doing this in 3 weeks. I do have tele skis and skins, but the excursion group hasn't said that we'll need those. Also, going down is the worst for me, when my achilles/calves seem to have issues@@HikingNerd
While I love the outdoors, hiking, backpacking, mountain views...I can admit that this is a bit beyond my skillset and comfort zone. What an adventure!
you will be surprised!!! you can make it!! i did it last week, first time backpacking, first time in the snow! we couldnt make it to the top, our backpacks were to heavy 😅😅😅😅 but at least we were there, best experienced ever
16:11 You skied through out camp at Upper Boy Scout Lake. I am standing next to the orange tent. Great day. Tons of snow. Congratulations on your summit. We summited at 07:30 am. Walked back out, got to our cars. April 29th, 2023
Thanks! People don’t typically do the Mountaineer’s Route in the summer because at that point an established trail is usually easier. I was surprised by the number of skiers out, but on the other hand I do know a lot more people got into backcountry skiing during the pandemic.
Did Whitney Mountaineers May 2022 on a day hike. Fell down like 50 Ft of the gulch before I self arrested to a stop. My bleeding leg and inability to bend it made for a long 7 hour hike back to the ole car. Ended up taking 23.5 hours total on the hike (my friend did take two 1 hr naps tho during the day) 😂 it was so weird watching you climb it during the day that first day, bc I’ve never seen Whitney during sunlight from the bottom. Climbed it three times now and always get in around 1am and out around 11pm. 😂 video quality was super good, and seeing just how far up some of those slopes were- it really had me questioning how I ever did it. The darkness def helps 😂
Hey man nice job!I own the store at the trailhead.Its melting fast i can't believe how many trees got taken out.Its still 20 feet deep a couple mins up the trail probably 200 feet wide.We got the creek back in the creek bed no mor river down the road.Thanx for the video.
Thanks! If you’re ever driving through on the 395, Copper Top BBQ is absolutely delicious and has vacuum sealed items available for easy transport and takeout
We went up there in Jan when there was still huge amounts of pow. The problem then was that even getting to the trailhead was a slog, much less getting to the summit. As the snow compacts and goes through freeze-melt, it becomes much easier to climb up. And as you said, skiing down becomes less fun now. Great to see this more doable now in May 2023.
Another great video, Jimmy. Congratulations on the summit. Those skiing shots were amazing, you did great effort filming, I know it’s now easy. And thanks for the infos in this video, we could use some of them definitely. 👍
@@HikingNerd Actually, we have a May 20-21 permit for four. But we are not planning to summit, just to camp and enjoy the view. It’s pretty amazing how much snow we had this season.
I have to give you a shoot-out for recording and putting everything together in the video, sharing so much information with others! Job well done! I did that with my splitboard several years ago but didn't make it to the summit, and have been thinking about doing it again.
Thanks man! One of the lowest snow years followed by one of the highest.. if anything, it means we get to have fun playing in the same playgrounds because conditions are ever evolving.
Dang your skiing has come a long way in a couple years. Impressive! Watching your winter videos really makes me want to ditch the splitboard and learn to ski
Thank you! If weight is a concern, that could be one reason for skis (AFAIK there just aren’t that many ultralight splitboards). I started out snowboarding many years ago but never got super comfortable, and I built way more confidence on skis after just a day or two at the resort. But I was never very good on any type of board…
@@HikingNerd I love snowboarding, but skis just seem like a way more efficient method of travel in the backcountry with all the transitions and flats you encounter. Plus learning something new is always fun. Keep up the awesome videos!
Could you please do an update video for the Durston Kakwa 40? Now that you've had more use with it and even maybe even try seal sealing it to make it waterproof? That would be a first for the Kaakwa backpack here on YT.
Do you have your AllTrails or Strava track available? I won a day permit for May 25th. I'm all for making an alpine start, but it seems like too much for a day push given the conditions. You guys did a great job! Congrats and thanks for the great video! (I'm Toby)
Watch ran out of battery unfortunately so I only have some segments. I think there are a ton of GPX files available though for the Mountaineer’s Route, or worst case you can just find a Caltopo map of the route and export to GPX
Nice work! I used to do Whitney by the mountaneer's route pretty regularly in fall - usually car-to-car in one push. Was this on a wknd? Seemed like way more people than I would expect to see going up that route (or was it weather + huge snow year?). Skiing from summit to notch is no-joke - a good friend summited via the mtn'rs route, met a guy resting in the notch & was the last person to talk to the guy who probably slipped on ice in the final 400 & fell off the cliff below. I never minded snowboarding steeps, but not above must-not-fall death consequences.
This was a weekend and the busy-ness was probably the confluence of: huge snow year, warmer weather, and final weekend before permit quotas went into effect. Yep a fall on the final 400 would be absolutely disastrous.. I’m not confident enough in my steep skiing to have done it this time. It’s “do or do not, there is no try.”
Wow! Unbelievable stuff. We have a permit for the main trail next weekend but are wondering if it’ll be a safe go out. Do you have any insight on trail conditions for main route? Any tips? Would love to know given you guys were just up there 👌
Thank you! It’s a good pack, works for a trip like this and it keeps the weight closer to my spine for easier skiing than my Flex Capacitor. It doesn’t have ski specific features but I continue to stand by my review in terms of its advantages and disadvantages.
Nice video! You made it look easy! Any idea if people were coming up the standard route (11 mile) to the summit? A group of us might attempt that way in a few weeks.
Thanks! There isn’t a good reason right now to do the Main Trail given the snow coverage (no one is doing it), but in a few weeks there may be some more advantages than there are now. Still, it’s a lot more distance than the MR and either way it’s going to take mountaineering skills once you get to ~12,500’.
It was almost entirely clear on our way out. Last I hear, they’re looking to open the Whitney Portal Campground on May 26 so it’ll definitely open this season.
We stopped by South Lake Tahoe to break up the drive but the low elevation and short duration likely wasn’t enough to do anything for acclimatization. So in short: no.
so basically you can avoid E ledge in winter? i really wanted to hike this moutaineer route but turned back at E ledge. That was way too exposed for me.
Dang, ski conditions looked pretty janky the entire way. Yeah skiing old avy flow is choppy and not fun. Were there other sections not leading up to the peak which looked better for skiing? Trying to decide to hit whitney in next couple weeks or go elsewhere…
There are probably better places, as on Whitney you would have to hike part of the closed road, hike up some of the now melted trail, then get through the debris before LBS where you’ll then be able to find some better snow… maybe.
Final 400’ is north facing and doesn’t always get enough sun to soften up. It was pretty firm that weekend, so glissading would seem unnecessarily risky because if you aren’t able to arrest you’ll certainly crumple into the rocks below. Walking down in the boot pack was the least risky way to make it down.
