Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board the importance of pants

hi, im doing whitney in a day on august 11,2004 with my brother. Two questions. i was wondering if the type of pants you wear is important? i bought convertible pants that say that are quick dry, waterproof, breathable and not wind-proof. Is wind-proof a big factor for convertible pants or am i just fine?

It's as you'll have it. Lots of hikers do Whitney in shorts. There's quite a spread of temperatures you'll encounter, and it can be chilly and windy at the top.

If your convertible pants can be turned to shorts, that's great. You'll probably want to strip down on the descent when it starts to get warm, at lower elevations, in the middle of the day. That they are quick-drying is great for those afternoon showers, if any. Unless you have something like highly air-porous pants, they should be windproof enough, except maybe for a really chilly day. But I'd get some polyester bottoms if you get cold legs, for warmth. Light or midweight should do fine.

I agree, it's a personal preference. I hiked up and down in cold windy weather with shorts. As long as I was moving, had my head and trunk warm, I was fine.

On the other hand, my hiking partner was cold, bothered by the wind, and had three layers including pants.

On my July 2 hike, I'd estimate that more people on the peak had pants or convertables with their legs on, than not.

Convertables are good, probably perfect for August weather.

If you're worried about the wind - I was in Colorado snowshoeing and, as is typical there, the weather went from sunny to windy and snowy. I had on standard REI convertibles and I was fine (even though I was post-holing frequently - sometimes thigh deap). But, as Shoeless Joe mentioned, it's personal. For me as long as my trunk, arms and feet are warm, I'm fine. My legs rarely get cold. I have friends who are the exact opposite.

I find I'm fine with lightweight (non-waterproof) zipoff pants, like REI Sahara or several competing brands. If it's cold, long johns underneath.

If it's raining, I'm usually just as wet and miserable from the inside in rain pants as I would be just wearing the nylon zipoffs. They dry fast enough that once it does stop, you're dry in 5-10 minutes, and they shed snow and such well enough to stay dry unless it's raining pretty steadily.

Zipoffs weigh a bit more, but the comfort of having the shorts or pants as conditions dictate more than makes up for the couple of extra ounces.

REI sells a pair of convertible pants made of Schoeller Dynamic, one of those soft shell fabrics that is stretchy, breathable and relatively water and wind proof. I absolutely loved them on my summit trip.

I find the best attire for a Whitney run is a pair of tiel green speedo's and matching cape. No matter what season,although a gortex cape is recomended for a stormy winter acent

So that was you? Darn, if I had known, I would have stopped to say hi! ;P

Full length cape? Tear off cape? Knee high skin tight boots or bare feet?

As far as the cape is concerned I prefer a full length,preferably one with some kind of logo.For the feet it's gotta be the aqua sock's (matching of course)with matching tube socks.But that is how I do it , I know every has their own style.