" and lifted to heaven. He is still here...but we were a bit closer thean he was on the prescribed day.
Bill Kish - Jul 26, 2006 6:39 am Date Climbed: Aug 18, 2005
Whitney Trail, East Buttress, and MRFirst time via trail with Fraser (2004). Second time via trail with my dad (2005). Third time via East Buttress with Paul (2007). Fourth time via MR with Xavier and Marina (2009). Fifth time via MR in March 2010 with Cindy. 6th time via trail with my sister (2012). 7th time via trail with my wife Cindy and 6 y.o. daughter (2020). 8th time via trail with Cindy and daughter (7/18/22); included epic descent through 11am monsoonal thunderstorm. 9th time via trail with daughter (6/26/24).
clarkr - Jul 26, 2006 4:37 am Date Climbed: Jun 30, 2001
Whitney Portal Trail CampStayed overnight at Whitney Portal. Next day hiked to Trail Camp.
Setup camp, and next day went for the summit. Weather was clear.
Took me about 7 hours. Noticed that some didn't carry any water!
Smithman123 - Jul 24, 2006 7:57 pm Date Climbed: Jul 22, 2006
Main TrailLeft my car at the Portal at 2:30am, and reached the summit by 7:30am. There was a lot of thunderstorm activity this week, and, when I reached my car at 2:00pm, it was already starting to thunder. Great day hike -- best to do it at night when it is nice and cool.
Financeguy - Jul 16, 2006 12:49 am Date Climbed: Jul 12, 2006
Main TrailWent back again this year with Mike after last year's crazy attempt to go up and over the LeConte/Mallory Pass at Mesyan lake was unsuccessful because I think he was still upset I went back in Sept to hike the mountain.
Left the trailhead at Whitney Portal 2:10 am, reached the summit at 10:55 am and returned to Whitney Portal for burgers and beer at 4:05 pm. Weather was picture perfect, unlike the previous 4 days which had afternoon thunderstorms and hail.
Again, a very long day, but well worth it.
The mountain is defintely different in July than it was in September.
skotty - Jul 10, 2006 9:33 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2006
3rd time supriseThird summit via mountaineer's route turned out to be much more of a challange then the first two due to winter conditions still extant in July. With the climb above the notch iced up leaving only class 4 rocks exposed, we were in over our heads, but made it through. Great learning experience!
Smith93 - Jul 6, 2006 4:59 pm Date Climbed: Jul 4, 2006
Bad to worse weatherBegan the day hiking from Crabtree Meadows, past Timberline Lake and Guitar Lake once we hit the switchbacks leading up to Trail Crest the bad weather hit. It started with some drizzle and then deteriorated into full on pea sized hail. The higher up the switchbacks we climbed the worse the weather got. Soon there was thunder and lightening less than a mile away and it was snowing. Once we got to Trail Crest we made the sad but necessary decision not to go to the peak. Our decision was mostly influenced by the fact that our hair was standing on end from the amount of static electricity in the air and none of us wanted to get hit by lightening. The bad weather, the thunder and the lightening continued until we were about half way down the 99 switchbacks and it all cleared up and got almost warm. We continued all the way down to Outpost Camp and spent a mosquito filled evening there and then the next day hiked out. It was a disappointing end to a great trip. I guess I'll have to go back again and try to climb Mt. Whitney when there's some good weather.
swampclimber - Jul 4, 2006 6:39 pm Date Climbed: May 1, 2006
Mountaineer's Route30 days early or 30 days late. It was hot, postholing, freezing at night. Too windy and no gear for the East Face in winter so we opted for the MR. Challenging route. The descent from the summit to the Notch is pretty exciting.
madmallard - Jun 24, 2006 4:03 pm Date Climbed: Jun 20, 2006
seventh peak in four daysI waited a year to be able to sign this. in june of '05, whitney won the battle, but this year, I did. total travel time was fourteen hours and five minutes. crampons and ice axe were mandatory. this summit was my forth ultra-prominence and seventh peak in four days. what a way to spend a vacation!
tb00957 - Jun 21, 2006 11:55 pm Date Climbed: Oct 23, 1999
trailmy first sierra peak. Felt the altitude.
Steve Gardner - Jun 20, 2006 6:29 pm Date Climbed: Jun 19, 2006
Single Day SummitUp and down the main trail in a little over 14 hours. Snow above trail camp required crampons but otherwise pretty straight forward hike. Great weather.
dervin - Jun 20, 2006 3:44 am Date Climbed: Sep 23, 2005
The Tourist Highway RouteRan into a bit of snow, and ice that made the descent challenging for some of our group.
rockrat2 - Jun 20, 2006 3:03 am
Mountaineer's routeVery fun route. We were wanting to do East Face but small avalanches and poor conditions made us re-think our route options. Decided to do the "for sure" thing and did the Mountaineer's route. Was surprisingly fun and decent challenge. Wish I wouldn't have carried all that rock climbing gear in though. Will try East next time in summer.
jleduc - Jun 8, 2006 9:29 pm Date Climbed: Jun 4, 2006
Normal RouteUp and down in 2 days. Weather couldn't be better. Glissading was the best part.
lingana - Jun 2, 2006 7:47 pm Date Climbed: May 28, 2006
Fast-Paced Climb by MRLost a day in Vegas, because of Airline people goofing up my luggage (sending it to Chicago).
1st Day - Portal to UBSL
2nd Day - UBSL - Summit - UBSL\
3rd Day - UBSL - Portal - Vegas - Houston - College Station, TX
It was exhausting ! But we made it !
downbooties - Jun 2, 2006 5:58 pm Date Climbed: Oct 15, 2003
Mt. Whitney- Main trail hikeThe day before, I was able to walk right into the Lone Pine Ranger Station and pick up a permit. Didn't know any better at the time, but now I feel lucky (maybe because it was a weekday after school started?) Spent a peaceful night at the Whitney Portal Trailhead campground (also just walked-in). Began hiking 0300 and witnessed a spectacular red sunrise when I got to the Trail camp. Summitted around 1030 and down by 1500. Thinking of the views from the junction with the JMT onward to the summit still make me shiver with happiness.
Bill562 - May 30, 2006 8:30 pm Date Climbed: May 27, 2006
Main trailClimbed from Trail Camp, snow was rock hard, winds were strong and gusting. Had the summit to myself - now how many people can say that on Whitney? And yes, ice axe/crampons and knowledge how to use them came in handy (seems to be the burning question for the area) :-)
kommish - May 22, 2006 5:05 pm Date Climbed: Oct 15, 2003
Main trailLeft at 3am made the top and was down having a burger by 3pm. Fun day friend had a touch of altitude sickness though.
ElCapitanKoolAid - May 22, 2006 3:55 am
Normal routeWent with my friends to hike to the summit. It was their first time on such a high altitude and I am sure they enjoyed it the lack of oxygen.