View Full Version : Mt. Whitney
My family is planning a trip to California this summer so obviously I've got to go hiking or backpacking.
I'm looking at trying to day hike Mt. Whitney. Has anyone here done this before? What was it like? Is it reasonable to day hike it instead of taking a couple days?
I've looked at the permit registration quotas and there are still plenty of day hiking spots left during the week in july and august so I should be able to get a permit if I decide to do it.
I think it's about 8 miles one way from Whitney Portal. The trail has 100 switchbacks and over 6000' of elevation gain! If you have a few days another, easier, alternative is to hike Cottonwood Pass from Horseshoe Meadows near Lone Pine and take the PCT to Crabtree Meadows to the JMT and down to the portal. That's about 38 miles. It's also a lot easier to get a permit if you come in from the west.
Thanks Sly:
38 miles (ouch) I would love to do that but I don't think I'd have enough days. How many days do you think it would take the average person to do that? Do you know of any shorter routes than that?
Thanks Sly:
38 miles (ouch) I would love to do that but I don't think I'd have enough days. How many days do you think it would take the average person to do that? Do you know of any shorter routes than that?
No shorter way that I know of except up and down. Lots of folks camp about at about 6 miles (3700' gain) at Trail Camp, then bag the mountain in the morning, before descending..
The Weasel
04-02-2008, 18:47
My family is planning a trip to California this summer so obviously I've got to go hiking or backpacking.
I'm looking at trying to day hike Mt. Whitney. Has anyone here done this before? What was it like? Is it reasonable to day hike it instead of taking a couple days?
I've looked at the permit registration quotas and there are still plenty of day hiking spots left during the week in july and august so I should be able to get a permit if I decide to do it.
MTS --
Go to the Whiteney official website (sorry I don't have the link just now) and try to get a permit. That's the only way to do it unless you're thru-ing the PCT or the John Muir Trail. If you don't get one, you can TRY to line up at the Ranger Station (I think it needs to be the one in Lone Pine, CA) VERY early the morning you want to and HOPE you can get one (in the summer there is ALWAYS a line, and I think people start lining up the day before).
Don't wait long. The permits will fill up fast.
TW
Here's someone account that did it in 2002.
http://home.earthlink.net/~ellozy/mount-whitney-2002.html
Sly: If I did do the way you suggested, I would just have to get a regular permit right? Which is of course much easier.
Sly: If I did do the way you suggested, I would just have to get a regular permit right? Which is of course much easier.
Yes, it's my understanding it's much, much easier to get the permit if you hike in from PCT.
Here's some photos (not mine) of the hike.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/551991927dpoMGU
There's a tarn (small lake) about 3 miles below the summit with an awesome view of the surrounding mountains and Guitar Lake that's a great campsite.
Edit: It looks like they may have taken New Army Pass rather than Cottonwood Pass. That may save a couple miles.
If you PM me your addy I'll try to scan and email the maps you'll need.
The Weasel
04-02-2008, 20:36
Doing Whitney "fast" is incredibly dangerous.
If you're coming from a near-sea level area, say elevation of 1,000 feet or less, when you get to Lone Pine you'll only be at 3,700 feet. That's not enough to acclimatize you to climb Whitney's 14,000 feet, even though you get to drive to Whitney Portal (el. 8300 +/-). Climbing in a single day even after just one night there isn't enough to prevent altitude sickness, and people literally can die from that.
If you're going to do the hike in (about 40 miles) to do it without a permit, that's the PCT, which is somewhat easier than the AT, but at elevation, if you're not in perfect (and I mean PERFECT) physical shape, altitude acclimitization (sorry for spelling) will slow you to 2-3 days or even 4 to do 40 miles.
Anyone considering Whitney needs to learn about altitude sickness prevention and treatment. This isn't a walk you should just say, "I'm gonna be in the neighborhood, I think I'll bag Whitney."
TW
The Weasel:
I completely agree with you. I guess I figured at first that it wasn't really a big deal simply b/c of the fact that the park allows 100 day hikers each day to climb whitney and the spots pretty much always get filled up so why would it be dangerous...but of course it still is.
