Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Am I ready? Uh, no. You're not.

So, you've got your permits. You've made your Hostel reservations. You've maxed out your credit card at REI. You're cutting the extra straps off your Camelbak cozy to try and get your daypack under 40 pounds. You've been doing the Stairmaster at the gym for a month now and yesterday you did it at the highest setting. You got in trouble with your boss because every time she walks by, you're on this message board looking at pictures.

Are you ready? (Who knows?)

What surprises me is that no one bothers to just put on their pack and see how long it takes them to walk 22 miles. It doesn't matter if you're in Kathmandu or Kansas, on a lonely gravel road or traipsing through the Mall of America. Have you simply walked the mileage without resorting to having Cousin Billy give you a lift "those last couple miles" or sinking into a Starbucks couch with an iced mocha for a "breather" half way through? (Yes, I know I put the Starbucks on the summit, but for those of you still hoping, it really was a joke---the guy leaning against the wall in the pic was a French climber who crawled to the summit hut, lit a cigarette and then promptly passed out.)

I'm not trying to be too much of a smart-ass, but seriously: Just walk the mileage where you live and then start compounding the factors of terrain, altitude, elements, safety, training and equipment. If you bothered to do this then a good number of your questions (which can and will ONLY pertain to you individually and can't possibly be answered by anyone else) would be solved.

Make it a good trip for yourself---and let's try and keep the epics to a minimum (and keep SAR lot less busy) this season.

Cheers.

Right on, Axeman! BTW, love that SBUX pic!

Hiking 22 miles in 6,300 feet of elevation gain from 8,365 to 14,497 (whatever) will be very long day.

A good "walking" pace for me is 3 mph. 22 divided by 3 equals 7 hours and 20 minutes. BTW, I have never walked 22 miles. Hiked, yes, walked, no.

My first trip up Mecca West took me 17h 12m 25.03s. I started at 1:40 a.m. and my "day" ended at 6:52 p.m. Kicked my gluteal regions. I knew what I was going up against. I just took my time while at the entrance to the Whitney Zone, Outpost, Trailside Meadows, Trail Camp, Trail Crest. I almost stopped here because the gentleman who was our leader had a fear of heights...go figure...and I, too, didn't care for that stretch of terra firma between TC and the down the backside with the wind blowing, but I maintained my composure. I was at the summit for only 30 minutes.

Some of you may argue, "Well, when I train for marathons I don't start out at 26 miles...I build up my endurance for several weeks leading up to the event."

If I am not mistaken, there are aid stations along the marathon route. Aint' none on the Whit.

Some people contend "If I can run marathons (ultra, too), I can hike to the top of Whitney!"

Wrong. I have seen those marathoners hit the wall at Trail Camp.

Gear up, get up, get out, get going and get it done.

Have fun...

I don't believe you have to run a marathon in training to race a marathon but you need to know what you have to do to get ready.

I wasn't ready my first trip and those lessons got me through the trail a lot more comfortably the second time.

There are a lot of things people can do to make this trip a lot easier on themselves.

If you are a SoCal or NoCal day hiker there is no excuse for not going to 14,000' before your Whitney trip, if your hike is in July or later. White Mtn. is there for the taking in late May or early June most years. This is a better test than anything you will find in SoCal or NoCal.

Then there is the headlight thingy, most will not go out to the favorite trail in the dark to see their light is worth the money they paid for it.

BTW, I've seen a tri-athlete blow out his energy stores by the sheep pens at Barcroft Labs, White Mountain. He had one heck of a bad day this easy fourteener.

I'm not sure I'm ready for the 60 mile, 4 day trip I planned, and at this time last year I feel like I had done more to ready myself for my first Whitney ascent. Last year I was greatly fearing that the much younger guys I was going with (them from late 20's to mid 30's, while I'm 47) were going to need to carry me down from the mountain. I had just heard so many stories about how hard it was. So I took training and diet seriously, and made it. Yes, it was hard, but I still made it, Portal to Portal, in 14 hours and change.

So now I've been trying to not get over confident about things, and get lax in my training and lifestyle. I think my trip through Cottonwood pass up to Whitney, and back down same, is going to tax me beyond what we did last year, just from the total miles per day. I'm getting wild-eyed looks from my younger friends, about the prospect of essentially hiking an average of 15 miles a day for 4 days straight. Am I crazy? I don't know, but I'm going to have to double-time the training if I expect to make it to the summit via the west side, after 2 days of 30 miles. I think I'm going to have to lower my expectations about how much fishing we do on this trip for sure. I can't wait.

No, you don't have to train at 26 miles before you race your first marathon, but it sure helps. I ran 26.22 miles four times before I entered my first marathon. Two of those runs were on the actual marathon course. It sure was nice to know exactly what to expect on race day.

If a marathoner hits the wall at trail camp, it's probably the altitude, not lack of conditioning.

I agree that getting out and hiking is the best training for hiking. Early in my climbing days, I climbed Mt. Raineer with RMI. At orientation, the guides asked everyone to introduce themselves and tell everyone how they prepared for the climb. My wife and I were the only ones who prepared by climbing.

The longest day hike I did for my 2nd kick at day hike can was 16-miles, +4,600'. I felt comfortable the whole day. I was tired at the end but not totally spent, like I was two years earlier.

Experience is the key to success for the Whitney noob. This is includes long distance hikes, hiking at night, hiking to 14,000', learning about the trail and learning about what works for them. Many start too late, do too little and have to came back a 2nd and 3rd time to succeed.