Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Getting ready for the atlitude!

Hi My favorite topic, if you drive up at 3:00am can't find the parking lot, bathroom ,trailhead water, and take off at a dead run going to the behind the store "TRAILHEAD" I THINK IT'S OVER HERE for about an hour, now hows that to start trip.
We see flash lights and groups doing this every night, coming back down the hillside behind the store and walking around looking for the trailhead/trail.
I think getting to the Portal a day before lets one unwind from the travel,find all of the above and Talk to hikers coming down ,Don't be shy.Ask what the trail is like how long it took to get from the summit to the Portal and how much Stuff they took they didn't need/use
I need two more hours of sleep a night living at the Portal than at lower elevation. And the first several weeks at the start of the season we try to work shorter hours and take breaks often.
The more time one spends at elevation will help but the best most people can do is try to get to the area a day before during the day light relax and get ready for the hike,
Thanks Doug

In the Rob R list 6-17 take weeks,months or years.I dosn't mean to say that there is no effect just that it is not full acclimitization.
The general rule was not quoted correctly it is do not go more than 1000 feet higher per day over 10,000 ft so, it would take 5 days above 10,000 to get basic changes such as the kidneys getting rid of bicarb(this is why Diamox helps)
in order to climb Whitney.For most people this is not practical.So if some helps go for it (and go slow).RR

My advice was not to ignore the issue.Others seem
to think that one day or two sleeping at the portal protects you from Altitude sickness.It won't.It may help for those that adapt easily.
For those that have the time and are sensitive
a week or more at altitude(above 10,000 in this case) would help them.I just wouldn't want people to rush up the mountain impervious to the danger,"acclimitized" with their two days
at altitude.

I've done it with and without an acclamation day or two, tried the Ginkgo, and more or less water and various foods, bars, etc. My personal experience, and it is only that, a day or two of above 8000 ft, drink enough power drink to pee regularly, and eat something with compact energy every few hours makes a world of difference. Not as winded, less or no headaches and body aches. I think it’s worth the planning and discipline. Bottom line it's a lot easier to take in the awesomeness of it all and enjoy the time together when you fell better.

On our <a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~ellozy/mount-whitney-2002.html">2002 trip to Mt. Whitnety</a> we did a dathike along the Meysan Lake Trail on the first day, then drove over to Onion Valley where we spent the night. Next day we backpacked to the beautiful Kearsarge Lakes and slept there (11,000 feet). Next day we returned to Lone Pine for the night, ready for our adventure the day after that.

None of our group of four had any serious altitude related problems, and we enjoyed the acclimatization hikes as much as the main one.

time is usually the enemy in getting used to altitude.

last year, our group got up to lone pine around 11 am, then ran up to the portal and did some day hiking, returned and spent the night at the beautiful dow villa. we had a portal campground reservation for the next night, so we went back up in the morning, hiked again, including a portion of the main trail, had a cheeseburger, then crashed for the night.

we took off next day around 7, and went slow. 2 people had headaches, and one guy who tried to fly up to trail camp, our next overnight spot, suffered some altitude sickness and headed back down.

with our time limits, that's the best we could do. we ran into a guy who said he spent 3 nights at meysan and then lone pine lake and he still couldn't make the summit due to altitude.

All the advice here is sound and can be applied in general to most people. But the thing I see missing most in conversations about acclimitization is that there must be some physiological reason why some people have a more difficult time acclimitizing than others. Everyone is different so whatever technigues one person uses may not work for another.

I have only summitted Whitney twice and both times I had no symptoms of AMS. One trip we drove up to the Portal from Orange County California arriving at midnite and after three hours sleep, did the round trip in 17 hours. On the other trip we camped one night each at the Portal and Trail Camp, summitting on the third day.

It is easy to find causes of AMS but what are the physiological factors influencing one person's ability to acclimitize.

