Winter Trip to Mt. Whitney (Feb 2015)

1. Day 1 – Reach the Outpost Camp (3.8 miles, 10.4K ft)
2. Day 2 –
   1. Started at 8 AM
   2. Reached consultation lake at noon
   3. Reached trail crest at 2:20 PM
   4. Reached summit at 6 PM
   5. Returned to Outpost Camp by 11:35 PM
3. Day 3 – Head back to Whitney Portal

Conditions

1. It was all snow covered – knee-deep snow in some places.
2. 99 switchbacks are not possible under such conditions, so, we climbed up the chute.
3. The trail is dangerous beyond trail crest, don’t go alone.

Do

1. Start early, preferably by 5 AM (we were late).
2. Take hiking boots, hiking poles, gaiters, and crampons – I had microspikes (instead of crampons) and was without gaiters, it worked.
3. Practice walking the ascents (~10% or more) on hikes or treadmill.
4. Carry a stove and mug to heat and drink warm water.