Breaking trail at Mount Whitney in winter

*Mount Whitney (elevation 14,505 ft / 4,421 m) on the morning of my hike*

My plan for this weekend was not to summit, but to hike up towards Mount Whitney as far as possible, camp, then hike back down the next day. The weekend didn’t quite work out as planned, but still resulted in a fun and challenging trip.

My name is Andrew Snyder, a southern California-based landscape photographer. This trip report & my other Trip Reports focus on images, scenery, and wildlife, and provide a few travel tips if you’re interested in taking a trip of your own.

Hiking Mount Whitney any time of year is a big deal. The typical ascent route starts at the Whitney Portal campground with 22 miles round-trip with 6,656 feet of elevation gain. Most hikers split the trip up into two days with an overnight stay at Trail Camp at 12,000 feet elevation. Hiking Whitney in the winter is an entirely different experience, and very few people do it.

I’ve been to the top of Whitney many times in different types of weather, and I knew that summitting was not part of my plan on this February weekend for a few reasons.

The road is closed 4 miles from Whitney Portal in the winter, adding 8 miles round-trip to any hike.
A heavy snow storm 1 week before dropped feet of snow on the mountain. When I spoke with the woman in the wilderness permit office to receive my permit via email she told me that no one had been up since last week’s snowstorm, so I would be making first tracks in the dense snow.
I only had 2 days (Saturday & Sunday) for my trip, and a winter ascent in these conditions would like require more time.

So I parked my car at the small lot next to the “Road Closed” sign and began my hike up the road.

*The road is closed 4 miles from the Whitney Portal. About 6 other cars were parked here, and a family was playing in the snow right near the sign.*

*The snow got deeper as I neared the portal. I passed about 6 other hikers on the way up, 2 cute dogs, and 1 cat on a leash.*

*The views of Whitney get better and better as you approach the portal. One perk of walking up the road rather than driving is that you have more time to appreciate the views.*

*The campsites at the Whitney Portal campground were covered in a few inches of snow.*

After arriving at the Whitney Portal I grabbed a few pictures, weighed my pack on the scale (45lbs not including the snowshoes on my feet), and continued up the Whitney Trail.

*Me at the Mount Whitney Trail trailhead with the Whitney Portal Store behind me.*

*This wooden structure marks the start of the trail and includes some informational signs about what to expect while hiking here.*

*The trail was covered in snow. Based on the light tracks from other hikers I suspect I was maybe the third person on this section of the trail since the big snowstorm 1 week ago.*

About 1 mile from the Whitney Portal I arrived at the junction where the North Fork of the Lone Pine Creek splits off of the main Whitney Trail. There were no tracks going ahead on the main Whitney Trail. The only other hikers who had been here in the past week went up the North Fork route, and I headed up that way as well.

*This gorgeous rock face sits on the south side of the gulley that leads up to Lower Boyscout Lake. The Ebersbacher Ledges (not in this picture) are on the north side of this gully.*

The tracks ended at 9,131 feet elevation. I briefly considered turning back since breaking trail is exhausting, but after driving 4 hours to get here I decided to keep hiking. The next 200 vertical feet were tough. I moved slow, but I moved. I broke through a few feet of snow with each step.

*Forward progress was slow due to the deep snow*

Ahead of me were the challenging Ebersbacher Ledges. That section is tricky even in good weather, so I knew that my pace wouldn’t get any faster. Also I didn’t want to take on too much risk by climbing the snowy ledges on a solo trip with help so far away. I carry a Garmin inReach Mini satellite communicator with me to keep in contact with my wife and to send an SOS if needed, but that’s no excuse to put myself in unnecessary danger. Eventually I realized that I wouldn’t make it to a camping spot in time, so I decided to turn back at around 9,300 feet elevation. The nearest camping spot was Lower Boyscout Lake, which was still 1,200 feet above me. At my current upward pace I would reach that lake well after sunset.

The hike down went quickly. I was able to follow my own tracks back down, so my downward pace was much faster than my upward pace. I soon reached the Whitney Portal, and continued hiking back down to my car.

*The entrance sign to the Whitney Portal with Mount Whitney off to the right*

*Goodbye Mount Whitney. See you again soon.*

*I could see Alabama Hills, my camping spot for the evening, from high up on Whitney Portal Road*

My trip total was 10.83 miles with 2,864 feet of elevation gain. This was a relatively mild day in terms of numbers, but my legs were telling me that I had worked harder than the numbers let on. I headed down to Alabama Hills to camp, and I nabbed a prime campsite between two large rocks.