Rough October Night on Mt. Whitney (but nice days)

View of Mt Whitney from Lone Pine after breakfast (brown rocks in the foreground are the Alabama Hills)

Consultation Lake in the morning after the storm has passed

In mid-October, I wanted to do one last high mountain trip before snow closes the trails for the season. It started and ended beautifully, but the time in between....  Maybe the most miserable night I had on any trip.  

Hiking has been constrained this fall (2021). For a while, all National Forests in California were closed, then Sequoia National Park as well. Lighting strikes started several fires in Sequoia, which merged and became known as the KNP complex. The closure will last for a while, 10,000 trees will need to be removed as they are too damaged, including some in the famous redwood groves. 

Whitney is the slightly rounder peak

The Eastern Sierras have mostly remained accessible (although air quality was at times terrible). The Mt. Whitney area itself is usually congested because it is the highest mountain in the contiguous 48 states at 4400m/14500 feet and yet not difficult (More than 100 years ago and before trails received maintenance, John Muir wrote that "almost anyone able to cross a cobblestoned street in a crowd may climb Mt. Whitney"). Entering the Whitney area requires permits even for day hikes. Those are so oversubscribed that they are awarded through a lottery at the beginning of the year. Surprisingly, multiple overnight permits were available for Mt. Whitney in October! When I looked, there were overnight permits for 4 different starting days available for the coming week. 

Forecast for that week was pleasant throughout, a bit below freezing at night, a bit above during the day. Unfortunately, it turned out that I picked the wrong day (or rather night).

Permits are usually difficult to get, but some overnight permits were still available in October

Going up the main Whitney trail, now almost at the treeline. John Muir compared the trail's difficulty to crossing a cobblestoned street in a crowd. Other routes are more difficult, though.

I got to Lone Pine in the afternoon to pick up my permit for the next day. The ranger said the following night would get noticeably colder and much windier, forecast has changed, with gusts up to 50 miles, but no snow accumulation expected. And only one night and all the days should be nice. 50 mile gusts are quite strong. I took notice of that to make sure I aim the tent the right direction and stake it out well so it doesn't blow over. I've camped in storms and severe winds before and the changed forecast didn't seem bad. 

Thor Peak (3750m) looms over much of the hike and it is a more impressive mountain than the picture shows

I only had time for a shorter hike that afternoon and went up a bit along the North Fork. That trail splits from the main route quickly and then becomes the Mountaineer Route, which is much less crowded, but also in a different league technically from the main trail. I did a little bit of scrambling, but didn't go as far as Boy Scout Lake. The north fork route starts out in a canyon and unlike the main trail, which is sunny, it had some snow and ice and was noticeably colder. Then went down to Lone Pine for dinner. 

the North Fork trail had snow and looked cold, but I could hike in short sleeves

Looking back to Lone Pine and the desert from the North Fork Trail

The next morning, I started around 11 on the main trail. There was no rush since I was camping at Consultation Lake, which is only about 11 km up the trail (although most of the total elevation gain). I made detours to the other two lakes on the route, Lone Pine Lake and Mirror Lake. 

Lone Pine Lake, 5 km from Whitney Portal, is as far as one can hike without permit

The meadow below Mirror Lake, the mountain with the flat top is Wotan's Throne (about 3900m)

It was a lovely day. Early afternoon, but a number of people had already made camp at Outpost, which is only 6 km from the trail head. Consultation Lake is higher up, at about 3600m/12000 feet, but is not popular because the lake is off the main trail (and downhill from it). I scrambled down to Consultation Lake from the trail, but there is also a more walkable route along the cliffs that starts from a bit further up the mountain. Few people want to make the detour to the lake because there is an official camping location, Trail Camp, just a bit further on the trail. But that means that Trail Camp is reliably packed whereas Consultation Lake remains fairly empty. I was the only person that day at Consultation Lake.  

a bit higher up

By the time I got to the lake, the wind had picked up substantially and it was getting noticeably colder. I found a place between two large rocks that seemed to offer some windbreak and checked for wind directions to place the tent the right way (i.e. keep the low end in the wind). I put 40+ pounds rocks on the stakes to keep them in place.  I took our newer Big Agnes Fly Creek tent, rather than the older one that shows some wear and may be getting tired of those trips, so felt very prepared for the night. The temperature dropped quickly once the sun was behind the mountains and by 5 pm it was so cold that I went in the tent. It was very pretty, just too windy and cold. The water was frozen by 7pm, but some was already in the pot and ready to be heated up for hot coffee/chocolate in the morning without leaving my sleeping bag! Very comfortable in the tent. 

By midnight, the tent was flapping loudly and I went outside to check. It was a full moon and clear night, but with strong gusts. Three of the guy lines on the tent had torn off (they were the original lines), but I could fix that by tying in new lines and a bit of wind wrestling. The stakes were right were they should be (with their rocks). Still disconcerting. While a pretty night, it was so cold that I quickly went back inside, just tying in new guy lines froze my hands (but it isn't something you can do with gloves). 

I dozed and around 2 or so, the tent was pushing against me. I went out again to check on problems, but now the weather had changed and it was hard to see with a headlamp as snow flakes were blowing everywhere. Instead of a clear full moon night, there was no visibility and it was hard to stand in the wind. Felt more than 50 mph gusts.  But all the stakes and lines were right where they were supposed to be. Back inside, warming up and appreciating the comfortable shelter during what turned to be a much fiercer storm than forecast. 

