Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board how do you best physically prepare

at 62 this will be my first hike of any duration. my kids and i have a 3 day permit for july 1-3. what is the best exercise regime for me. i'm in flat land and work m-f, but ride a road bike and belong to a gym and am in relatively good shape.

Ralph,

Keep up your biking and gym workouts. Increase them in May and June. In June, get in some big hikes with significant elevations. The weekend before, (or even better, 3-4 days before) get up to 10000 ft and climb at least to 12000. Stay at the higher elevation for some time (camping there would be especially good.)

Since you are backpacking, put on a 40-lb pack (I use water jugs) and carry it several miles -- even on flat ground -- at least twice, several days before the hike. That way the pack won't kill you on the actual hike.

You can check out the weather and altitude preparation info <a href="http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~stevec/" target=_new> here.</a>

Good luck, and have fun!

I would recommend doing some training hikes more than a week or two before your trip. Heck start now with some easy training hikes with say 30lbs in your pack, and work up to more weight and longer distances so that your body becomes use to the pack. Also I second the suggestion to try and get up to altitude within the week prior to your trip, preferably the few days prior to your hike.
Eric J Lee

Since you are already doing the right things as far as physical conditioning, I'd suggest making a plan for altitude conditioning. You can be the fittest athlete but if you're not prepared for the altitude it will take you right out of the game.

If you can get some workouts at altitude the weeks/months before your trip (say, one trip a week to 10K ft for a couple of hours of aerobic walking), then plan to spend one or two days at Whitney Portal doing moderate day hikes up the trail right before your ascent, you should be fairly well prepared.

Every time I'm there I'm amazed at the number of people who have taken the time to plan, get off work, make the drive there, but didn't take the trouble to acclimatize to the altitude, and as a result had to bail before summiting. Having said that, it's a wise hiker who knows when it's time to turn around and call it a day.

Ralph, just so you don't feel like it is an impossible task, the oldest person I've run into, was a 92 y/o japanese woman, who had been out for weeks, on the section just below Keeler needle, heading up, and very happy!

I have to agree with EricJLee. I believe that there are two reasons to start hiking as much as you can locally:

1. Hiking, walking, running and bicycling all appear to use the "leg muscles". It is not quite so simple; each one uses a different part of the muscles. And uphill hiking is completely different in its pattern of muscle use from any of the others.

2. On the first day you will be hiking uphill with a heavy pack. Bicycling does not prepare you for carrying weight on your back.

The good news, of course, is that you are starting with a base of aerobic fitness. With 2.5 months to go you should have the time to get the needed specific training.

If there are no serious hills in your area a Stepmaster, while not quite the same as hiking, will strengthen your uphill muscles. Stairs are another option.

My first question won't be about conditioning, but boots...without the right footwear, you'll have real problems on the trail with a heavy pack. Do you already have boots for moderately rough, rocky trails with a heavy pack? Which boots work for you depends greatly on your feet...narrow, wide, high-volume, low-volume, etc. Find the best store near your home and have their best boot fitter help you select a pair that fits you well. Then, break them in over several weeks on hikes of increasing distances, carrying increasing loads. Wearing the right socks will help a lot, as well. Light polypro liners and good heavy wool outer socks, even in warm weather. (I have a scar on my right ankle from an Achilles tendon repair, and I wear three pairs of socks, polypro, thin wool, thick wool in that order, to keep from tearing that area up.)

As noted in one of the previous replies, acclimation to altitude is critical for the Whitney hike. Like you, I live in the flatlands (MO, about 500' above sea level). When heading up into the mountains, I'll spend at least two nights at moderate elevation (say 7,000-8,000') with a day hike in between to at least 10,000' or maybe 11,000'. I'm then good for the hike from Portal to Trail Camp (12,000'), spending the night there and then to the summit. I've found that even lower peaks (like <a href="http://www.mtritter.org">Mt. Ritter</a> at roughly 13,150') are enough to trigger some altitude sickness symptoms if I shortcut my acclimation regimen.

Once on the trail, it pays to stay hydrated. There are plenty of opportunities on the main Whitney trail to replenish your water supplies. Most people (this is subject to some debate), myself included, insist on filtering their water. The jury is still out, but my opinion is that any trail as busy as Whitney is likely to have enough careless people to contaminate the water with their waste, so safe is better than sorry.

On your summit day, it pays to be up before dawn and hiking at first light. Afternoon t-storms are always a possibility, so being up and off the summit before noon is simply prudent planning.

It's a spectacular area, a challenging hike, but the feeling of accomplishment and the view from the summit make the effort worthwhile. Best of luck on your trip!

Conditioning for the hike and altitude are the most important, good boots is also important. But also think about how to lighten up your pack. I have watched countless people stumble into Trail Camp with so much stuff in their packs. Most of is never used. It is amazing how much easier it is to enjoy the mountain when you aren’t weight down with useless stuff. Pack a few times before the trip and really try to keep it to the minimum you might have a better chance at the summit.

I am trying to get into shape from a spinal injury, six months ago. WhatIhave found works the best for me is to put a pack on and walk up flights of stairs. I have spent most of my life competing in distance sports, and have not found anything better than stairs with a pack on. Personally, I would chose the lightest gear I could get my hands on, and let the kids carry the heavy stuff. And then tell them you would have hiked this mountian years ago, but everything was made out of cast iron.

