Hey All,
I and 3 other friends are planning to hike Mt. Whitney via the Mountaineers route in June this year. While we have never Mountanieered before, we do have plenty of experience backpacking. Our most recent trip was Teton Crest Trail which offered decent altitude (compared to sea level where we live) and steep terrain.
I wanted to ask for general advice and guidance on how we can best prepare for this trip, and make sound decisions while on the trip.
Here is our Itinerary:
Day 1: Fly into LAX, drive to the sierras, sleep at Whitney Portal
Day 2: Perform day hike to get as high as we can, return and sleep at Whitney Portal (any recommended routes for this??)
Day 3: Hike from Whitney Portal to Iceberg Lake, sleep at Iceberg Lake, Practice using crampons and ice ax near Ice burg lake. Practice climbing with crampons and Ice Axe.
Day 4: Wake at 4:30 am, Summit Mt. Whitney, go to Consultation lake, sleep at Consultation lake.
Day 5: Hike out, Fly home.
Questions: 1. We have not used crampons or Ice ax before, and some people make this route sound like you're going to die if you haven't climbed everest before. However, I've seen plenty of people hike this in shorts and minimal gear. Even people I would say are not "in shape" Aside from the altitude problem, how hard is it really? How should we best prepare besides running and doing stairs?
2. Any recommended sources of maps or other trail information for this route? I've found a few good things online already.
3. Any recommended day hikes for Day 2 of our trip? The goal of this is to "hike high sleep low" to help aclimate to altitude.
4. Can you recommend any good reading sources for learning to navigate snowfileds and class 3 climbes like this one? Unfortunately taking a class or training trip before this is not an option, so I'm doing as much research as possible, and if we get up there and don't summit, so be it, that is a goal, bu I also want to come home
Thanks!
