Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion anyone interested in hiking Mt. Whitney this Sunday 9/28/14?

I have a permit for up to 4, but it looks like the others won't be able to make it so I have some open spots. The plan is to drive up from LA on Saturday afternoon and camp at Whitney Portal, start hiking at 4am or 5am, and reach the summit in 4-5 hours.

Since I've never done this summit before, I'd prefer not to do it alone and would like to go with another person or group. Let me know if you are interested!

Hi,

I would like to join you up Whitney, but I can only do it after the weekend of Sept. 27-28. Can you go during the first weekend in October? I am in LA as well.

Thanks.

I'm going to be going on this Sunday. The following weekend won't work for me, and there is no guarantee to be permits available and that the weather will cooperate until then. It is already pretty late in the season.

But if your schedule frees up for this weekend, let me know!

Just a note: There is a slight chance of precipitation coming through for this weekend. So be prepared.

Also, it is late in the season. Even though online numbers show all slots are reserved, it is highly likely that if you show up on Friday morning, you will be able to get walk-in (free) permits to hike on Saturday (and the same on Saturday for a Sunday hike).

If you are willing to hike on a weekday, there is no problem with permits -- Look at last years unused permits numbers for September.

Yes, that's true. How do you think the precipitation would effect the hike? Do you think the trail could become dangerous or would it just be a little less comfortable?

"reach the summit in 4-5 hours"

"Since I've never done this summit before"

Anyone besides me raising their eyebrows at this?

(Average time to summit closer to 7 to 9 hours?)

I know a few who can regularly crank out a 5-hour ascent in ideal conditions, but in most cases they're folks who've done this mountain many dozens of times. Doug Thompson gives an average of 10 hours up and 6 down for a main trail first-timer, but that's again just an average based on his experience. A five-hour ascent on one night's acclimation is moving pretty damn fast (and certainly not stopping to smell the sky pilot, so to speak), so yeah, the eyebrows twitched a bit when I read it. Steve D may be a high-altitude beast, and 6300 vf over 11 miles in 5 hours may be doable for him - but not for 95% of us. Hope we hear back after the climb.

Hey guys, thanks for the concern. Although I haven't climbed Mt. Whitney before, I am an experienced hiker in very good shape and have done many other tough hikes recently.

I did San Gorgonio twice in the past few months and also have done Mt Baldy many times and Mt Wilson a couple of times. I did San Gorgonio by myself on the South Fork Trail and made it up 9.8 miles and 4600 gain to 11,500' in 3 hours 20 minutes. I also did the Vivian Creek Trail which is 9.3 miles and 5400' in elevation, although I was with a group and the time wasn't fast. I've previously hiked Mt. Baldy with a friend which is 4.6 miles and 4000' gain to 10,000' (very steep) in 1 hour 50 minutes. Based on this, I think a goal of 4-5 hours is reasonable. I wouldn't be disappointed if it took longer. If I go with other people who are not as fast, that is ok as well.

I am not too concerned with the distance or the elevation gain, but the high summit elevation and possibly poor conditions (wind, rain, snow, cold) do concern me a bit. I haven't ever been above 12k elevation before, but I feel that all the hikes at 10k and 11.5k recently should help prepare me. For all those hikes, I did not acclimate at all, driving straight from 500' elevation in Los Angeles to the mountain and hiking straight up. Heading up the day before to camp at 8k should help somewhat with that, but it is still a concern. I did have a slight headache towards the top of San Gorgonio.

Not referring to anyone's hiking abilities, just the choice of nomenclature: does it bug anyone else when guys talk about "doing" mountains?

It's like "Yeah, I did Marcia a couple of times, I did Cindy back in grade school, I do Jan every other weekend."

C'mon, at least give them the honor of a real verb.

Don't worry, I don't post too often.

That backfill info is much appreciated Steve. If you've not been above 12K' prior, you'll likely find that the additional 2500' of elevation slows you down more than you might expect. The 12-13K' level seems to be the "wall" where many hikers begin feeling the effects of AMS, conditioning being completely irrelevant. You'll be above 13K' for quite a few miles, and around 14K' for a surprisingly long period. I doubt if your pace between 12K' and 14.5K' will be the same as you are used to below 12K'. This is very, very common for hikers of all ability ranges, so don't be surprised if it happens. You might consider adjusting your start time to take this in to account, especially if the weather forecast is unsettled. Most Whitney dayhikers try to start about 2:00 am. A second night of sleeping high before the hike might help your acclimatization tremendously if you can squeeze it in. The nearby Horseshoe Meadow campground is at 10K', significantly higher than the Portal, and many choose to try and get at least one night there.

Weather and the trail: if it's rain, no biggie if you're properly geared - just expect to move slower and be a bit miserable. If it's snow up high, watch your footing along the backside of the crest. Nothing inherently dangerous in the trail design for an experienced hiker, but it does narrow in a somewhat gnarly fashion and has pronounced exposure. You'll be above timberline for about 12 miles total on the hike, and rock + snow can be a dicey combination. A fresh snowfall turns many people back along that last couple of miles between the JMT junction and the summit - it feels dangerously above their pay grade, especially if hypoxia/AMS has jumped their back.

