White Mountain Peak, an "easy" 14er

This is acclimatization for the Whitney trip (to be posted later) but also an enjoyable peak in and of itself. Normally it's about 15mi RT and 3400' of gain (alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/california/white-mountain-peak) but if the gate is open that shaves off about 4mi RT and 700' of gain. However, it's unclear if they'll open the gate this year (wmrc.edu/2023/02/02/open-gate-days). We'll do this even if they don't open the gate.

Preferably we'll do the first part of this using bikes but lock them up before the final push. We'll stay at Grandview Campground (8600') for a night or two, drive up to 12k' and spend a few hours just milling about, then come back to the campground or camp at 10k' or so. See pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20586592 for more. I don't know if that's still accurate, but it's probably close enough.

Note that the trail gains about 400' on the way out, that the area is generally almost completely dry, there are no services, and it takes a long time to get there from Bishop or back. The road from Bishop to Grandview is asphalt, but shortly after that it turns into a rough dirt road that requires at least high clearance. See AllTrails and peakery.com/white-mountain-peak-california for some reports.

Too much remaining snow or bad weather postpones. The dates and times are just an estimate.

(The image is from one year when I had to turn around about 100' down from the peak due to a thunderstorm. By the time I got back, everything was covered in graupel.)