A few years ago I was camping in Cottonwood and met a school teacher who had hiked the John Muir Trail every summer of his adult life, I think he said 19 times. Interesting and intelligent fellow. I mentioned how it seemed that no matter what my age or level of condition (translation: I get heavier each year) every trip to high altitude seemed easier than the last. He said wisely "you learn how to handle the altitude". I understood, You breathe deeper and move differently at altitude, some of this is involuntary but most is a learned response to being out of breath "see BobR's post items #1-6". Its not a thinking type of learning it is more like swimming and how you eventually can glide and float in the water with little effort.

A slow steady pace that keeps your breathing at normal goes a long way towards avoiding headaches. That is why the step/rest lock your knee thing they teach is so effective.

You probably can not really acclimate sleeping one night at 10 or 11,000 feet, but you gain a lot by getting up there and moving around learning to pace your exertion and building confidence. Of course the actual experience of sleeping at some of the higher trailheads Onion Valley, Cotton Wood and The Portal are well worth on their own because those spots are beautiful, except you risk interrupted sleep.

Disclaimer is:
AMS is it is unpredictable, can happen to anyone at any fitness level, and is dangerous. Although I think most climbers on the Whitney Trail who are sick have that other illness "acute exhaustion" anyone who climbs up should learn about AMS (links are posted in other replys) and if they have symptoms of AMS they should turn around.

1988 was my first time on Whitney and my first serious bout with minor ams. My budy and his date and I attempted the main trail after spending the night in the portal. We all carried heavy packs, and pitched the tent as the sun dipped over the mountain tops. Dinner never tasted so good and I passed out right after dinner.

The next morning I was slightly disoriented, had some coffee and realized my tentmates were really sick. Aparently they took turns barfing all night and I snored so loud, they put paper in their ears.

Right after the coffee is when I bacame sick. My head started spinning, I staggered to the outhouse, lost it from both ends, made it back to the tent, and demented I go down. All of us had the same mind-set.

I did not feel ok until about 10000 feet, and walked dejectedly back to the portal. After a shower rest time, I bought a sixer of Bud and carbo loaded for the rest of the day. The other two decided to leave the next morning, and I decided to make a one day attempt. They told me I was nuts!

The next day I cranked that sucker out in just over 8 and half hours. It was a perfect day and I smiled all the way home.

My Friend & I first hiked Whitney in Sept. 1977. We were fairly knowledgeable backpackers but never had spent much time above tree line. We didn’t bother to get any info on the hike; hey we were young, invincible and stupid. We drove to the Portal, parked and immediately hiked to Trail Camp. What an awful night. Couldn’t eat, drank a little water, begged some Aspirin off another hiker. We trudged up to the summit, it could have been Everest as far as we knew, cut up our tube tent to make gaiters to make it thru the snow on the west side. We barely made it. Spend about 5 dizzy mins. on top and got below 11,000 ft ASAP. What a difference 3 decades, a few books, and the Internet makes. A day or two at Cottonwood, water and a snack every hour or so while hiking and this older and wiser man can now really enjoy the view.

I'll offer up the following (and seek input on how you think I'll do in July) - living just above sea level on the Texas Gulf coast, in '03, without much more than three days "at elevation" and with plenty of agua and snacks, I hiked 13,063 Wheeler Peak in Great Basin N.P. Nevada without any significant issues. I learned the breathing is different and my muscles needed rest more often, but I never felt I wouldn't make the top. That trailhead starts around 9800' and the roundtrip is just shy of 10 miles. I'm 56, in "shape" with regular exercise (and the quadruple bypass was 13 1/2 years ago...really) My group's three day permit is third week in July, with camp planned at Outpost (where one not outdoorsy type will remain) then up and back second day, before another night then leave third day. Any predictions on how I'll fare? I'm reading everything I can, don't care to fail, and hopefully with good weather, I'll get to put an entry in the summit log. Let me hear from ya....

Memory, I don't think the physiological factors that you refer to are defined or known, yet. Obviously, genetic, but what specifically is varying, is not known.

