Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Please help me plan for my proposal next year!

Hi All,
I have been thinking about this long and hard and I want to propose to my gf at the top of mount whitney next july or august. A little background about us, mid to late 20's. Haven't hiked in 2 years, and our last hike was half dome. For our half dome hike, we did not train for it, and made the round trip in 16 hours.

Obviously this is going to be a big issue for me, and failure is not an option! unless one of us develops AMS, something i'm hoping that training will prevent.

My first idea, can someone let me know if this is going to work or not.
hike to the top, and charter a helicopter to pick us up from the top. I want to do this for a few reasons... the 40 miles trek for my gf might be a lil too much, and i want to make the best of the day after the engagement. i have found one company sierra nevada helicopters and on their faq they wrote the following:

Why is the A-Star a better choice for my needs than other types of helicopters?

There are primarily two reasons for helicopter charter: to get to a remote location quickly, or to get an aerial view of something that you want to see or record.

The capability of the A-Star can best be illustrated by its ability to take off from Reno with a full load of passengers and fuel, land 216 miles to the south on the top of Mt Whitney -- at 14,491 feet above sea level, the highest point in the continental United States -- and then return to Reno in just over three hours, without having to refuel.

In addition to the unequalled performance of the A-Star, in choosing Sierra Nevada Helicopters, you’ll also be getting unequalled attention to detail and the expertise to make sure your flight is accomplished to your satisfaction—the first time, every time.

So I called them, and they said during the summer they are contracted to the forest service for fire fighting, but to call 1 week before to see if anything can happen.

would the nps even allow this? do i need to get permits?

my second choice is to do it the obvious way which is 2 or 3 months of training, and make sure that the both of us are in the best tip top shape for the hike.

my 3rd choice is to just propose at the top of half dome and then check into the awhanee that evening.

thanks in advance for all your thoughts and suggestions!

The summit is in a wilderness area, so no helicopter.

The main trail from the portal to the summit is only 11 miles each way, so round trip is 22, not 40-something.

Hope this helps.

thanks for the update. i kept on thinking it was 20 miles each way!

how difficult is a day trip?

Half as difficult as you thought! Seriously, there are a number of threads on this Message Board on the subject.

I called my wife from the top of Whitney once on our anniversary and she drove to the Portal to pick me up. The lure was that we could have dinner at the greatest restaurant in California -- The Whitney Portal Store. Now that's what you want for after your proposal.

See Learn about the main trail for more information on the route and Determine whether to day hike or stay overnight for info on day hikes. Above Mirror Lake you go above the tree line and the trail has little privacy (aside from boulders). That may be a concern for your gf.

I did Half dome round trip in a little under 6 hours and Whitney kicked my ass, You are pretty much starting the Whitney hike at the elevation of Half Domes summit, so it is a lot more strenuous (at least it was for me) Good thing is, you have plenty of time to train for it.

Sorry - off topic I know but - You did Half Dome round trip in under 6 hours? Did you start at Happy Isles? Of the three times I climbed it the fastest was ten hours and I thought we were moving fast.

Wow is all I can say!

Yeah we started there but took the stock trail on accident, I don't know if it is shorter or not.. it was pretty cold so we really went fast on the way down, it was probably 4+ hours up and an hour and a half coming back.

So you hiked the 8 miles down in 1.5 hours? - Wow

Hi frebay,

How about popping the question at Lone Pine Lake?

That's where I did it last November. Luckily she accepted (no that there was any doubt!?). I'd preplanned and brought the ring, my ipod, small speakers and vino!! It was alot of fun!

And we didn't have that hugh hike back to the hotel to 'celebrate'......

Best of Luck,
Lance

I think the suggestions for alternatives is going in the right direction. If Half Dome took you 16 hours, Whitney could take you 24. ...Not the most romantic of outings.

Now... if you want to exert yourself (why do we do that... to prove our manhood ) you could do what I did: Run a marathon in Death Valley, then drive up to Dante's Point afterwards and propose at sunset.

frebay:

You have over a year? Why not train together for this? It could be a great bonding experience, as you learn so much about yourself and the people with whom you hike/train when you're doing this. Start slow and easy, see how you each like it, and discover what each of you does indeed enjoy when out on the trail.

There have been a lot of discussions here, including this one , recently about hiking Whitney in a day. Start by getting a few books, then start hiking!

And just as a side note, pack a split of champagne with you: it's TOTALLY worth the extra weight!

-Laura

PS: *sigh* ... young love...

Com'on Laura, Jack pack a bigger wallop and takes of less space.

You gotta start the newbies off right.

You have a point, any man holdin' his whiskey at 14K is OK by me!

Sheesh, y'all are just SOOOO romantic...

That is just an estimate from the bottom of the steps part, just going by the fact we started from happy isles around 8 and got back to the car at 2:30. I'm by no means a racer or even in good shape to be honest and my calculations may be off, I was just trying to relate the difference in difficulty of the hikes.

Anyway to get back on topic I think proposing at the top is a cool idea and definitely doable with that much time to plan.

i know it's going to be very strenuous, but if I plan on training for 3 months every weekend together with her do i have a chance? basically is it possible for a person w/ no mountaineering skills to train and be able to summit? I just think it would be a great engagement story.

i also plan on spending a couple days at elevation to acclimate myself. maybe i'll play it week by week next year and see where it takes me. if it doesn't work out a proposal at the top of half dome would be fine for me.

i'm also looking into carrying a small bottle of oxygen just in case we need some help near the top. has anyone used oxygen on mt whitney? is it worth my troubles?

As someone who proposed to my wife on Half Dome a couple years ago... might I suggest that the Half Dome route could be the better option. If you're stoked about Whitney and think you can get trained in time... then by all means, go for it. But here's why I'd suggest Half Dome.

1) It's a shorter hike and, in my opinion, less can go wrong there than on Whitney. My wife and I tried hiking Whitney one August day in 2005 and hit a massive thunderstorm and hail. People were walking down with frozen noses and snow on their backpacks. Needless to say, it was impossible to summit that day and we had to turn around and go home. Whitney is at such a high altitude that the weather is less predictable than Half Dome.

2) After you do the proposal and finish hiking, there aren't too many memorable places nearby to have a luxurious dinner and nice place to stay. In Yosemite, you can eat and stay at the Awanhee.

So those are my thoughts. Whether you propose on Whitney or Half Dome... I think it's great you are doing it on the top of a mountain that so few people get to see. My wife and I have fond memories of our many trips to the top of Half Dome, but none better than the day I asked her to marry me. Good luck.

I love your proposal idea. Have you ever checked out Clouds Rest in Yosemite. That is one of my favorite hikes. It over looks Half Dome and has a view of Yosemite Valley. If I ever meet the right guy (one that backpacks and hikes) that is where I want to get married. Then go backpacking for the honeymoon. Good Luck on your search for the perfect location.

I didn't think you existed

With some quality training you should be able to make the summit. But if she doesn't want to hike once or twice a week with some quality miles 10+ then I wouldn't think the proposed hike would be a great idea. I've heard good things about Clouds Rest.

Since your trip is next year...you could put in for a overnight permit on the lottery next year and make it an overnight backpack.
On day one you two could hike to trail camp drop your gear and continue to the summit, hike back down to trail camp and spend the night. Day two hike back out
Or on day one hike to trail camp spend the night and on day two do the summit and hike out all the way.
Just another suggestion
Have fun!