What's Whitney like to climb in November ?

“Spirit Coyote wants to bang Whitney in October. She, CMB, and me have plans to hike to the top of Whiney via the mule trail ( http://www.thebackpacker.com/trips/trip/699.php ). I'm doing the treadmill and work-out sessions, getting ready to hike; however, I may not be able to go on the trip -- I'm a "maybe." I'll likely have to climb the mountian later, say, in November.

Any one ever climbed the mountain in November, or even later in the year?

Was the climb sucessful?

What was the weather and snow conditions on the route?

If I can't go on S.C.'s Californica, then I like the idea of the mountaineer's route, and I'm curious about traveling the route in near-winter weather (or the potential of it). Has anyone gone that route post-October?”

“its defintely gonna be "near-winter weather". if youre familar with mountaineering techniques, then go for it, but past september, i think it becomes a climb instead of a hike.”

“sc, honey, i think you may be biting off more than you can chew with this one. the word is snow and lots and lots of it, im sure. november at 14000 feet? please dont make mike a widow and attempt it. youre not snow nymph.”

“I'm not going to do it in Nov. Crash :) and if I were, mike would be going up with me. :)
if we go it will be in OCT. As that is when I have my vacation time. As it is, we are even thinking of doing the black hills too on our vacation and skip whitney this time, as I will do it when I do the PCT also. I've know those mountains, Ive done White mountain and others, most of my hiking was above tree line and I have done a lot of snow nymphs trails (love looking at her photos...ah the memories) but I agree, in November those 99 switchbacks wouldnt be so fun.
last edited: 6/21/05 10:08:43 PM”

“justyn2,
did you make it on your trip? Are you refering to both the mule and mountaineer's trails? Which way did you go up?

The mountaineer's route is more of a big-ass scramble with some exposure (in summer, anyway). The damnedest thing on the scramble, maybe besides a fall, would be to break a leg on a post-hole.

I write "near-winter" as, of course, the date of winter is later I certainly expect winter nonetheless, even earlier in October and November.”

“S.C.,
I hear ya about October, so bumper that "Crash." I'm not lobbying here.”

“But then again....I DO need to learn to use my ice axe amd learn to glissade ;) hmm....99 switchbacks vrs a glissade.... LOL”

“. . . and just think . . . . 'cause if you did the big slide: the stories you could then tell; the posts you could make. wow. what great reading:]”

“aaahh octobers a different story. i would imagine it would be very cold, but not near as dangerous”

“November?
Snow and Ice. The technical routes will be worse but the main trail is doable with some caution.

Same in October.

Keep in mind that when I climbed Whitney it was mid July and the summit had snow flurries two days before we went up. So it could be easy (now that's a relative term) it could be tougher.

I did a little digging and found photos of someone else's climb in October. Check 'em out.

http://www.stanford.edu/~wacziarg/climbing/WhitneyOct02.html

Y'all be carefull and have fun.
last edited: 6/22/05 7:58:50 AM”

“I attempted Whitney via the mountaineers route in mid-November about 3 years ago. It's too hard to predict the conditions at that time of the year because you can have lots of snow or hardly any at all. The lakes/ponds/creeks will certainly be frozen. There wasn't much snow when we did it (we camped at Lower Boy Scout Lake), but it did snow on us hard the second night. It's a long story, but I was with two friends from REI on this trip and I turned around near Iceberg Lake due to the conditions and they continued on. They nearly perished on the mountain after being overcome by a severe blizzard and they didn't return until about 3:00 a.m. Talk about a scary night, for them and for me, because I was scared to death for them. I twice attempted to look for them but visibility even with my headlamp was zippo and the howling wind deafened my yells. Let me tell you, it's c-c-c-c-cold up there in November. But with proper gear and experience and wisdom, it makes for a grand adventure.”

“It can snow in October - there was plenty of snow in the Sierra this past October

Also, you have short days in October. People typically start the hike between 3 and 4 am when day hiking. Some people get up the hill and back down in 8 or 9 hours and others take 18 or 19 hours to do it.
last edited: 6/22/05 4:57:14 PM”

“Last year we were bp-ing north of there (Oct 16-17) and got dumped on (our last bp of the year).

Oct 16, 2004 started like this:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/202075371/202075371TTLqIO#

Oct 17, 2004 was like this:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/202037628/202112375DPCLmr

Oct 23, 2004, the following week:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/206094762/206119884uyynRE
Every year is different, so its hard to predict that far out what the weather will be like. Mammoth got a trace of snow last week, and Kirkwood got a little, but it didn’t stick.

Oct 19, 2003 beautiful weather:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/95580217/95894170DGKoEl

Oct 27, 2002, we woke up to snow:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/53595042/53595042qBinRe

Oct 1, 2001, no snow, beautiful weather:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/30872588/30872676GiBGYSoeZt


Mammoth Mountain is open first week of November. This year it opened Oct 21.
last edited: 6/23/05 3:50:07 AM”

“I have the gear, and I'll have about a week to use it -- though I neeed to get my (body) weight down and work on strength training. From what a few of you've written, it seems that the hike / approach / climb might be successful, but I will have to watch the weather, minute by minute, be prepared to scrub the climb at any time, and I'll have to take a moderately heavy pack -- extra clothes, food, winter gear, and fuel to melt snow.

I think this trip could work for me. 'thing is with me setting this up as an official trip for everybody else though, is that I feel I'm still a little new 'round here (I troll you not) for setting up trips. I still feel more at ease when I'm invited to a hike.
The other issue is that I ideally wanted a multi-day approach.

The dates for the trip are still uncertain in any case.”

“Its only fun until someone gets hurt and...when someone dies...its called a disaster.”

“Stikmon,
your statment is why I'm considering (e.g.) the tt's opinions. I don't mind doing something bold, but I'm not going to do something stupid (irresponsible).

N.B.: Just because the climb that time of year and by the MR might be appealing and possibly successful (meteorlogically) doesn't mean that I'll go on the approach / climb. I grant that (as I've written) I want to, but better judgement will prevail over what I might imaginatively fancy.”