Saturday, February 12, 2022

Mt. Whitney

My annual Mt. Whitney winter excursion was in the February this year. I went solo again since everyone was busy. Typical itinerary is drive from LA starting at 2:00 PM, arriving at trail head around 6:00 PM, hike to Lower Boy scouts lake (10,340 ft), few hours of rest, boil water and start hiking at 2:00 AM, top out around 10:00 AM, hike back and drive back to LA. Speed can vary greatly depending on snow conditions and my physical shape.

Whitney trail head


Note that road to normal trail head is closed during the winter and you need to start from 6600 ft and hike additional 3.5 miles one way. If you are lucky lower gate maybe only soft closed (you can drive around a closure sign on your own risk), but the upper gate is always hard closed.

Cold bivy on the snow

Frozen water

Sunrise near Upper Boy scouts lake

First glimpse of Whitney

Sun

Bird greeting hikers and looking for food

Main chute

This year was super low snow year with final 400 ft chute almost clear of snow.

Final 400 ft chute

Mt. Russel

At the top

Snow inside the house


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