Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Do people understand what they are undertaking??

Those stories are more entertaining than stories of beginners. What do you think the news is for?

Dale B. Dalrymple

Just a clarification:

"an altitude change of some 13,000 ft..."

The elevation gain in hiking Whitney from the portal to the summit is about 6100 feet.

I am constantly amazed at the amount of unprepared people attempting Whitney as a day hike. But the permit system itself tends to weed out many of the more egregrious couch potatoes.

By far the most unprepared people I ever see on ANY hiking trail is Half Dome. Countless of them literally have no water, no packpack, no nothin'. The Grand Canyon rim to rim is a close second, and that is literally life threatening if it's done in the heat.

The long lead up of the Whitney trail selects the people who can use it. I agree with Ken also that the permit system keeps the most accident prone off the trail. In addition to that, most people that would run into trouble know they are not prepared and give their permits up before even setting foot on the trail. I am really impressed with the way the Inyo National Forest manages the Whitney zone and gives the people a little danger to make the adventure worth it. As Kevin pointed out, the MWT is well designed and well maintained and offers the best opportunity for the novice to experience the alpine Sierra.

New to this forum. It's fascinating. Never thought I'd set MW as a goal but now I have. I'm intrigued. A friend is doing it next week and I'm convinced she is not ready. That said, I want to support her effort to "try" and trust she will know when to stop and turn around. It's difficult to tell someone that the may be exceeding "reasonable expectations." Another friend will do it and he may succeed only by sheer will. He certainly has the aerobic capacity and muscle strength but there are other aspects to the hike that well, excuse the pun, are "up in the air" for him. Me...I'd love to "try" it with them knowing I'd be doing well if I made it to mile 5 or 6. I am no where near ready...but researching etc., it has become fascinating to me to set about trying this next year. I think many of the failures or people who "have no clue" merely wanted to "try." Perhaps they needed the lesson of actually experiencing what MW has as a challenge so that they can learn what to DO so that they can succeed. Failure is a necessity for success in many instances. Personally, I like to research a lot and prepare a lot before making an attempt...others just "wing it." I really can't fault either approach and trust that many are smart enough to know when to quit. There will ALWAYS be those that push too much or just do stupid things. I look forward to getting tips on this board for my training and attempt next year.

I just do not look at it as failure. I have climb for weeks trying summit big mountains only to have to abort hours short of the top. I have never though of it as failure. It was a decision based on safety. In fact, on both occasions I marvel at how far I did get.

So the original poster was correct in saying CHANGE was 13,000 ft. Add 6,100 up + 6,100 down = 12 or 13,000 give or take.

Harvey

And it's that 6100 feet of loss that people under-estimate the first time out of the chute.

Thank you Ken. Seems like most people on the board dont get that how did they become such "The great hikers"........Oh they learned from mistakes.

Perhaps there should be a "Mistakes made" thread?

Some of you state you "made mistakes, but were still able to summit" what were your mistakes...for those that didn't but will try again and NOT make prior mistakes, what were the mistakes that prevented you?

jna, I am excited for your enthusiasm about MW. You have Whitney in your sights to coin an LA times article headline.

For me, I made it to the Summit Hut in 2009 and here are 3 mistakes

1) poor breathing technique and a heart jumping out of my chest like a Hannah Barberra cartoon character
2) not enough water, real unadultered water, not that cytomax red stuff.
3) Not enough salty stuff like pretzels and PB&J.

All this happened during the Ridge Route.

Well, that pulmonary and cardiology effect is a "mistake" in the sense of lack of sufficient acclimatization, common to many dayhikers on Whitney. "Breathing right" alone will not fix all that, only time. Your personal acclimatization rate is a highly individual factor. Only repeat exposure and experience will answer the question of how much time is needed. Harvey

Perhaps "failure" is too harsh a word. The lack of "doing" something, anything, ca be and often is the result of one or more influences. Choice is one. I choose to stop for any one or more of a variety of reasons, safety, current inability etc. I agree it's not a sign of lack of ability...for that moment in time you did not do justifably or otherwise.

I think what I wanted to comment on is that people attempt things for just as many reasons backed by reason and sometimes backed by lack of reason. In either case it is judgmental. If someone attempts MW without proper preparation...is that necessarily "bad?" It could be unhealthy, it could be fatal it could be a myriad of things. It could also be something quite positive...a learning experience for what to DO the next time. Edison did not see his 10,000 failures as "failures" necessarily but as 10,000 things that were necessities to get to the DO, the right answer...i.e. the filament the lit the bulb. Perspective is key. Will I be ready in a year to DO this hike? I hope so. If am unable for whatever reason, I hope that I will LEARN what TO DO so I can make a successful summit ONE DAY

Ain't that the stinking truth. You prepare for the up but not the down.

I run hills now and my average hike during the 3-seasons is +4,000'. My knees no longer scream at me on the way down from Mt. Whitney...just my feet.