67, I think few people summit from Outpost Camp, as it is over 4,000 feet of gain from there, to the summit, at altitude. Some certainly do. Problem is, that altitude can affect a person differently on different trips, and unless you are hiking alone, may affect a companion radically.

67brickie, if you could do Wheeler so easy, you should do just fine with your Outpost plan. Over the years I've taken a number of groups up the main trail and camped at Outpost. I tend to carry heavy backpacks, up to 50 pounds, and it is so much easier for us crazies to drop the weight at Outpost. After Outpost, day packs give you the feeling you're weightless, almost, compared to lugging the heavy packs, and it feels like you're flying up the trail, compared to the slow, heavy backpack trudge the day or two before. Moreover, I love the beauty of Outpost, compared to the lunar landscape at Trail Camp. Yes, I know Trail Camp has its own inate beauty, but I prefer the trees and the bubbling creek that runs through or around Outpost. I have lugged a 70-pounder up to Trail Crest on a trans-Sierra trip, but that is not too pleasant up the east side of Whitney. Outpost Camp is waiting for you!

67: I intend to do the same itinerary you described. We'll stay at Horseshoe Meadows for a night and then Whitney Portal for a second night before setting out. I'm a little younger than you at 51 and in good overall shape, but my knees are about 20 years older. I prefer to drop the heavy pack at Outpost and summit from there, but my group has agreed to see how we feel when we get to Outpost and decide whether to continue. I figure if the really hard core can do a round trip from Whitney Portal in a day then I ought to be able to start from Outpost and come back to stay there again that night. I'll take my chances with the altitude sickness and I'm considering using Diamox as well.

Thanks Wayne, I too share the notion (and tendency) to haul too much, so our plan for Outpost is both a realization of that as well as having one member along who just wants to chill there and not do more. I hope (and expect) that the feeling of having left most of the stuff behind and just carrying a couple of day packs the rest of the way will prevail and give us the incentive to make the top.
Thanks Ken about the forewarning of altitude affects and adjustments from Outpost. Like MJFuller, we'll have some Diamox along and Advil too. I also know exactly what MJ means about the knees "being 20 years older" - I still walk golf courses and carry the clubs, and knowing they'll probably be in worse shape next year is exactly why, after several years of wishing and talking about it, I'm finally doing the Whitney trip this year. Thanks to all for the input. Would welcome more any time.

I offer up these three experiences. I am or at least was a serious runner with a 10 mile time of well under the hour and while I was not as fit as when I did that I was still in reasonable shape at least the first time when I was 46.
2002 Working in LA at 4.30 in the afternoon, climbing the mountain by 11 (btw this is a great time to start, extra time , less water needed, less chance of thunder, not so crowded at the summit). Did not expect much problem and the climb itself is not a big deal (if you started from sea level). By the switchbacks was feeling a bit thickheaded / dizzy / sick and after staggering worryingly near the edge at the cables realised I may not make it. Trouble is as a runner you try and measure the effort and work against it but here it was better to back off a bit and certainly be very cautious. The trail is plenty wide - until you are staggering about Made it to the top eventually by just letting it take as long as it took. Felt just as bad on the way down and not being good with heights either bit of an ordeal especially passing people. Nearly everbody we passed said 'is your friend feeling alright?' Well worth going though.
2003 HAving vowed to never go again realised I felt so bad I had taken no photos so went again. Stopped overnight at HOrsehoe Meadows (no sleep, headache, felt terrible), and again set off at 11 in the evening. Took it steady from the start and planned rests at the switchbacks but basically strolled up no problem. Still a bit queasy at the drop offs on the descent.
2004 Tried for in between. Spent all day at Horseshoe and set of at 10.30 pm. This was just enough time to make me feel bad before I set off without any benefit. Felt bad (dizzy) even earlier and again a dire ascent of the switchbacks but just plodded to the top as before. Descent NTB as at least I was expecting the bad bit.
NOw all I have to do is repeat 20 times and have my non existent twin brother do than opposite as a control and we can draw some conclusions.
This year we may try Mammoth.