bulldog34 had some good advice for my friends flying out from Tennessee and Maine last year. He also made a good point regarding training for 'sustained/continuous gain.' If he doesn't chime in, I'd send him a PM.
Thanks Chevy, but I'm at a loss on this one. My particular wheelhouse is helping fellow Eastern flatlanders understand what they're up against the first time they try a mountain like Whitney. Ullr24 has an impressive mountaineering resume, so there's no question he understands his task thoroughly. His challenge is trying to train for it in the
really flat Houston area. Other than the ideas already floated, I'm stumped.
"Flatlander" is a relative term when talking about the Sierra. At least most folks in the east have some smallish mountain range within a reasonable distance that they can target for at least a semblance of gain-training, but the Gulf Coast is second only to Florida in the Ridiculously Flat category.
A friend from Orlando successfully summitted Whitney a few years ago, preparing only by running lots of miles, using a Stair-Master, and hitting his local high school stadium steps. Like you, Ullr24, he was an experienced mountaineer (great quote - "What's more useless than a mountaineer banished to Florida?"), so his background helped greatly when he got above 12K' and had to battle that deficit of purpose-training. I suspect your experience will kick in at some point on the mountain if you can't get in the gain-train beforehand, but I bet it'll hurt.
Personally, I'd make it a point to get in one or two weekend trips to the closest mountain range of any substance before that Sierra date rolls around, and tackle the real thing. I expect to be around the Portal the last week of July, so hopefully we'll cross paths and I can hear how it went firsthand.
Oh, and on the Sunday 7 pm flight from LAX - the last two times I drove LAX to Lone Pine it took about 4.5 hours each. And remember, it's at least 20-25 minutes from the Portal to Lone Pine. Presumably rental car return and checked luggage to slow things down even further? And, of course, if this is what happens, your flight WILL be on time, with boarding beginning at 6:35 sharp. Murphy's Law. Ditto on the comment about speeding along 395 - not a great idea. Insidious CHP and local law speed trap. You'd have about the same chance of making the flight as the Astros do of winning the World Series this year. You'll need a REALLY early wake-up on summit day if you stick with that return flight.
Gary
