Glosses over the difficult- and sometimes dangerous- north face of Crabtree Pass. Easier going up than down. Steep, slippery scree- snow makes it even more dicey, and snow can hang on till mid-August or later. And coming backup Crabtree Pass after the long climb up the sand hill and Whitney trail is exhausting, leading to shaky legs. Finally, a slip into Upper Crabtree Lake would not be fun, especially under a heavy pack, and if it's surrounded by snow. Deep water, no shallows. By no means a walk in the park.
I cannot even understand why you would risk the life of your own daughters just to get a thrill. And especially without a harness and clip, or whatever you guys call it. One wrong move is all it takes.
@@letszoomhikingteam No, I haven’t and I never will. There are so many other beautiful and fun things, not to mention safe things to do with our kids so why choose the thing that knowingly has a possibility of taking their life with one slip?? My children are precious to me and it’s my job to protect them, not purposely put them in harms way or in a situation that could so easily kill them. I know so many people do this but it’s more of a Russian roulette kind of thing. I’m not trying to make you think the way I do, or make you out to feel like a monster, if I have, I apologize. I’m just saying how I feel about that hike. 🫣
@@MissMala I get protecting your kids and choosing safety. I do think that to some extent life is always dangerous, and some wonderful experiences are always going to come with risk. Luckily we all have agency to choose what we do for fun and recreation! That’s awesome, and I’m glad you enjoy what you do.
Thanks for making this video! Detailed and to the point, happy to see I could potentially use my x-mid 2P like this. Did you not find the need for an inner? The reason I ask is I considered purchasing the solid inner to help with wind in conditions like this
The inner is mostly mesh and won't help w wind or warmth really. Pitched tight against the snow (sealed w snow on top of tent edge), no wind will enter. The only reason for inner tent is bug protection and ground protection. You'll have more usable space in the tent in snow wout the inner tent. In non-snow conditions, I'll take the inner. A solid inner will help w warmth, but if all edges are sealed against snow, the single wall will block wind.
Thanks for the video. One concern I had with the x-mid in winter was the vertical trekking poles getting pushed lower and lower into the snow pack. Did you increase the surface area at all under the poles?
The snow was pretty consolidated under the tent. We stomped it down flattened w skiis pre pitch. The poles did not sink at all our pitch. If pitching on dry powder, this would be a concern for any similar tent
watched whole vid before reading the description. Good call on bailing on a summit and way to make lemonade out of the situation. I was confused when watching the vid and the sunrise part came up, then it made sense
How big are the spikes on the crampons you’re using? I am planning a trip for June 5th and I am thinking the crampons I have would not suffice on the ice chute
All general mountaineering crampons have similar size spikes. Dedicated crampons for ice climbing are different. This route is easily done in standard crampons and ice axe
Do you guys think the winter climbing route that you guys took, as opposed to the 99 switchbacks, would be reasonable to do with microspikes and ice axe? We have our permit for May 28th and would like to not have to purchase crampons.
Micro-spikes won't cut it on some of those slopes and traverses. Crampons are the best bet, don't fall for the sunk cost fallacy, of "oh I didn't really need to rent crampons" Crampons, ice ax, and helmet. Any help would take quite a while to get up there. The 99 switch backs depending on snow melt are probably going to have sections where you have to go up the slope anyways and angled traverses. Definitely take crampons
Very interesting thanks! I wonder if you really need a Whitney Zone permit for this. When summiting from Guitar Lake you don’t need one if you’re going back out that way too. I don’t know where exactly you pop onto the main trail from Discovery Pinnacle, but I wonder if it’s possible to never touch the main trail east of the “Whitney Zone Begins Now” sign when looking eastward from trail crest? Or if the rangers would let it slide even if it pops onto the main trail within a few hundred feet of that sign.
It looks like you had a fine time and a happy birthday up there. You even got to blow out a candle. Thanks for making and sending this. It looks like it was kind of a snowy overcast day, but it looks like you had a good time. Love, Dad
It looks like you had a fine time and a happy birthday up there. You even got to blow out a candle. Thanks for making and sending this. It looks like it was kind of a snowy overcast day, but it looks like you had a good time. Love, Dad
Super helpful video! Did you have to get a day pass for Whitney Zone, or is it possible to do this with just a wilderness permit from Cottonwood Meadows?
