Help a 9-5er understand how to climb Mt Whitney

Hello! I'm seeking advice on how to get the appropriate permits for camping multiple nights at Iceberg Lake and climbing the East Face/Butt of Mt Whitney (amongst other objectives form the same alpine basecamp). I understand that I will need the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek Overnight Permit, but on the website to make reservations, it says that for the dates selected (so anytime around June 10th-20th), permits are not available for reservation (walk-up reservation). So I have two questions:

1. If my understanding is correct, I need to simply show up to the Eastern Sierra Visitor Centre the day of, and hope there's a permit for my party of 2 for those dates? What's the likelihood of snagging the necessary permits, and is there any other way to book in advance? 

2. On average, would June 10-20th be favorable weather for climbing on Mt Whitney? What can I expect the camping, climbing conditions, and mountaineer's route for the descent to look like at that time of year?

Since I have limited PTO, I wouldn't want to flop my trip by not getting access rights to do the climbs on my tick-list, and I'm trying to prepare as best I can.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Hey Lucas,

Mt. Whitney is a sweet mountain, here’s some info that might help you out.

1. The walk up permits aren’t actually in person walk ups anymore. They are released 2 weeks ahead of time on recreation.gov. You can get all the details for that at the Inyo NF website. If you have a couple possible timeframes, you shouldn’t have too much trouble snagging a permit.

2. June can be a nice time. Most years, you’ll encounter some snow on the approach in June. Conditions vary a lot year to year in June. Last year was very snowy up there for a long time! Track the weather, check the webcams and route ticks as you get closer to get an idea of conditions. I’d definitely expect snow in the mountaineers route descent. A light axe and crampons that fit your hiking/approach shoes or boots go a long way to traveling safely and efficiently in that terrain. Nights will be chilly, as you’re at 12,500. East face routes obviously get morning sun and if you’re up quickly, you can have an enjoyable sunny climb. Keep an eye on the weather before your trip of course. Whitney can get very real storms any time of year.

If you don’t luck out with permits, there are many other routes as good and better than those you mentioned. Check out Vitalys new book, and here on MP for all that.

I’ve done both those routes you mentioned and others on/around Whitney, let me know if you have any other questions.