Best of luck!

a couple thoughts on conditioning...

first, get your body used to doing what you are planning on doing on Whitney... walking... start with 5 miles, 10 miles, 15 mile hikes and get your feet used to the pounding they will take on Whitney. When you can add elevation to you routine.

second, wear/carry THE gear you plan on taking to Whitney. This is critical... which means that by the time you actual do Whitney you are used to the gear that protects your feet, the pack you wear, the socks you prefer etc...

Finally, arrive at elevation 8-10k feet for a couple days prior to your trip to acclimate... This could be the most important "training" you do!!

oh and have fun!!

Do you have all your gear? My guess is you will need crampons, an ice axe and the knowledge and skills to use them in time of need this year in early July. Is this a part of your program if you are unskilled?

You are doing just fine on the conditioning aspect. I would suggest you get out into the mountains and get use to hiking at elevation with weight on your back. If you have never been above 11,500' you might find it to be very tough going, especially if all your training is near sea level. If you can not get above sea level for training I'd suggest couple of additional days of acclimatization in the Mt. Whitney area before your ascent.

Also, work on getting your pack weight down while maintaining what you consider to be a level of safety would be a good idea. This will make you trip up to Trail Camp a lot easier and cut down on the fittness level required to make this trip.

Conditioning for a backpacking trip to up the Main Mt. Whitney Trail is over sold, IMHO. A day hiking trip is a whole other story.

I have signed up for a guided trip up the mountaineer's route Sep. 15-18. This will be my first time on Whitney. I would appreciate any conditioning or other tips. Backgound: I am 60 y/o and live in Davis,CA, near Sacramento. I have hiked and sometimes backpacked since 1973. My favorite hike is a 13-mile loop at Point Reyes, which begins with a 900-1000 foot elevation gain up Mount Wittenberg. I backpacked to the floor of the Grand Canyon via South Rim wilderness routes in 1999. I have been increasing my hiking the past six months to get in shape, though my attempt to do White Mountain in June failed due to a snow-blocked road.

Last Saturday, I hiked up and back Mount Tallac, near Tahoe (10 miles round trip, 3300 feet elevation gain), on a good trail, carrying about 30-35 lbs, using my trekking poles.

Next, I am thinking of hiking up Mount Lassen with a 40-lb pack. I havn't done that hike for three or four years. The Horsetail Falls trail (HWY 50) near Tahoe is also beckoning me.

I would appreciate any suggestions for specific hikes/trails near where I live that would be good practice for MR--or any other suggestions.

For altitude conditioning, I plan to arrive for the September trip two days early, car-camping at 10,000 feet or so (Horseshoe Meadows was recommended).

Thanks. This message board is a great public service.

I'll second Alan's comments - I felt like I could have run a hole through the granite at Trail Camp. My partner ran out of gas but my boots would have stopped me regardless. 450HP engine and flat tires go nowhere. Problem is the rocks torque your feet in all directions. A heavy pack magnifies any problems. Maybe Barefoot Ted is onto something...

Herb-

Lassen is a nice hike, but I think there are some better ones closer to you up at Tahoe. Try Squaw Peak (from the base lodge), Mt. Rose, etc. Spending a few days up at Tahoe climbing the high peaks with a pack in the week before going to Whitney will both help your altitude acclimatization and build your leg muscles.

Herb, if you do a good hike the week before, and then stay several nights at Horseshoe Meadows (hike in to Cottonwood lakes if you have time -- its a different and beautiful area), then you should be ok, given all the other hiking you are doing.

In your other post, you thought you saw a one-night limit at HM. I am sure that is not true -- it is not a heavily used area. I was there in July, and a number of people were camping multiple nights.

Post a trip report and let us know how it is going with a guide service.

I saw a mountaineering expert/physician on a UC TV program lecturing about preparing for extremely high mountains, well higher than Whitney. She said that if no mountains of elevation were available, running for one hour 3 times a week would be similar to your system as going into high altitude. It worked for me, I did most of the MR last week (my fear of heights got me in the last 400 feet), carrying a very heavy pack without heavy pack conditioning. Legs and lungs did great.

Herb- Just be prepared for very little actual trail on the MR, mostly steep mountain goat trail, lots of rocks and scrambling over boulder fields FOREVER. I'll never complain about the length of the regular trail again.

"She said that if no mountains of elevation were available, running for one hour 3 times a week would be similar to your system as going into high altitude."

That's a new one. While I can see how she might say that the cardio condioning gained by running one hour 3X/week is good conditioning for a strenuous high altitude climb (or any other hard physical activity), it cannot be correctly characterized as "similar to your system." It does not change the oxygen association/dissociation curve nor does it increase the red blood cell count (unless the running occurs at high altitude). Both of these plus several other important physiologic changes are required to acclimatize to high altitude and your don't get them by just running at sea level.

"Just be prepared for very little actual trail on the MR, mostly steep mountain goat trail, lots of rocks and scrambling over boulder fields FOREVER." Not sure what route you took up the MR, but there are options where it is mostly just regular hiking until reaching Iceberg Lake. From there to the summit (~2000 vertical feet), it is just as you describe.