Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Where to rest before the hike

The old mountaineering adage concerning efficient acclimatization is "climb high, sleep low." Meaning, to trigger your body's blood-oxygen carrying capacity you must climb high, high enough to trigger the change, and then sleep lower than your high point that day, while still at altitude, for your body to rest and keep that oxygen-increasing process rolling as you sleep. I'm not currently aware of any research that shows anything different (please let me know if you know of more recent research).

I usually recommend doing a warm-up hike the day prior (above 8,000) making sure that you are hiking uphill, for at least 30 minutes, until your heart rate hits your anaerobic threshold* for a couple of minutes. This is the "climb high" portion. I never go very hard, then I will spend the night before Whitney sleeping above 7000'. Any high campground in the Eastern Sierra will do: Horseshoe Meadows especially, even Onion Valley is within striking distance of the Portal.

I will make a caveat concerning sleeping high, but lower than your hiking high point. Good sleep is important. Some folks have a hard enough time sleeping at sea level. If you believe that sleeping in Lone Pine gives you a better chance of getting good rest than toughing out a stoic night at 7k-10k elevation, then do that. If you hike high the day before, you've still done your body a big favor.




* = FYI, if you are not familiar your anaerobic threshold is 80-95% of your max heart rate and can be calculated this way: (220 - Your age) x 0.80 = Minimum Anaerobic HR.