I'd like to try the longer route that Sly suggested. Do you have any specific advice? I'm not a fast hiker and the fact that you said with the altitude that it might take as long as 4 days.....I was planning on 4 days while not even thinking about the altitude so that kind of worries me.
I've done the Whitney Portal trail a couple of times. You definitely need to allow time for altitude acclimation. I suffered mild altitude sickness going over the top and was definitely feeling "puny" the second night at Guitar Lake. At the base camp (around 11K ft. you will find that just getting up and walking a few yards will have you breathing heavy if you've driven into Lone Pine from, say LA, quickly.
The Weasel
04-02-2008, 21:39
MTS:
There are a number of really great web pages about people who start south of Mt W about 40 miles and try to use that as a basis for a "PCT thru" permit. If you don't find them, let me know and I'll go look for them.
I'm planning on doing Mt W in the next year or so, but it's a LOT of training. I'll probabably summit Mt San Gorgonio (highest in So Cal) as a practice several times (1-2 days, 8,000 feet from a start of about 2,000) and a couple others.
To do the "long entry" of 40 miles, what I've heard is that it's a solid 3 days of hiking, which gets most people acclimatized, even more so with 4, and #5 as the summit day. It's a LONG hike straight up, as you'll see from the web pages. But worth it, from everything I've heard.
My plan is to overnight in Lone Pine, which is a start, and then overnight at 5-6000 feet, then hike in for 4 days, then up and out on day 6. Altitude sickness can be a little nastier when you're older (60 here), so I want to be prudent.
If you don't have the time for all that, hiking in the area is truly awesome, even if you don't summit W. Check out Lone Pine, too. Hoppy, the Lone Ranger, Indy and Anakin all liked it, too.
TW
Another thing to consider is what time of year you plan to "summit" Whitney and how much snow the area got this winter. I don't know what this winter has produced, but it's not uncommon for the trail from base camp to the summit to be in deep snow well into June after heavy snow years.
Yeah, some people suffer altitude sickness, especially when they gain altitude quickly. Fortunately I've never had a serious problem. You may want to get Diamox or just make sure to turn around if you're suffering.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetazolamide
Jim Adams
04-02-2008, 21:49
I did Whitney in '07. I was hiking the PCT, going slow, lots of zero days and photography. Now you have to understand that I am a little old fat man but I had walked about 700 miles of the PCT and been above 8K' for the previous 10 days...I stayed a night in Lone Pine and then went up the Portal to Trail Camp, stayed over night, climbed to the summit the next day and then decended to Crab Tree Meadows.....it kicked my ass!...but oh soooo incredible!
geek
I did Whitney in '07. I was hiking the PCT, going slow, lots of zero days and photography. Now you have to understand that I am a little old fat man but I had walked about 700 miles of the PCT and been above 8K' for the previous 10 days...I stayed a night in Lone Pine and then went up the Portal to Trail Camp, stayed over night, climbed to the summit the next day and then decended to Crab Tree Meadows.....it kicked my ass!...but oh soooo incredible!
geek
Did the same exact thing in '04 at age 59 this hiker is a young man of 21 and shouldn't have any problems
doodah man
04-02-2008, 22:22
My family is planning a trip to California this summer so obviously I've got to go hiking or backpacking.
I'm looking at trying to day hike Mt. Whitney. Has anyone here done this before? What was it like? Is it reasonable to day hike it instead of taking a couple days?