Bottom line, be careful of your pace. Enjoy the hike and try not to make blazing up the trail your priority, especially since this is new territory and elevation for you. An aggressive approach to this mountain has flamed out many a peak-conditioned marathoner well before the summit. Best of luck. Looking forward to your TR.

You need to make sure Mt. Whitney doesn't "do" you, as it has countless others. Whitney is a whole new ball-game compared to those easy peaks you listed.

The weather forecast (just in case you haven't checked) is for below freezing temps and 20% chance of snow. LOL. You might find yourself right in the middle of the "20%" on the summit ridge.

You will probably ignore the advice you've been given, but don't let personal ambition override personal survival. Good luck.

FWIW, some relevant trip report info just posted on another thread:

Past Trail Crest, the remaining 2 miles to the summit are much more difficult than I had anticipated due to the combination of altitude and rough trail. The amazing views more than made up for the difficulty of the hike, but don't underestimate that section even though there's less elevation gain.

Despite being in good shape - currently run a couple of marathons per year and do crossfit 3-4 times per week - it took over 8 hours to reach the summit. I could have pushed and gone faster (or carried less weight), but the hike was more physically demanding than I had expected. In hindsight leaving some of my extra items in my pack at the intersection of the JMT trail would have been a good idea.

Descent back to Whitney Portal took about 6 hours - making for an almost 15-hour round trip.

Full TR here .

And another FWIW: at 14.5K' there is approximately 16% less oxygen in the air than at 10K'. That is significant, especially if you're exerting in an oxygen-indebted or barely oxygen-balanced way. Almost guaranteed to bring on AMS in most folks.

Thanks again for the helpful tips. The weather keeps getting colder and colder for Sunday from the links on the side of this site! Right now the low for Saturday night at the portal is 33 and the high at the summit is 33 with possibility of thunderstorms! I think I need to buy some warmer clothes/gloves/hat if I am going to make it up this. Camping out in 33 the night before doesn't sound so fun.

I'm gonna keep my eye on the weather as it gets closer and hope it gets a bit better for Saturday night and Sunday.

Steve, definitely be prepared for cold, wet, and snow this time of season. That can happen in any month of the year on Whitney, but it's especially important during the transitional months of Sep/Oct. Your pack may be heavier than you'd like, but you know the old adage: fail to plan, plan to fail. People die on this mountain virtually every year, often because just one thing went wrong that they weren't prepared for. There have already been two fall-related fatalities just this summer, both in relatively good weather conditions. Many others get in serious trouble when weather catches them unprepared. Inyo SAR stays quite busy on Whitney.

Based on the resume of peaks you mentioned, expect this to be another few notches higher on both the difficulty and misery scales. The best way to breeze through this hike is to be prepared not to, if that makes sense. It's not technical in any way, just a walk-up, but by all accounts it's one of the most difficult walk-ups in the country, even when the weather is fine. As I pointed out earlier, you spend a lot of time between 13K' and 14.5K' on this hike, and that's just not the case on most typical fourteeners. If you had a headache at 11K' on Gorgonio, expect much worse at 13K' and higher unless you can acclimate well or have Diamox in your system.

Not trying to rain on your parade, just pointing out some truths for consideration from personal experience. When I first attempted Whitney a few years ago, I underestimated badly. I had a few Colorado fourteeners under my belt, and quite a number of 10-12K' peaks as well from the Rockies, Sierra, and Cascades. I figured Whitney would just be a little longer version of what I was used to. I had minimal acclimation and was motoring along pretty strongly the first 6 miles. But by the time I was at 13K' on the switchbacks the only case of AMS I've ever experienced hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm not kidding when I say those were absolutely the worst hours of my life, trying to get back down safely (and solo). And I'm not saying that lightly, considering I once spent several hours dangling in a climbing harness 400 feet above the ground on Cathedral Peak with a useless, injured shoulder. I was much more confident I'd get down safely from that technical climb than I was about descending 8 miles on Whitney's walk-up trail with full-blown AMS.

Anyway, your posts remind me very much of my mindset before I tried Whitney the first time. My point is simply, take this mountain seriously. It's not Baldy or one of the Sannys, especially this time of year. Be prepared, be safe, and best of luck.

The weather is still looking pretty bad and I haven't found anyone who can go with me...I think I am going to postpone this and give it a try next year. I'll try to plan ahead a bit better and go towards the end of August or early September. I suppose I can try for the lottery, although its tough for me to plan that far ahead with my job, let alone get a group of people to plan that far ahead.

I may give the cactus to clouds hike a try in a month or so once it cools down a bit. I've heard many accounts that this hike is even harder than Mt. Whitney!

Steve D, you can walk up almost any day and pick up a free walk-in permit to hike the following day, as long as you go the right times. If that might work for you, we can give you the info.

Good luck with C-2-C. I think 62Chevy here has a nice report on the hike.