Whitney east buttress timing

Curious about the best timing to do East face or East buttress of Whitney in terms of having snow on the mountaineers route versus waiting for it to melt out.

Hearing a lot of reports that it’s better when there’s snow on the distant, but of course that means carrying Mount air boots and crampons up the route is the descent on enough of a pain that it justifies doing earlier season and carrying extra gear?

Personally I'd wait until it's warmer so you can go up the climbing route you choose and take the switchbacks down, with no snow approach gear needed. I've climbed Bear Creek Spire when full boots/crampons/axe were needed for the approach and I'll never ever do another climb like that. Carrying that much extra weight is absolutely miserable, bulky, and tiring. 

Taking the switchbacks (the hiking trail) back down really only works if you are doing the whole climb and approach in a day.

summer

FrankPS wrote:

Taking the switchbacks (the hiking trail) back down really only works if you are doing the whole climb and approach in a day.

Correct and that's what I'd do. With those routes being particularly easy I personally wouldn't make it an overnight thing like I've done with Russell. 

OP:  traction and axe (nearly) guarantee safe passage.  Pick your dates or choose a weather window and go for it.  Unless there is tremendous evidence that traction and axes are not needed, just bring them.  

My advice/opinion on the two descent options:

1)  Whitney Trail is WAY longer than mountaineer route and it's generally better to go back via the way you came.  

2)  If you top out on Whitney proper, mountaineer route is (IMO) DEFINITELY the way to descend.  Bring traction and/or axe if you need.  If carrying those tools prevent you from being successful on the route, consider a different area or date.

3)  Onsighting either descent in the dark is obviously tricky.  The Whitney Trail is going to be easier to follow.

4)  I've gone down mountaineer route twice, both with axe and crampons.

I consider Whitney Trail as a viable option if:

- It's late and/or dark.  The simplicity of the Whitney Trail may be benoficial, but it won't save you any time. Consider if you are onsighting or just another romp down mountaineer route.

- You top out on Keeler Needle (and it's late and getting dark) or further south.  Getting from Keeler Needle to mountaineer route descent is not huge, but it does add up, may be worth it to just hop onto Whitney Trail.  I've opted for Whitney Trail in this case, and it was a long way down.  Next time, if I topped out with at least 90 min of daylight, I'd go down via mountaineer route.

Even in the summer I would take the switchbacks down if possible. It's so much more pleasant and I've found faster unless you have the Lone Pine Creek trail wired to do in the dark.

Unless Im mistaken the switchbacks aren't an option for us.  We will only have one vehicle and I believe that takes us to the wrong side of the mountain.  

Also coming from sea level and preferring to take a day at iceberg lake to acclimate but wouldn't want to carry gear up and over

At what point in the year is traction generally not needed?

I guess what I'm really asking is what's the best month to plan on, June when there is likely a lot of snow on the descent or august?

In June traction is still a possibility, though this current winter is pretty warm so far. Also, the mountaineer's route and the switchbacks regular trail will both bring you back to Whitney portal. However if you want to camp at iceberg lake, the mountaineer's route is what you'll need to take on the way down.  

By mid July if not a little sooner/definitely by August you're in the clear with no spikes needed. 

My advice is to look at the Opinions on the routes from last June and July (have to use a browser to do it) and I bet you'll see comments from people about whether they needed traction or not

wisam wrote:

Unless Im mistaken the switchbacks aren't an option for us.  We will only have one vehicle and I believe that takes us to the wrong side of the mountain.  

Also coming from sea level and preferring to take a day at iceberg lake to acclimate but wouldn't want to carry gear up and over

I’d suggest some additional research before soliciting a bunch of advice.  There is no “wrong side of the mountain” if you are approaching from the trailhead.  You approach the East Face via Lone Pine Creek, which branches off the Mt. Whitney trail about a mile from the trailhead. So regardless of whether you descend the trail or the Mountaineer’s Route you’ll wind up back at your car.  

You mention mt. boots if you go early season but you’ll be wearing boots already.  Just throw a pair of hinged crampons on your hiking boots.  The diciest part will be the first couple hundred feet from the summit, which you can rap if needed.  The rest isn’t bad if it’s not super icy.

One thing I haven’t heard you mention is a permit.  Depend on when you are able to score one, that will likely determine what the conditions are like when you go.  

The boring answer is that it depends. If you don't want to carry snow/ice gear, then you're probably looking at late July-September. But, I've also been caught on the summit in near white-out conditions in late July. Best thing to do is study the conditions from previous years, pick a date, and decide what you need to bring based on the conditions and forcasting around your dates.

As an aside, the mountaineers gully is a miserable scree slog when its dry. Also, if there is anyone coming down behind you, it quickly turns into a shooting gallery below the notch. Maybe I'm just a wimp about potential rock fall, but, I would likely choose to come down the switchbacks if I was doing it c2c on a busy day. 

Descending the MR is not an issue, snow or not.  Preferable with snow.  You don't need heavy mountaineering boots.  A super light axe is fine - I just use my poles.  You should likely focus more on whether you're ok encountering snow on the EF or Buttress.  Early June is *usually* a safe bet for most people for those routes, especially EB.  Have fun.

July, August, or September. Forget that early season stuff until you're more seasoned, yourself. Enjoy the climb in good, warmer weather.