Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board 10 Year Old climbs Whitney

Hello everyone.

I just wanted to share about my weekend trip to Whitney with my 10 year old son Sean. We arrived at the Portal Friday around 5pm and started our trek to Outpost camp. This was his first time backpacking and he was carrying a 15 lb pack. He had a hard time getting to Outpost but made it in 3 hours. He got sick that night but stuck it out like a trooper and was feeling better in the morning. Saturday we hiked up to Trail Camp and made it by noon. We just hung out all day and watched as people were coming down the trail. He was having alot of fun. We were going over our schedule and he decided that he wanted to leave early for the summit so that we could get down to the Portal for burgers on Sunday afternoon. I was thinking that this was nearly impossible for him but didn't say so, I just kept encouraging him that we could do it. We got up Sunday @ 5am and were on the trail @ 6am sharp. I let him lead the entire way so that he could set the pace. I carried the pack with gear and water and he just marched on ahead. We caught up with several people and they were impressed that this kid was even up there. We made it to the cables by 6:35am and with some advice on how to handle them he breezed right through. We hit Trail Crest @ 7:45am and there was no stopping him, he wanted to get to the summit. He did stop every ten to fifteen minutes to sip on his gatorade, at my suggestion but never took longer than a minute. We made it to the Summit @ 9:15am, an incredibly fast ascent of 3 hours and 15 minutes. He was tired but also so happy. And of course I was as proud as any father could be of there son. We took pictures and signed the register and then headed back down. He was practically running down that mountain, with a new goal in mind, burgers by 3pm. We hit Trail Camp @ noon and packed up our tent and were on the trail again by 12:30pm. It was a long grueling hike down, and he was really tired, but what do you expect after 16 miles. We made it to the Portal Store @ 3:45pm, an awesome 3 hours and 15 minutes from Trail Camp. Those were the best tasting burgers we ever had. Today he is taking his pictures of himself on the summit of Mt. Whitney in to show his class @ school. I couldn't stop talking about him all weekend. I hope our experiance gives everyone out there an idea of what our kids are capable of once they put their minds to something. I'm trying to talk him into Everest in a few years, who knows, maybe.

Thanks to everyone this weekend who offered their support and encouragement to us, it was greatly appreciated.

BTW: The entire trail was awesome this weekend, even better conditions than when I did it in a day last July 1st. The cables were very easy and no ice axe or crampons were needed. Just thought I would share that.

Congradulations to your son!!! And to dad! How about posting a pic? Way to go!

[img]http://russclimber.smugmug.com/gallery/2920467#157393008[/img]

Here are some pictures of the trip. I hope I attached them correctly, first time posting pictures.

Good pictures -- don't use the first part of the url:

http://russclimber.smugmug.com/gallery/2920467#157393008[/img]

We met this father and son Friday afternoon near the river, at the turn off to the north fork. It reminded me of taking my own children up. I knew they had a challenging time ahead of them.

Congratulations for both of you! You will have a lifetimes of great memories from going together.

My nephew Matthew in 2000 at Trail Crest.


Your son in 2007 at Trail Crest.


My nephew Matthew in 2000 on the summit.


Your son in 2007 at the summit.

I know how I felt when Matthew made the climb that he'd been looking forward to for quite a while. It must be than much better for you!

Just wanted to say I was one of the hikers who were impressed by your speedy climb. You two sure beat the pants off of us (party of 5 up on the summit @ 8:15). Nice work!

That is fantastic !!! I am sooooo impressed by your son. I have a good friend that played football in HS and college and was a Green Beret in Vietnam. He was one of the strongest and toughest persons pound for pound of anyone I have ever known. While in HS he attempted a hike of MT. W. He made it to within a hundred yards and sight of the summit but had to quit and turn around due to AS.Your son's accomplishment is to be admired.

Congratulations..... I enjoy meeting you at the store after the trip. No question your son was beaming from head to toe. And, I might add, what a proud father.

Paul

Great story and trip report! I know you must be a proud Dad. Now I definitely need to work on getting my 8 year old daughter up there in a couple of years.

Congratulations! What a trooper!

The best part is that this is only the beginning of many fabulous adventures!

-L

Way to go for both of you!

Now, sign him up for Boy Scouts when he turns 11 (or finishes 5th grade).

Then you can start planning a trek out at Philmont when he's 14 or a little older.

I started my son backpacking at age 5. He just graduated from high school today, so I'm losing the pack horse I've just grown, but we've had a bunch of great adventures on our own and with Scouts.

The next few years will be loads of fun for you two, believe me...

Congratulations! And what amazing time!
I am going with my son (12) in June. I have a question, what hiking boots did your son wear on this hike?

Ewab, when Nathan and I did the main trail in '01, he was 12 and wore a pair of "Hi-Tec" brand boots. (Trip report and photos under the "highpointing" pulldown on my WWW site) Basically, mid-weight leather boots. He was carrying about 20#, or about 25% of body weight, in his pack.

That pair of boots has served us quite well. It so happens that '01 was the year he passed me up in shoe size, so his Hi-Tecs became my hand-me-ups when he outgrew them that fall. (He's now 6'2" and leaves me in his dust with great regularity.) I wore them to Philmont two years ago and on numerous shorter hikes and Scout trips in the meantime. The original soles finally gave out and I had them re-soled this spring to wear back to Philmont this summer, so we have obviously gotten our money's worth out of them!

That said, shop around for boots that FIT your kid...and pay attention to how the heels fit...Nathan has narrow heels and if he's going to have blister problems, that's where they'll happen. He also got a good lesson on lacing techniques from the boot fitter when we bought his current boots and has been able to avoid blister problems both on extended treks like Philmont and our mountaineering trips up and down a lot steeper terrain than you run into on the Whitney trail.

I just wanted to thank everyone for your kind supporting posts, it means alot to both my son and I.

EwaB, I also bought my son a pair of Hi-Tec boots. They were the part leather, part fabric. They are waterproof and more importantly, they fit his feet right out of the box, not really any break-in needed. He didn't get a single blister on the trip and that says alot. He did wear a pair of liner socks with cushioned socks over them. I hope this helps.

Thanks, it sure does.
We've been hiking a lot but my son's hiking shoes are not waterproof so we'll need to look around. Fortunately he can fit into smaller women's size shoes so we have a wider selection if Hi-Tec boots don't work for him.

BTW, just checked your pics from this hike - they are great! Your son is quite a trooper.

Hi Starting on the short list with the big one first!! Glad to see you both over the weekend. Photos capture the rough spots Thanks Doug

Such a nice story of your adventure with your son! Thank you for sharing it!