Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board First trip to Top

Next weekend I will be making my first trip up Whitney. This is special because it was something my Dad and I talked about while we hiked around the Sierras. Unfortunitly my Father passed away before we could do it together, so I am doing it to honor him. I am open to all suggestions and tips. I picked late Sept. to avoid some of the crowds, and am hoping for fair weather. Is there water (I have a filter) along the way to Trail Camp? Best time to get started? I plan on getting to Trail Camp to set up base, then summit on Sat., back down on Sunday. Again, I am open to all tips. I have only been on this board for a couple of days, and have already found it to be very useful. Thanks in advance.

Take some time and read over the posts for the past few weeks. It will fill you in on everything you need to know. Keep an eye on the weather. Plenty of water on the trail to filter from.

I made my first trip up late in August. Jeff is right, read as much as you can from the board here, and it will help you a lot.
Make sure you are well hydrated through this week and when you hit the trail. There are a lot of water sources along the way to Trail Camp, my favorites were the stream crossing as you first enter Bighorn Park (it flows from the waterfall), and the spring water on the lower section of 99 switchbacks- you don't need a filter for that one. Fill up at the spring and you should have enough for the rest of the way up.
Keep in mind you will be going from 8300 ft to over 12000 in one day. If you can get to the Portal a day earlier it will help you acclimate.
As for weather, it changes daily. The day I got to Trail Camp, hikers were on the summit in T-shirts and shorts. The next day when I hit the top it was windy and cold. Chances are real good that you can expect cold weather, be prepared!
Best of luck on your trip, and let us know how you make out.
Joe

Go Bears,
Will be up there the same weekend you will be with 2 other friends. We have been on top numerous times in different months of the year, and have been in conditions from below zero with 60 MPH winds to balmy skies wearing shorts and short sleeve shirts. If you would like to get in touch for any detailed info, email me at hillbasher@aol.com.Sorry to hear about your father, and hope your trip ends up being one he would have enjoyed.

it's gona be cold

Good luck...I'm sure your dad will be with you the whole way! I love your login! You wouldn't happen to be a Cal alum?

A very proud Cal alum. looking forward to getting a picture w/ the Cal flag on top. Another thing my dad would of enjoyed.

Go Bears,
I am spreading my Dad's ashes next wk via the mtneer's route. Email with any info like amounts of snow and ice on the route, any new snow, etc, etc.
I have done whitney many, many times. Some suggestions:
1. Drink water two days before, one day before, and as much as u can all day long.
2. Keep your electrolytes topped off two days before, one day before and the day of.
3. If you drink coffee or caffeiene, bring some along. People mistake high altitude sickness for withdrawls all the time.
4. Birng some advil, it thins the blood and helps with the altitude.
5. Eat all day long. Eat before you bonk.
6. Dress in layers so you can take off what you need. Start BEFORE you begin sweating!
7. Bring a head lamp and start as early as possible. The more time you have, the bigger the buffer before you have to turn around. You want to be off the top by 1:00 and 2:00 at the latest so 4:00 AM is not too early to start.

Go Bears and joban: Good luck with both of your trips.

My Dad just died in April, so I made an honorary trip to the top for him on Sept 11th (we had done it together our first time, 21 years ago). This time I made it to the top fine, but had some altitude trouble on the way down, oddly enough. Guess adrenaline got me to the top, but lack of enough food plus the altitude made me sick on the way down. So I'd say jorban gave you some GREAT advice.

We started from Outpost Camp at 5:15 am, and got back to Outpost Camp at 8:30pm. Long, but successful day... I'd recommend staying at Outpost this time of year, rather than Trail Camp - Outpost is less exposed to wind, so I think it's generally warmer, and it's not as rocky.

Some VERY nice people helped me out at about 13,800 feet with some extra water, a glucose drink, electrolyte candies - I think they were called Sharkies(?) - plus Jolly Ranchers and Life Savers (oddly enough). :]

So maybe take some of those things along...

Mary Z

We summitted for the first time on 9/9. We left Trail Camp at 2:40AM and made it to the top for sunrise. That was a pretty cool experience for a bunch of first timers. Seeing the trail at night and during the day gave two very different perspectives. One word of caution, because of when we did our hike, we were going up under an almost full moon, so we had the benefit of the strong moonlight in addition to our headlamps.

Here are some photos:
http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=1009151158339175547/l=209931344/g=5208098/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Note that is Whitney's shadow in the background over the hut.

Go Bears! I'll be up there this weekend with my Cal hat on! I've been up there three times this season (7/4, 8/5 and 9/10) and am in awe at how different each trip has been. The latest trip on 9/10 was somewhat chilly and windy (for me, but I'm 5'8" 120 lbs). I would strongly suggest packing a windbreaker and a scarf to protect your neck from the wind on the the trail crest. Also, I tend to start around 3:30/4AM to summit well before any bad weather has a chance to roll in (for a dayhike but I see you're doing overnight, so I can't be much help there). Please let me know if I can answer any other questions. jackie_geving@hotmail.com

Jackie

Jackie- Look forward to seeing another Cal Bear on top. I will have a Cal flag to take a picture with. I'm very excited about this journey. It will be a three day trip for me. I want to soak in as much as possible. I'll be looking for you.

Tim

Summited via the MR over Labor Day weekend on my first time to MT Whitney. Everyone's feedback about staying hydrated and eating are right on the mark. Lost my appetite around Iceberg Lake, but forced myself to choke down some Gu before heading up the gully and a Powerbar at the summit. My brother wasn't so lucky and didn't eat or hydrate well after Iceberg. He crashed hard on the way down from the notch. Needless to say it was a long, hard slog back to camp at UBSL. Some lessons learned for me:
1. Hard candy, gummys, shot blocks, etc will be my foods of choice at altitude next time. Gu tasted like glue and solid foods sat like a rock in my stomache. Jolly Ranchers were the only thing my brother could stomache and these saved the day for him. Fortunately someone else in our group has a good supply of hard candy.
2. It was easier to stay hydrated by sucking on a hydration pack hose while moving than stopping to pull out a Nalgene bottle. I drank 3 liters from my bladder and didn't even realize it until it was empty. My brother drank less than 2 liters stopping each time to pull out his bottle. Once he crashed it was even harder to get him re-hydrated because he gagged with every sip.

Obviously these are not hard fast rules since altitude is going to effect everyone differently. However, the points about hydrating and eating are common topics in many posts to this msg board. Hope my experiences help someone in their planning.