Mt Whitney Zone Forums Thread Like Summary - Thanks everyone, we made it to the top!

To those folks who gave us suggestions, we thank you. We summited on July 22! It was definitely not easy, and a very long day. To those who haven't hiked up Mount Whitney yet, please know that it is doable. If you don't have issues with altitude sickness, I think you'll be just fine. I was quite nervous about those 99 switchbacks I kept reading about, but felt they weren't that bad once I was on them. My husband and I are by no means athletes, but we managed to summit. I just wanted to give some encouragement and wish you all luck! Cindy

In my opinion, the difficulty of the 99 switchbacks is VASTLY overstated. I personally think the most difficult part of the hike is the portion between Mirror Lake and Trail Camp. That section is FAR steeper than the 99 switchbacks. And the many TALL steps (ie 12+ inches) make it all the more difficult. The 99 switchbacks are far less steep, and don’t have so many steps. It’s mostly just walking up a trail. The way I see things, once you get to Trail Camp, the hardest part of the hike is over.