Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board climbing july 12th with a 10 yr old

hi hikers , my 10 yr old daughter and i are doing the day hike on july 12th, we are from ohio,. will the switch backs be open by then thanks for any information john

You may already know this, but it would be a good thing to spend some time acclimitizing to altitude before heading for the summit. I say this because I think the more comfortable your daughter is on the way up, the more likely she is to get into climbing and wilderness experiences. Also, i find that some candy on the trail helps to improve kids enjoyment of the climb (heck, adults too!).

Your post brought back some memories. I was 10 my first time up Whitney with my dad. We went up the MR on a three day round trip in 1972 (and didn't repeat until our day climb in 2003). I'll be very impressed if you and your daughter do it all in a day... Good luck!

<img src="http://a6.cpimg.com/image/EE/F7/21149166-945d-02000159-.jpg" width="512" height="345">

thank u,, my 10 yr old daughter, 13 yr old son, and 15 yr old daughter will all be trying to summit, we will spend 3 days in mammoth to hike and acclimate,., i hope we all make it, they are strong kids ./. it will be a helluva memory john

awesome picture

Go for it
Just be extra careful for those 3 kids, especially when they will do it together.
Also remind them to look out for each other.
Good luck.

thanx., cant wait to start the trip, the kids have never seen vegas , yosemite, death valley or mountains bigger than the Alleghenys

You will be starting your hike in the dark so be sure to have some form of lights. Because of the snow you will want more time to reach the top and get back down so the earlier the start the better. Take your time, drink plenty of fluids, eat and enjoy the scenery. Always keep together as a group. With the snow on the switchbacks this is even more important so you can lookout for each other.

Have Fun!

Bob - make sure you search the board and read as much as you can about altitude sickness and how to identify it and when you need to turn back down the hill.

I'm heading up the hill on 7/21, my second time, with my youngest daughter, 15. The first was almost 20 years ago with her older brother and sister, who were about 7-10. By the time we got to Trail Camp they were staggering like a couple of drunks. Fortunately it was late in the day and they recovered OK after they rested - then we went back down.

In retrospect, the way things worked out with the altitude, the weather and everything else, I was luckier than smart. With this wonderful message board, there's now no longer an excuse for being a dummy.

Where in Ohio are you from? If Columbus, what suburb?

CaT

youngstown, ohio

Me and 3 other ODCers will be out there somewhere that day. We are starting at 12:01 a.m. and we will see what happens once we hit Trail Camp.

Do heed the posts on this site. Very useful information.

Last one to the top is a rotten egg! Guess that be us!

Have fun up there!

we are leaving at 4a.m. i hope to see u out there. i ll be the one with the 3 kids. have fun and be safe,. i hope the weather is right john

Hiking with children can be challenging but very rewarding. It would be rare for a child under about 14-15 to have the emotional endurance to summit Whitney and return in one day. Most children of that age don't have the stamina to hike at that elevation for 13-18 hours straight.

That having been said, just start early and leave yourselves plenty of time. Take lots of small rest breaks and let the children enjoy the rivers and waterfalls. Set a reasonable goal to go as far as they can go. Be patient with them and yet encourage them to keep going as long as possible.
Sometimes they suprise you.

It won't be easy but it can still be a great experience.

thank u for the advice,, i will try to take it slow and easy as the children are young, i may move up departure time to 2am . thanks u john

Several years ago, 2001 I think, on the main trail we met a family consisting of husband, wife and two boys. I think the boys' ages were about 8 and 5. This family day-hiked the whole mountain in about the same time as us, 13 hours. We did see the dad carry the 5 year old part of the time. If I remember correctly, the father was a mail carrier for the Post Office. I was really impressed by how well this family did.

I was also very fortunate to be able to hike with Bob R's kid and his dad on thier repeat trip up the MR in 2003.

I hope I'll be able to hike Whitney with my kids someday too.

It maybe rare, but it does happen with young(er) kids. It does greatly depend upon the kid’s (and everybody else in the hiking party) desire, prep, and physical shape.

We were also ready to accept that summiting wasn’t our goal. But rather a full day out hiking and safety was our goal. If at any time we felt something was wrong or safety was in jeopardy we would turn back.

She did get sick within 15-30 minutes of starting. A few hikers thought it was altitude sickness. Since we had been to 10,800 and 11,500 the two weekends prior and we were well below either, it didn’t make sense. It turns out we ate too soon for her prior to hiking. In all out prep hikes we ate at home and drove 2 hours and then started hiking. We cleaned her up w/water and waited a few minutes until she was ready to go and we then continued w/o further issue.

Last year, ~ mid August, my then 10 yr old daughter and I did it in one day (~4:30 to 5:00 PM). That was my 4th time. Twice backpacking from Horseshoe Meadows and once prior to that from Whitney Portal (also in a single day).

My daughter does participate in club soccer, enjoys the outdoors, and we did 3 good single day prep hikes A) 14 Miles (~10,000 ft), B) 16 Miles (~10,800 ft), and C) 24 miles (~11,500 ft). The prep hikes allowed us to work out equipment issues (we didn’t get her a pack that fit correctly until the 3rd prep hike), get the miles in, get acclimated, and get a good idea of food, water, clothing and equipment to bring (and leave home).

On the prep hikes she showed interest in backpacking. So this year we are planning on backpacking from Horseshoe Meadows to Whitney Portal.

Whatever you do, don't insert adult goals and objectives into a kid's experience, particularly if the kid hits the wall. Listen to Thor Peak, above. I'd mention again: watch for altitude reactions, in particular. A sick kid is not a happy kid. Worse, a person affected by altitude will not act rationally, see a post from a few weeks ago "Need to vent - 6-11-05 on whitney". You don't want your kid so out of it so as to risk life / limb.

My then-10 year old (now 29) will not eat biscuits-and-gravy to this day after the altitude got to her on Whitney, years ago.

Bob: What an exciting experience for you and your children to come to California and spend time in the Whitney area.

9 years ago my son Matthew came home from school and said his New Year's resolution was to "go to Mt. Whitney this next summer" He was 7 1/2 years old at the time. For about 1 week I tried to talk him out of it. That didn't work. Then I asked my brother Stephen for advice. He works for the forest service and has experience in that area.

His advice was kind of like Thor peak and others. Make a deal to go as far as they can and try to make it a good experience. Be patient and encourage them to continue but don't make them continue when they can't.

Be watchfull of how they are doing and make the best of it.

We didn't day hike, choosing to backpack over 2 1/2 days up the Mountaineers route. Since that time he has been with me on the summit of Mt. Whitney 8 times.

Over the years I have taken all of my 6 children to Mt. Whitney. This last summer we went as a family, including the youngest three....two 9 years olds and one 11 year old. The 11 year old was complaining she would be the oldest to do Mt. Whitney, compared to all the rest who went between 8 and 10 years old.

It wasn't easy but what a great memory for us.....standing on the summit of Mt. Whitney together....

<a href="http://client.webshots.com/photo/221318818/221325106YYIdzw"> The Mountaineers Route</a>

<a href="http://client.webshots.com/photo/221318818/221320745pEDcjr">Family on summit</a>

So I figure, go ready for success, be carefull with their needs and use sound judgement. No matter how far you get in one day, it will be a big accomplishment. You can't predict how it will go before you get there. That is why the mountain means so much.....It is big and tough and a long hike....at high elevation....buy what a trip it will be.

Let us know how it goes....we will be waiting.

kashcraft--thanks for sharing your photos and family. What a terrific accomplishment in getting all eight of you on the summit. Wow! And up the MR, too. A double wow!