I've looked at the permit registration quotas and there are still plenty of day hiking spots left during the week in july and august so I should be able to get a permit if I decide to do it.
mts4602,
I have summited via the "Mt Whitney Trail" in a single day three different times. This is the most common route to the top from the Whitney Portal and is straight forward class I hiking. It is 22 miles round trip with a total elevation gain a bit over 6300 feet. Depending on conditions it has taken me as little as 12 hours and as long as 16 hours. If your technical skills are good enough, from the same starting location you can take the "Mountaineers Route". This is class 2 with a small bit of class 3 scrambling near the top. This route is 9.5 miles round trip. (My wife gave emphatic NO to this route so we always take the longer but less technical route.) We live in Los Angles near sea level and the altitude was not that big of a deal for us. (The reduced oxygen in the air is certainly noticeable, but we always spent the night at the portal, 8365 feet, to help get acclimated and to be able to get a pre-sunrise start). First time on top, couldn't see 20 feet because it was snowing! doodah-man
Waaaaay back at age 27, I hauled 14 days worth of food up Whitney Portal at the start of doing the John Muir Trail + the rest of Yosemite (about 300 miles). The reason I had so much food was the first food resupply from Whitney Portal is Reds Meadows, 150 miles north. Talk about that assent kicking butt? :) But a group felt sorry for me and fed me watermelon on top of Mt. Whitney! :)
The Solemates
04-03-2008, 11:28
to day hike whitney via the main trail is 21 miles round trip from whitney portal.
it is NOT 8 miles up, as Sly suggested.
we just did this not too long ago. we fly into sea level only one day prior and had no problems with altitude. everyone is different, however. i've certainly had my share of altitude sickness climbing other peaks...not sure why i wasnt affected at all on whitney since its the highest ive done. perhaps because we did it in a day.
it is a grueling day, but easily doable. It is certainly not a family trip.
to day hike whitney via the main trail is 21 miles round trip from whitney portal.
it is NOT 8 miles up, as Sly suggested.
we just did this not too long ago. we fly into sea level only one day prior and had no problems with altitude. everyone is different, however. i've certainly had my share of altitude sickness climbing other peaks...not sure why i wasnt affected at all on whitney since its the highest ive done. perhaps because we did it in a day.
it is a grueling day, but easily doable. It is certainly not a family trip.
Yes I noticed that it is actually around 10.7 one way, not 8. If I run out of options, then overnighting at the portal and then doing it in one day is what I'll probably do........but of course spending 4 days or so would be much more enjoyable. It all depends on what happens with my family's trip since they will be my ride.
Luckly I have the hook up..my aunt lives in San Francisco and loves hiking as well so at the very least I could probably get a ride from her if my parents can't do it..or she may come along..lots of possibilities:)
Sorry about that. I came and went from the backside and most likely mix the mileage from Crabtree Meadows. Anyway, that would make the hike from Horseshoe Meadows to Whitney Portal closer to 40 miles. Regardless, if you can manage the time it will be an awesome hike.
The Weasel
04-03-2008, 13:55
MT --
I know many people who have done it in one day, but you MUST be totally familiar with altitude sickness, and if you have a companion (STRONGLY recommended) they should be, too. Treatment is always easy - DESCEND NOW! - but essential. Do NOT keep going. Make sure you know that.
There are a few things that can be done to improve your ability to avoid it; do what you can. Good luck!
TW
climbabout
04-04-2008, 08:41
I have done Whitney in the late winter twice as well as Mount Rainier a couple of times, so I may be able to offer you some help - all of the suggestions so far have been good - especially the advice about descending - that is the sure cure, no doubt. Mild altitude sickness is normal on a quick ascent like you are considering - mild nausea, headache, loss of appetite, etc. The key to not having this turn serious is to descend quickly. Were you to summit and spend the night up high, there's a good chance that the mild symptoms would turn serious. You could develop fluid buildup in your lungs or brain, rendering you unable to descend on your own. I'm actually going back to Rainier this summer as part of a fundraiser for the American Lung Association called the "Climb for Clean Air", which I've done twice before. It's a quick ascent and descent (9000ft up and 9000ft down)over a little more than 24 hrs. It's guided by RMI and they give you a lot of great tips regarding dealing with the altitude. All of them are outlined on this site I've found that gives a lot of tips to make your climb more enjoyable and help you minimize the effects of altitude:
http://www.bodyresults.com/E2altitudecoping.asp
Good Luck
Tim