Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Your first trip all over again

Hello,

I've just joined the board and after reading many of your post found them very enjoyable and informative.


Myself and 3 friends will be making our first trip to Whitney in hopes of summiting the mountain on the 21st thru 23. We have our permit reservation for the main trail, most of our gear and have all been actively taking small hikes in preparation.

On to my question. If you had to do your first trip over again, what would you have done differently? If nothing, what did you learn from your first trip?

Thank you in advance for your time, I look forward to hopefully becoming a contributing member of the board.

Jason

I would have brought my splitboard...snow conditions were perfect on the MR (even above the Notch) first weekend in March, 2008.

Hope you have a great trip Jason!

Great topic -- had to stop and think about it.

I summited last August and made it on the first try as a day hike. Everything came together perfectly, including the weather. If I were doing it again and differently, I would take 2-3 days and camp at Outpost or Trail camp. Enjoy the scenery and wilderness a little longer, stop and smell the moss, etc.

Also, I know I took at least 2 liters of water and 2 liters of gatorade -- I would cut the weight and bring a filter and get by with 2 liters of fluid. That about the minimum I would go with above the spring on the switchers.

Other than that, train often and bring hiking poles.

I'd find some sweet light weight GTX (waterproof) approach boots and some good sox to wear. Ya got to treat your feet!!!

my first attempt in 1996 yielded altitude illness for one of us three. We had planned to get to Trail Camp but spent an unplanned overnight at "only" Outpost Camp. Still significant AMS the next AM for the one with nausea, headache and difficulty putting one foot in front of the other. We descended to escort the AMS individual down. I repeat, we escorted. The two unaffected members returned for their summit later.

lessons
(1) some people need more time and/or stages to acclimatize. The individual was later proven over the years to be a chronically slow acclimatizer, but with proper time, was able to successfully go high.
(2) Always escort a individual sick with AMS. Never let them go alone. AMS can be mild, moderate , or severe and life -threatening. it can progress through these 3 stages slowly or rapidly. You need not go to the Himalayas - Whitney is more than high enough to get it.

This subject is a frequent one on this board as it has significance beyond everything else except maybe the weather.
Harvey

Here are some links:
To the New BPers from the Whitney Veterans and
To the new Day Hikers from the Whitney Veterans

Day Hike...Trained much harder. Two years later with a bit of experience it was much easier.

Backpacking...Lower pack weight. A year later my pack was 10 to 15 pounds lighter and the trip was much more enjoyable.

My wife and I did it last year (July 21) as a day hike on our first try. I concur with taking care of your feet. Take plenty of socks/liners to change into along the trail, especially on the return trip if doing it as a day hike. If camping along the trail take the soles of your shoes out at night to dry out.

For the switchbacks and summit we each took 2L of water and regretted not taking more, 3L would have been nice. The liter of water I drank once back at Trail Camp was one of the most refreshing I’ve had.

Make sure to take a hat, glasses, plenty of sun block and lip balm with some type of sun protection. I took my hat off during part of the hike and didn’t apply enough sun protection. My scalp, lips and neck were burning for a few days.

Enjoy your time and take plenty of pictures.

-Rudy

My was first trip was up the MR. I wouldn't have brought dudes who weren't physically & mentally prepared. I also wouldn't have invited those too mentally soft to gut it out.

The only thing I would (and did) change was to not carry so much water from the trailhead. You can get great realiable water status reports on this board. I'm used to the parched So Cal Mountains where carrying 4-5 liters of water is standard in the summer. 1 liter will do ya, and there's plenty of great places to tank up along the trail and take a short break as well.

You'll need 2-3 liters (in my opinion) for the summit, so fill up at the spring feeding Trail Pond at the far end.

Have a great hike; you'll be forever changed by the experience.

Keep in mind that the Spring on the Switchbacks is still running, so the distance to the summit and back to reliable water is a little shorter than the distance from and back to Trail Camp.

I would bring trekking poles because my buddy and I two weeks ago were the only idiots on the mountain not to have them. We made it to the top and back down in 14 hrs, but I can imagine it would have been a much easier (less painful) hike with them. Also, plenty of sunscreen because you will burn without it.