Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Sleeping on the summit

I have been to the top of Mt. Whitney twice. I have thought about spending the night at the top before. I know this can be dangerous because of the elevation, lightning and sheer cold. I have searched all over and can not find the answer. Are you able to camp at the summit? Are you allowed to stay in the shelter if needed?

According to Doug's book Mount Whitney: Mountain Lore from the Whitney Store, it is legal to camp on the summit.

The cons are:

1. You will have to lug a heavy pack all the way to the summit.
2. If the weather turns bad, you will have a difficult retreat in the dark.
3. If a medical emergency arises, you are a long way from help.
4. Those who have tried it report sleepless nights due to wind and altitude.


The pros:

1. Not many have sunset and sunrise pictures from the summit.

Good luck and please post pictures if you do.

Last time I spent the night on top was July 2004, after hiking in from Onion Valley. Even after three prior nights at altitude (9k, 10k, 10k), sleeping on the summit was not completely comfortable. The lack of oxygen made me breathe heavily just squirming into my bag.

But it certainly was worth it. We got a spectacular sunset picture:


You can view all the pictures of the trip here.

You can check out the report from last summer on Staying overnight on the summit. You also need to consider the lack of water sources.

After reading the report at the link above, I should tell how we did it. We knew spending lots of time at the top would not be that enjoyable -- we just wanted to take in the sunset and sunrise.

We had camped at Wallace Creek on the JMT the night before, and it was a leisure hike to Guitar Lake, arriving around noon. Once there, we made a really big late lunch/dinner, eating around 2 PM. We planned not to eat much at the summit -- just bars, etc. Then we loafed for another hour, drank as much as we could hold from the lake, loaded up almost a gallon apiece of water, and set out.

We had enough water at the summit even to share with a dude that hoofed it up from Trail Camp with only a small bottle. Saw him again the next morning coming up a second time. Oh to be young again!

I slept once in the hut in summer time and two times on the ridge in winter. I did not like sleeping in the hut, too cold. The first time I camped on the ridge in winter I had an enjoyable experience and beautiful sunset - some pics. The second time I was in a blizzard, a different experience - camp. I slept also on the top of Shasta (plateau) and the top of Rainier (Columbia Crest), very windy.

Doug gets it right with the pluses and minuses, especially if there is not proper acclimatization.

If you are after a sunrise, just get up earlier and give yourself 3 1/2 to 4 hours before sunrise to reach the summit. The water required to stay there is a big haul. It's really a pretty cool hike during a full or near full moon...or a new moon for that matter.

The feeling of solitude when the sun goes down over the Great Western Divide and you are all alone on the summit is humbling.

I know exactly what you mean, AsABat... I don't know if it's only because we love this mountain so much, but the peace... the calm... the beauty of the sunset on the peak is awe-inspiring.

I thought I had a good Whitney Peak sunset, but Steve C, yours is beautiful!! (mine's posted on the thread from last summer that VersatileFred refered to).

Thank you to everyone who replied to my question. I will be hiking the JMT again this summer and may try the summit camp for giggles and grins.

Paul

Good hike to you, Paul. When are you planning on being on the trail? I just got my JMT permit confirmation - enter trail at Happy Isles on July 28th.

Rosabella,

If your really fast you may catch us. I have a group of 9 starting from Tuolumne Meadows on July 25th. We plan to do the hike in 14 days.

Paul

Well, that's not gonna happen! There's no way I'll be doing it in 14 days... I'll be taking three weeks - that works well for me. Plus I'm planning on taking some layover days to make some side trips.

Wow! Nine people... big group, but should be fun! I'll be solo.

Rosie

Finally, I manage to push all the right buttons and get onto the site . . . I've done the John Muir Trail seven times now and almost no trip has been without spending the night on Whitney.

I've never had a night of bad weather––I've slept both in the hut and outside and yes, it gets cold. I've always taken my time coming up from Guitar––getting to the summit around 6pm, which is nice as there's never anyone there––just you, the stars and mr. marmot.

I spent the night on the summit last August 9th, after hiking with a full pack for 3.5 days from Horseshoe Meadows. Therefore, for me acclimation was not an issue, so I slept very well. I slept in my two-man backpacking tent set up in a rock shelter behind the cabin. The winds picked up around 10:00pm, and the temps dropped to the low 20's. No problem for me, as my Marmot bag is good to minus 20. The sunset and sunrise were quite nice to see, made the whole experience worthwhile. As mentioned in other posts, the main issue is water. I left Guitar Lake the night before with seven quarts of water (about 15 pounds), and that had to last me 1.5 days until I got to Trail Camp to refilter. I like sleeping on the summit so much, I will be back again on the night of July 17th. Whitney Mike