Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board 19 hours! what went wrong?

we did day hike last wkend 6/5 & took us 19 hrs. is that normal? crampons and ice axe are not needed in my opinion but ski pole is a must!!
4:30 left portal
6:30 arived out post
7:00 lest out post
9:00 arrived trail camp
9:30 left trail camp
12:30 arrived trail crest
1:00 left trail crest
3:00 arrived summit
3:30 left summit
5:00 arrived trail crest
5:15 left trail crest
7:00 arrived trail camp
7:30 left trail camp
8:45 arrived out post
9:15 left out post
11:40 arrived portal
there are still lots of snow @ the switch backs, you loose the trail and cut trough the snow going up till you find the trail again. cable is down and must use extra caution (1 slip & you're down), last switch back to the Trail Crest..(killer!)lots of snow, i think this is the most dangerous part. last 500 yards before summit was all melting snow and must stay on snow trail to get hard pack snow or else your legs will sink. weather was perfect. we made it safely but gruesome 19 hours hike. it was all worth it. i will post pictures tomorrow.

Nothing went wrong. You made it! Congratualtions. It can easily take 13-20 hours, any time of year. With snow it is longer and harder.

your time going up looks like it's within the usual range, but your time going down looks fairly long. I usually find that I get down in around half the time that it takes me to get up. The last few miles, as I start to taste Doug's burgers, I move faster.

i'm not sure what kind of shape you're in or how many legs you have but it seems like your rest times were a bit too long and frequent...IMO

My wife and I have dayhiked Whitney each of the last 4 years. Our best round trip time is 18 hours. (Hint: Leave at midnight.) We are in our mid 50's. People half our age have better times, but they are supposed to. I don't know what the success rate is for summiting, but it's not 100%. You made it! Congratulations!!

I did the hike in 13 hours, car to car last summer. We were in a group of 3 people, all quite fit. We hit the trail at 6:30 am and were back in Lone Pine for dinner and to watch the last bit of sunset eating pizza. It was tiring, but not an extraordinary endeavor. It was in July and there was a small snow field just before the summit.

Hi EDU:
Congradulation!!! You make it.
I am going on July 3, one day trip.
Could you tell me a little bit more about youself, such as your age; your physical condition; how much weight you carry; what kind of training you had in the past 6 months, etc.
I just want to compare myself with the people who make it so that I can plan for the trip.
You can also reach me by email at raykwan_eng@yahoo.com

Thank you.

After reviewing your time, I also noticed that your descent wasn't much faster than your ascent. When planning hikes, I usually plan taking half the time to go down, then I usually go down even faster than that. You must have been completely worn out the whole way down. Your time up really wasn't abnormal, but your time down sure was (in my book).

Remember that the summit is only the half-way point. There is no elevator back down.

Ray K. FYI
I'm 37 years old, 155 lbs, don't smoke & drink. Did whitney summit 3 times w/ overnight from 2001/02/03. This was my first day hike to whitney. I jog 3 miles 3 times a week. my back pack was just about 15 lbs. power bars/water/gatorade/video camera, digi camera and some ropes....i did not get enough sleep the night before, probably 2 hours only. i would think that it was the main factor. make sure you have enough sleep the night before.

good luck to you

My wife and I (both in our mid-50's)generally take 13 to 15 hours. The time varies based on the fitness level of our group or if we provided aid or assistance to other hikers having problems on the trail. We both know we could hike it quicker but we chose not to rush ourselves when hiking in such a beautiful place. Nothing wrong with 19 hours as long as your enjoying yourself.

edu;

In training for a marathon, you want to get you long runs up to about 80% of the distance. In a Marathon that is 26.2 miles. I recommend at least four 20 mile plus runs, in the few months prior to the race.

In preparing hike Mt. Whitney for a three day trip. I was up to 15 mile runs for my long run and 30 miles for the week. I also did a few hikes that involved some elevation (Mt. Baldy, and Silverado Canyon) I live at sea level.

I have not done Whitney in a day, my hat if off to you for accomplishing it. If you want to improve your time for your next attempt this adventure? Try incorporating marathon training practices.

The hike is 22 miles long, at elevation. Increase your running to 25 to 35 miles a week and run three to five times a week. Find hilly places to run, drive to elevation if you have to. In the two or three months prior to the assent, work you way up to a 16 to 18 mile long run. The rule of thumb is to increase the distance about 10% per week.

In the two weeks before the hike, cut back and give your self plenty of rest.

Strangely enough the sleep the night before is not as important as the sleep two and three nights before. I did my best marathon of three hours on four hours of sleep.

You have done something that I have not. Good Job!!!

My advice is free, take it for what it is worth.

I would agree with Vinze that your rest times were excessive - that is, if you want to improve your overall time. Many hikers would think that 30 minute rests are too long, and I'm surprised it didn't knock you out of your hiking rhythm. But if you enjoy long rest breaks and don't care about a longer RT time, then don't mess with what works for you. You also have to figure that you could cut out at least 2-3 hours from your RT time if you were doing it in July or August. Snow and snow conditions will slow you down dramatically, as you know. So any one-day summit in early June is a great achivement!

I'd also agree that running 3 miles, 3 times a week won't help you that much in cutting down your time. I always advise a minimum of 25 miles per week and long runs of 10+ miles, but then I always get complaints from people here saying they do Whitney in 13 hours with no physical training whatsoever and running is superfluous for this endeavor. I couldn't disagree more, but... whatever floats your boat.

Congats on your one day summit!

What is wrong with 19 hours? Who cares how long it took you? Did you have a good time? If so, great!

edu-
as everyone has already said - Congrats! You are already in the teeny, tiny segment of the population who can claim summit @ Whitney!

I haven't done Whitney yet - going this weekend. Hopefully, if you guys wish me enough luck, I'll make it to the summit.

I have done a few other extreme day hikes, namely Long's Peak and Rim to Rim (Grand Canyon) - and I am not really fit. I find myself taking power rests more often - half hour rests cool me down too much. I take 1-2 minute rests every 10 minutes or so, more often with altitude.

In the end, doesn't really matter. Congratulations once again. Would be great if you can post a link to your pictures!

i'm planning my longest hike-about 18 miles up 4k, i think, 10 days before i go to whitney. i know i've been pushing it, as my knee and my husband's back had been suffering a bit. i hadn't made it up to more than prob 16 miles and 3k. do u think it's too much to do that 10 days before whitney day hike? i do one hr walk/runs(not sure how many miles) in the small mtns near my home 6 days a week and a long hike on the weekend.

Kim,
My hiking partner and I just hiked Half Dome last weekend which is a 18 mile hike and an elevation change of almost 5,000 feet. My hiking partner fully recovered in 1 to 2 days and I am almost back to 100% myself after about 4 days of recovery time. We will be hiking Mt Whitney as a day hike on July 2nd and we used Half Dome as a testing grounds for our time and weight of our packs. I would say it is always a good idea to try something simalar to what you want to do two weeks prior to hiking something big like Whitney so you can evaluate your condition and equipment.

Good Luck.