I dozed off again when I suddenly found myself in the open and a bit disoriented with snow blowing in my face. It took a little while to figure out what was going on, but apparently all the guy lines had torn off, the rain fly was gone and the inner tent was torn into pieces. Once I realized that my shelter was gone, I tried to ignore it. But it was not that ignorable and I was becoming a snow drift. I tried to use the remnants of the tent floor as an outer layer/bivi sack to reduce wind chill, but that proved hopeless, too. It was too windy and the tears didn't leave a large coherent piece of the tent floor that I could wrap around me. 

After the storm was largely over in the morning. Snow was blown away from exposed areas, but accumulated elsewhere

Now the situation was rather bleak, about 2.30 in the morning, outside in the middle of an early winter storm.  Unfortunately, there was just nothing I could do other than curling up and trying to stay as warm as possible. It was much too cold and windy for any other outdoor activity! No visibility either, in the headlamp just glare off snowflakes. 

I had taken my warmer sleeping bag, but that was still a three-season bag rated for maybe 25F. It would have worked well inside a tent that night, but sure was underpowered when the windchill is well into the minuses. Fahrenheit that is, so in Celsius that feels more like -20. 

Not the camping I had expected (the yellow pieces are the floor parts of what is left of the tent)

I closed things up as well as I could and then spent a few miserable and very slow moving hours. Not knowing how long this would take made it more unpleasant and slowed down the clock. I was uncomfortably cold (not dangerously, just uncomfortably) but just had to lie this out because trying to pack up and leave would actually have been dangerous. That storm was quite a bit worse than any forecast! 

Eventually, dawn came and that reduced the bleakness of the situation, although without raising the comfort level. The storm didn't stop then. It took until 8 am or so for the storm to settle. Then I also heard some voices, most likely hikers who were trying to get off the mountain. Less likely would be very optimistic day hikers coming up. 

No coffee or chocolate or even hot water for me, despite the best preparation

The idea of making coffee/hot chocolate in the morning in the tent vestibule/mudroom (without even leaving my sleeping bag!) was no longer an option. Indeed, not even hot water was an option. I tried to shelter the burner the best I could after the worst was over, but there was no way to get it lit and stay lit in the wind. 

Snow got into everything. In fact, when I got back to Santa Monica late in the afternoon, there still was snow in the tent pieces I had stuffed into the bottom of my backpack.

Another half hour later, probably 8.30 or so, I could see some blue sky towards the East, although it was still foggy and snowy where I was. Eventually it was promising enough that I quickly packed up and headed back to the trail. No snow accumulation? All the way back to the main trail I was at least ankle deep in snow and at some places I sank in knee high.  

On my way to the trail, I found a windbreaker. I thought I had heard an anguished voice an hour or so earlier, so I guess that was a hiker who had just lost a highly desired item at that moment!  The trail was on a cliff above me, so that person thought it was lost for good when it blew away. I left the jacket at the intersection once I joined the trail. If it was a day hiker, he would find his jacket a few hours later. 

Morning after the storm had passed, it was a very pretty day again

On the way down, I passed several other hikers who had camped that night. I don't think anybody who was out overnight decided to go up to the top and from what I heard, most experiences were similar to mine. Later, a few day hikers were coming my way. It would not have been a particularly bad day either because by mid-day, the storm had blown away and it was nice (although day time temperature at the lake and above would remain below freezing) and sunny, although now with a bit of snow and ice. I actually enjoyed my hike that day once I was a bit warmed up again. 

Ice sculptures on Mirror Lake

I stopped at Mirror Lake to finally get my hot coffee/chocolate. It is more sheltered there and also lower elevation. Hiding the stove behind some big rocks, I was able to keep it lit. The temperature was also pleasant, maybe around freezing. 

Descending, I warmed up quickly and from 4 layers went down to a single layer (although still a long sleeve hiking shirt). By early afternoon, I was back at the trailhead and then I was hot in the sun. Hard to believe the change within a few hours. 

The tent poles are broken in 5 places, but still had snow in them when I got to SM maybe 9 hours after I packed up

Big Agnes responded to that story and gave me a 30% discount on a new tent, but with the recommendation that I buy a tent from their expedition series if I plan to go out in similar weather again. 

I'm not the first one to remember a cold night on Whitney late in the year: 

"Some eighteen years ago I spent a November night on the top of Whitney. The first winter snow had fallen and the cold was intense. Therefore I had to keep in motion to avoid freezing. But the view of the stars and of the dawn on the desert was abundant compensation for all that. This was a hard trip, but in summer no extraordinary danger need be encountered Almost any one able to cross a cobblestoned street in a crowd may climb Mt. Whitney."

Muir, John. The Complete Works of John Muir: Travel Memoirs, Wilderness Essays, Environmental Studies & Letters (p. 1801). Madison & Adams Press.

  

A cold starry night (or full moon night in my case) would have been great. Sounds like John Muir experienced a really cold, but not windy, night and then moving around can warm you up. During the storm, however, trying to stay in motion would have been the more dangerous choice. No activity could make up for the windchill and the gusts were strong enough to knock you off balance. But the lesson is that late season weather can make Whitney a hard trip.