Sierra Nevada - Mount Whitney

I climbed Mount Whitney four times from the west (Crabtree Meadows) side as described below. Slept on top on the 1965 Explorer Post 360 trip.

The first time was on July 24, 1957 at the end of a solo backpack of about 72 miles from Giant Forest in the Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, while I was in the Navy, via the High Sierra Trail. On the top, I met the original members of what became Explorer Post 360 and ended up riding with them back to San Diego.

The High Sierra Trail leads from Crescent Meadow up the canyon of the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River, crossing the Great Western Divide by the 10,700' pass known as Kaweah Gap. It descends into Big Arroyo, then climbs up to the Chagoopa Plateau, and drops down again into the Kern River Canyon. After running up the bottom of the Kern Canyon, it turns east, climbing parallel to Wallace Creek up to the junction with the John Muir Trail, 49 miles from the starting point. You then follow the John Muir Trail about 13 more miles to the summit of Mount Whitney.

The above two links include details of the route. The second link has more information including pictures.

The second time was on September 3, 1960 as part of a San Diego County Council, Boy Scouts of America, John Muir Trek from North Lake to Mount Whitney. I was employed by the San Diego County Council and participated in my capacity as manager of their Sierra Treks program at the time.

The third time was on August 20, 1965 as leader of an Explorer Post 360 backpack from Onion Valley to Mount Whitney August 12-22 with 28 Explorers and 3 men. We took an alternate route via Center Basin over Juntion Pass and Shepherd Pass. Along the way we climbed Mt. Bradley (19 on top), Mt. Tyndall (21 on top). Everyone made the top of Mount Whitney and 23 slept on top.

The fourth time was on August 26, 1981 on a private backpack trip including myself and Jim White.

Mount Whitney is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of 14,505 feet. It is located in East–Central California, on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, 84.6 miles west-northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park at 282 feet below sea level.

The west slope of the mountain is in Sequoia National Park and the summit is the southern terminus of the John Muir Trail which runs 211.9 mi from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley. The east slope is in the Inyo National Forest in Inyo County.

The estimated elevation of the summit of Mount Whitney has changed over the years. The technology of elevation measurement has become more refined and, more importantly, the vertical coordinate system has changed. The peak was commonly said to be at 14,494 ft and this is the elevation stamped on the USGS brass benchmark disk on the summit. An older plaque on the summit (sheet metal with black lettering on white enamel) reads "elevation 14,496.811 feet" but this was estimated using the older vertical datum (NGVD29) from 1929. Since then the shape of the Earth (the geoid) has been estimated more accurately. Using a new vertical datum established in 1988 (NAVD88) the benchmark is now estimated to be at 14,505 ft.

The summit of Mount Whitney is on the Sierra Crest and the Great Basin Divide. It lies near many of the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada. The peak rises dramatically above the Owens Valley, sitting 10,778 feet or just over two miles above the town of Lone Pine 15 miles to the east, in the Owens Valley. It rises more gradually on the west side, lying only about 3,000 feet above the John Muir Trail at Guitar Lake.

The mountain is partially dome-shaped, with its famously jagged ridges extending to the sides. Mount Whitney is above the tree line and has an alpine climate and ecology. Very few plants grow near the summit: one example is the sky pilot, a cushion plant that grows low to the ground. The only animals are transient, such as the butterfly Parnassius phoebus and the gray-crowned rosy finch.

In July 1864, the members of the California Geological Survey named the peak after Josiah Whitney, the State Geologist of California and benefactor of the survey. During the same expedition, geologist Clarence King attempted to climb Whitney from its west side, but stopped just short. In 1871, King returned to climb what he believed to be Whitney, but having taken a different approach, he actually summited nearby Mount Langley.

Upon learning of his mistake in 1873, King finally completed his own first ascent of Whitney, but did so a month too late to claim the first recorded ascent. Just a month earlier, on August 18, 1873, Charles Begole, A. H. Johnson, and John Lucas, all of nearby Lone Pine, had become the first to reach the highest summit in the contiguous United States. As they climbed the mountain during a fishing trip to nearby Kern Canyon, they called the mountain Fisherman's Peak.

In 1881 Samuel Pierpont Langley, founder of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory remained for some time on the summit, making daily observations on the solar heat. Accompanying Langley in 1881 was another party consisting of Judge William B. Wallace of Visalia, W. A. Wright and Reverend Frederick Wales. Wallace later wrote in his memoirs that "The Pi Ute [Paiute] Indians called Mt. Whitney "Too-man-i-goo-yah," which means "the very old man." They believe that the Great Spirit who presides over the destiny of their people once had his home in that mountain." The spelling Too-man-i-goo-yah is a transliteration from the indigenous Paiute Mono language. Other variations are Too-man-go-yah and Tumanguya.

The most popular route to the summit is by way of the Mount Whitney Trail which starts at Whitney Portal, at an elevation of 8,360 feet, 13 miles west of the town of Lone Pine. The hike is about 22 miles round trip with an elevation gain of over 6,100 feet. Permits are required year round, and to prevent overuse a limited number of permits are issued by the Forest Service between May 1 and November 1.

The Forest Service holds an annual lottery for hiking and backpacking permits on the Mount Whitney Trail. Applications are accepted from February 1 through March 15. Any permits left over after the lottery is completed typically go on sale April 1. Current permit information here.

Most hikers plan to stay one or two nights camping along the route. Those in good physical condition sometimes attempt to reach the summit and return to Whitney Portal in one day. A single day hike requires a "day use" permit that prohibits the use of overnight camping gear (sleeping bag and tent). Day hikers often leave Whitney Portal before sunrise and hike from 12 to 18 hours round trip.

As occured for all of my trips, longer approaches to Whitney arrive at its west side, connecting to the Mount Whitney Trail near the summit by way of the John Muir Trail.

It can also be reached via rock climbing routes and the Mountaineers Route from the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek on the East side.

The following pictures are a combination from the above trips starting below Crabtree Meadows where the John Muir Trail turns up Whitney Creek to climb Mount Whitney, views on top of Mount Whitney, and then the trail down the east side to Whitney Portal and Lone Pine. Some of the color quality is poor due to the fading of slides, particularly from 1957, before they were scanned.

Panoramic view from top of Mount Whitney - 24 Jul 1957

Starting on the left is the Owens Valley with the Inyo Mountains in the haze, the first peak is Lone Pine Peak, then Mt. Langley with the slope to its right and pointy Mt. McAdie to its right, Whitney Pass and Trail Crest to the right of Mt. McAdie, Olancha Peak in the distance, along the crest are Mt. Muir and Keeler Needle, massive Mt. Hitchcock with to its right Mt. Young, the Kern Canyon is evident next, behind the Smithsonian Hut is Mt. Kaweah (next to smoke stack) and the Kaweah Range to its right, then the Great Western Divide with Triple Divide Peak, Milestone Mountain, Table Mountain and the upper reaches of the Kern Canyon.