Ghost of the Mountain
GHOST OF THE MOUNTAIN • Dark Country Blues Slide Guitar
- Justin Johnson -
Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of 14,505 feet. The peak is just left of center, I was about 30 miles away as the crow flies when taking this photo.
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To climb Mt Whitney you must enter a lottery for permits. with applicants obliged to choose whether they plan to climb in a day or over multiple days. Results will be announced online March 15, when good or bad news will be posted to hikers’ personal profiles on the website. Last year, 29% of lottery entrants got good news. The year before, 28%.
At 14,505 feet, Mt. Whitney is the highest peak in the Sierra Nevada and the contiguous U.S. The most common path to the top includes 6,200 feet of vertical gain from the trailhead at Whitney Portal, 14 miles west of Lone Pine in Inyo County.
It can be dangerous, especially when snow remains on the trail. The Inyo County Sheriff’s Department reported at least four Whitney climbing deaths in 2021 and 2022, many of them “in spring or early summer due to falls on snow and ice.” Despite drought conditions throughout the West, the National Weather Service and California Department of Water Resources officials have reported an unusually heavy snowpack in the Sierra Nevada so far this winter.
“At higher elevations the snow might linger as late as July,” said Lisa Cox, public information officer for Inyo National Forest, in an email Tuesday. “People will need ice axes, crampons, and additional skills (and training) to travel on snow and ice-covered slopes. This shouldn’t necessarily deter people from going, but [be] prepared to turn around before reaching the destination of your choice, a.k.a the peak.”
The trailhead is 8,374 feet above sea level. From there, the most popular route is a 22-mile route up the mountain and back, including a stretch of 99 switchbacks near the top. In all, the trail typically entails 12-14 hours of climbing (and packing out your own waste in a WAG bag, named for Waste Aggregation and Gelling).
U.S. Forest Service officials call the route “non-technical, but strenuous” when it’s free of snow, which is usually from July to late September.
With the amount of snowfall this winter there may be snow and ice through the year.
Ghost of the Mountain
GHOST OF THE MOUNTAIN • Dark Country Blues Slide Guitar
- Justin Johnson -
Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of 14,505 feet. The peak is just left of center, I was about 30 miles away as the crow flies when taking this photo.
-----------------------------------------
To climb Mt Whitney you must enter a lottery for permits. with applicants obliged to choose whether they plan to climb in a day or over multiple days. Results will be announced online March 15, when good or bad news will be posted to hikers’ personal profiles on the website. Last year, 29% of lottery entrants got good news. The year before, 28%.
At 14,505 feet, Mt. Whitney is the highest peak in the Sierra Nevada and the contiguous U.S. The most common path to the top includes 6,200 feet of vertical gain from the trailhead at Whitney Portal, 14 miles west of Lone Pine in Inyo County.
It can be dangerous, especially when snow remains on the trail. The Inyo County Sheriff’s Department reported at least four Whitney climbing deaths in 2021 and 2022, many of them “in spring or early summer due to falls on snow and ice.” Despite drought conditions throughout the West, the National Weather Service and California Department of Water Resources officials have reported an unusually heavy snowpack in the Sierra Nevada so far this winter.
“At higher elevations the snow might linger as late as July,” said Lisa Cox, public information officer for Inyo National Forest, in an email Tuesday. “People will need ice axes, crampons, and additional skills (and training) to travel on snow and ice-covered slopes. This shouldn’t necessarily deter people from going, but [be] prepared to turn around before reaching the destination of your choice, a.k.a the peak.”
The trailhead is 8,374 feet above sea level. From there, the most popular route is a 22-mile route up the mountain and back, including a stretch of 99 switchbacks near the top. In all, the trail typically entails 12-14 hours of climbing (and packing out your own waste in a WAG bag, named for Waste Aggregation and Gelling).
U.S. Forest Service officials call the route “non-technical, but strenuous” when it’s free of snow, which is usually from July to late September.
With the amount of snowfall this winter there may be snow and ice through the year.