Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Whitney 1 day Hike Training

I hiked lots of miles, lots of local hills, ran, rode bike, stairmaster, etc..... but the most important thing I did was put in 4 hikes where I got above 10,000 feet in the 6 weeks before my first summit. I have included my first Whitney attempt, in which I stopped on the switchbacks.
If you're in shape, you should be able to summit Whitney. Hiking to "elevation" (what I consider 10,000 feet) cannot be taken lightly. Being at elevation is one thing, but actually hiking at elevation works wonders for your conditioning.

As a note, the only problem I see for a first time hiker on Whitney is you leaving at 10:30 or so to make Sunrise. The trail is not hard to find, but above Mirror Lake it can be hard to know where to go. It's best to follow someone up that area.

Also, Steve.... I don't see how they can make a summit Sunrise by 5:48 A.M.... There are many hikers on the boards that can, but 7 hours and 15 minutes is pretty fast, especially for a first timer. I think my first time day hike took appx 9 hours to the summit. Maybe you guys should consider doing an overnight and camping at Trail Camp, then heading out early. Just a thought.