Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board May 28-29 Summit. 1 Question

I will be ascending via the MR and descending via the main trail. I own several kinds of boots and I was wondering which would be the best. I have a pair of plastic heavy duty scarpa boots but I was thinking of bringing my old military leather boots. My crampons fit both. Any input?

Hi I can't recall the military boots being much good for snow/ice but if crampons fit and they are lighter than the plastic and flex that would be my choice. Also bring a pair of running shoes as you will find miles of dry trail. Thanks Doug

Rock Viper,

I am going to be there at night on the 28th and try to camp out a high elevation prior to our hike date which is the 29th. We (three of us) plan on going up the main trail. Would like to know if you are doing a single day hike vs spending the night there, if you are camping what altitude/location do you plan on camping? It'd be nice to get the most recent conditions first hand before we try our first ever summit.

Sincerely,
Sam

I would bring the lightest boots that you can get a crampon on, and as Doug says, some running shoes for the dry parts of the trail both up and down.

Guys is it really recommended to use running shoes with 45-50 lb pack on? I am a first timer and so far my practice hikes to Blady and Baden Powell have been with 38-45 lb packs and in moderate snow conditions. I did Baldy last weekend and there was hardly any snow up devil's backbone and could've used running shoes just not sure how my ankles would've fared in a few of the spots that was rocky.

sam

Obviously it is an individual choice and depends on how prone you are to spraining your ankles, but I have backpacked numerous times and never wear boots anymore. I find running shoes much more comfortable and never have had any problems whatsoever.

Our trip is on the same dates; however, I am taking the mountaineers route via north fork/lone pine creek trail. We will be hiking to glacier lake and camping there wed and then tagging the summit thursday. We will descend via the main trail so it seems our paths will cross. We'll be the group of five looking exhausted. I've got ugly green and yellow running shoes. See you on the trail.

Guys is it really recommended to use running shoes with 45-50 lb pack on?

Different folks definitely have their individual methods, but I would recommend not to carry a 45-50 lb pack and use lighter shoes.
Last year my son and I did a 3 day/2 night trip up the MR. Day one to UBSL, day 2 up MR to Whitney and Muir, Day 3 up Russell and down to the car. I couldn't still be doing this at 54 if I hadn't learned to go light about 6 years ago after injuring my knee simply because of too much weight.
On our trip last year I weighed in at the trailhead at 26 lbs.

I agree. I'll use heavily padded running shoes only if my pack is below 30lbs. On a two day trip if your pack is over 30lbs you are doing something wrong.

I just did Mt. Whitney last weekend (see my post for pics) and I would say that unless your shoes are waterproof, do not use them. I found that my boots were not waterproof and it was not to fun. Also, you should take gators.. there is still a lot of snow. But obviously, it is what you are most comfortable with.

Good Luck!
Kam

Oh.. we came across snow at 9000ft and pretty much solid snow from that point on.. so the first 2 miles or so were dry...

Oh, I don't know about that...

It just depends on how many treats you bring yourself and your friends!!

-L

Thank you for all the comments. My goal is to be somewhere between 38-45lbs as that is what I've done on my practice hikes. This is my first time, so I am sure I am packing extra gear and what not, but I am also a very conservative person so I'd rather have it just in case (like a full survivor gear). Not having the lightest gear also adds to this, but I am slowly purchasing better and lighter equipment.

We'll see how I do with my friends, I've read this forum quite a bit and we've used it to develop our plan. I am looking forward to it, next week is our turn and I'll post a trip report upon our return.

Thanks,
Sam

Now that the coditions have changed so drastically I am wondering what the trail might be like above trail crest.

Even though I have done some mountaineering on rock and ice with full climbing gear my friends haven't; can anyone provide any insight on this? I realize this is a well worn trail but if I recall there are a few exposed areas where a fall would be really bad. Now that there will be snow and ice back on the trail I am concerned.

Thanks!

I just got back from Mt Whitney after attempting to summit on 5/20. The snow up to trail camp is soft and easily forded with a 40ish pound pack. My female hiking partner and I both had 35-40 pound packs and had no touble getting to that point in 5 hours.

The part that you really need to consider is the wind at trail camp. Our tent would not stay up from the wind and the little rock wall shelters built by previous visitors were no help. You may want to consider packing to outpost camp, staying the night there and leaving all your heavy stuff there. Outpost Camp is more sheltered from the wind than Trail Camp.

I second this. Please see my post regarding an attempt on 5/24. You'll either hit the snow I did, or the water from it melting. Above trail camp was knee to hip-deep snow, blowing winds and sub-freezing temps. I hope this helps.