Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Solo day hiker, slightly nervous. Advice please

Hello,

I am going to attempt to hike this in a day in August...solo. I want to do it solo and plus all my friends are not in too good of shape. I'm 28, have trained extremely hard for this. Can run over 10 miles non stop. Can hit the treadmill at 11.5% incline for 3 hrs non-stop at speed of 3.5 (which is about 10 miles). I switch up my routine constantly. For instance, today I did those stair things that go round and round (dont get it confused with the olipitical or the stairstepper)for an hour then ran 3 miles, then lifted. My body is in great shape. I am worried about altitude sickness. I plan on getting to the portal the day before around 11 in the afternoon and departing the next morning anywhere from 3-6. I want to make it to the top in under 4.5 hours. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Any do's and dont's? Things to stay away from? Maybe someone can help me and throw some advice at me. My stragety is to make it to the top as soon as I can, then relax on the way down while trying to fish the lakes nearby. Please help as I am a little scared...I have never previously had altitude sickness. I was thinking about the mountineer route solo. Should I not do that?

Maybe you will be going so fast that by the time your body notices the altitude you will already be on the way back down.

Three years back, I did my very first hike solo after all the people who had signed up with me dropped out. I left portal at around midnight and stayed with a group who I met there for some time. All of us got lost at some point, and could not figure out which way to go in the dark. We had to wait for someone to come by. Once it got light, the group I was with was slower than me and I decided to go on my own. My strategy was not to push the pace and go slow. I did feel nervous about whether I could make it all the way back and kept asking myself that question frequently. I would have turned back, if I felt I did not have the reserves to make my way back. I did not have to deal with the prospect of bad weather, though I did have to go through snow, since it was early July. I did not have altitude sickness. If I had, it would have been a reason to turn back. By the time I got back I was really tired and I wished I had someone to drive me down to Lone Pine.

I would suggest that you take it slow, rather than try to get to the top as fast as you can.

"I would suggest that you take it slow, rather than try to get to the top as fast as you can."

I would second the advice of, take it slow . . . slow being relative to your pace and fitness though, but still . . . I've seen a lot of old folks on the summit and a lot of eager "go marines!" type of young guys, dying and turning back in the switch-backs. If you really want to set a record, save it for the descent, but again, take it easy, especially in the switch-backs.

bob

If you have more time to acclimate that would be better. Don't be in such a big hurry to rush through such a beautiful place.

What they said.

Start slowly and then taper back.

thank you all for your kind advice for this journey of mine. any thoughts about doing the mounatineer route in 1 day in mid august, solo, no ropes, bare essentials, helmet, backpack...class 3 is just basic scrambling right?

pardon me, but . . . Hey, in all honesty, if you have to ask these questions and express being "scared," and "slightly nervous" you are in no way ready to tackle being on the mountaineers route, ALONE, SOLO and you would do well to stick to the main trail, where should you for any reason, need assistance, there are plenty of people at hand. . . and then again, I'm just jealous, as I've yet to do the MR.

bob

What Bob said, and take your time. There is no substitute for being acclimatized no matter what shape you are in.

You have not indicated whether you have hiked above 12,000 feet before. As noted in Nausea at 12,000 feet somebody in great shape can still get sick up there. Per previous posts, you probably would be better off hiking up the main trail for your first hike, even though it is a longer route.

Start slow and go easy, stick to the main trail be safe. Its not a race.
Many people start fast and burn out, the key is keeping your bodys O2 needs in balance. Dont outrun your lungs and blood supply.

ok here is a good question. if you can do the cables at half dome is it fair to say that the mountaineer route has the same oh sh*t factor?

MR is way more subject to alt*tude factor. Half Dome tops out near the level of the Portal.

Phil

Your training regimen is admirable, but as I understand it, whether or not you will experience AMS depends more on something called HVR (Hypoxic Ventilatory Response) than on aerobic training, and HVR is genetically determined. If you have a strong HVR, you will increase your rate of breathing as you ascend more than someone with a low HVR. The faster rate of breathing compensates for the lower concentration in the air. People with strong HVR acclimatize better. See http://climb.mountainzone.com/everest/2002/html/dispatch_0505_brown.html
I have often wondered whether extreme fitness might act to suppress HVR. If so, extreme aerobic fitness might could conceivably be counter productive unless one compensates by deliberately breathing harder.

1) why the hurry? you CAN control your pace and most would advise not to burn yourself out too quickly

2) I've not done the MR, yet. I would like to, however, I've been told it's easy to get off track from the trail and get yourself into a situation you may not want to be in. For that reason, when I do go up via the MR, I hope to do it with someone that knows the way.

3) comparing MR to half dome is like comparing a dirt road to a 6-lane super highway.

I only add #3 because of the crowds on half dome...you could be stuck in traffic for a while

I agree with most of you. Don't think this is a race, When I was younger I always tried to see how fast I could do the route. Now that I am a little older I enjoy looking around at the surroundings. This is one of the most beautiful places in the world, enjoy it! The faster you go the faster you’ll be done and that’s not always a good thing.

As for the MR make sure you go with someone familiar with the route. It can get tricky finding the route if you are not experienced and you can get in trouble before you know it.

--JUSTHIKE

The only reason why I wanted to get up fast is so that I can really enjoy it on the way down. I wanted to fish the lakes. However, after doing much more research, I will pace myself and make sure all engines are running properly to decrease the risk for altitude sickness. From my understanding the difficult thing about the MR is the trail finding ability. I know there might be some tricky things along the way as I have seen video. Class 3 stuff. The snow is what makes this hard and 3 weeks from now there will be next to none left. The notch will be the point where turning around might be an option. I will be hiking it Thursday the 13th of August via MR. Thank you all for your help and more advice is welcome.

What's your experience with class 3 at altitude? Do you know how to move over loose talus without sending rocks down upon those below you?

I just completed my first solo traverse up the MR and I would also suggest that you take your time. With a decent trail description the route finding up Iceberg Lake is not too difficult but you should still leave time for missing a cairn here and there.

Once you pass Iceberg Lake the route becomes more of a climb than a hike...so leave some extra time for finding your way. Also, there is still a decent size patch of snow in the gully and probably will still be there in a couple weeks.

all in all, if you take your time it maybe possible to do it in a day...a long day. I wouldn't recommend it but I'm sure it's possible for those that don't have the time. Good luck.