Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Dayhiking Whitney

I'll be attemping my first summit of Mt Whitney the first week of August. I would like to do it as a dayhike from Whitney Portal (I have a permit). I'm in good shape, as I do 15-plus mile hikes (min 3,000 elevation gain) nearly every weekend and I workout during the week. I realize this question is very subjective, but here goes: I'm prepared to make a pre-dawn start and would like to make it back to Whitney Portal by nightfall. So, when should I start hiking in the morning to make it back by nightfall? Thanks, E

Your question is impossible to answer because we don't know you, your experience, hiking speed or if you are going to have a problem with AMS or injury.

All but the fastest do some hiking in the dark. My preference is to do it in the morning when you are fresh and your brain is at 100%.

My philosophy is for a flexible start time based on my leave of aniexty. If I get up at 1 AM I'll start then, no tossing and turning. However, I set a drop dead start time, usually at about 4 AM. Figure you are going to need between 1:30 and 2:00 to get ready from the time you wake up to the time you hit the trail.

Bill

my general rule of thumb on non-technical climbs is 1000 vertical feet per hour until 12,000 feet, then 500 vertical feet per hour above that. That factors in breaks, water stops, etc. So that would put the Whitney ascent at about 8 hours. I then figure that the descent will take about half the time of the ascent, so add another 4 hours. Obviously, your own time will depend on pace, number and length of breaks, how you are affected by the altitude, etc.

A fair guess is that most people make it from the portal to the summit and back in something like the 9-16 hour range. As they say, your mileage may vary.

Ellen - Your permit allows you to start as early as midnight. Few hikers sleep well the night before due to anticipation so why not just hit the trail. We have watched the sun rise from Trail Crest and it's a real treat. Also, it's nice to be on the way down when most folks are still struggling uphill. Good luck!

Ellen - I just got back from my 4th trip up the mountain - finally a success - and did it as a day hike. We started on the trail at 1 am, hit the summit at 12 noon and were back down by 7:45 p.m. We were slow due to some "issues", but the pre-dawn start makes all the difference as the first 2-1/2 miles, to me, are the worst (besides the switchbacks and backside)of the trail and best navigated in the dark. The trail is clearly marked in my opinion. Good luck. It was painful.

I'm probably in the minority, but I'd recommend getting a good night's sleep, and forgetting about starting out in the wee morning hours. You'll be dark, cold and unhappy, which is no way to begin an adventure.

In about 17 ascents, it's taken me from between 5-1/2 and 7-1/2 hours to get to the top, and about 2/3's of that to descend. I'm a strong but not spectacular hiker. As a comparison, I took a friend -- good but not great shape -- up for his first time, and it took about 8 hours (and 5 for descent). Bring a headlamp, and if worst comes to worst, hike out in the dark. By then you won't care.

I don't entirely agree with waiting for morning to arrive before starting your hike.
My 1st assent I started at 4am, and was back at 4pm. It was a difficult hike, but I think the exposure to the sun, and added risk of still being on the mountain for the afternoon thunderstorms makes it more risky. Years since then, I've started hiking at midnight, or 1am and enjoyed the hike much more. You may not see much on your way up, but you will have the luxury of taking your time comming down, or not taking your time if weather is threatening. Just my $0.02. Regardless of opinions, make it your hike and enjoy it.

Who can sleep the night before Christmas, er, your first ascent up Whitney??

CaT

Hey Ellen,
I did my first dayhike to the summit last Sept. and started at 3am. I had a really hard time getting any sleep that night and probably didn't do more than doze off a few times. I was so excited I kept checking my clock to see what time it was. Up at 2:30am...had my pack ready to go in the bear box..hit the trail at exactly 3am...summit at 9:30am...back at the portal at 3:30pm. I felt that starting at 3am was the perfect time. I saw headlights behind me the whole way, but passed no one till I got to the switchbacks. It was cool but not cold and I really think that the dark prevents you from really seeing the steepness of the trail ahead of you. You don't get that mental block of seeing a huge uphill ahead...it just show's up. Plus sunrise at the switchbacks was amazing. Another cool thing was seeing everything on the way down that you didn't see in the dark on the way up. It was almost like hiking a new trail. I could have started much later and still made it by dark, but I preferred the solitude. There were lots of people on trail behind me and passed alot on the way down. Would have been crowded.
Just my 2 cents...good luck. You'll love it!

Hi Ellen,

My experience has been that everybody handles the altitude and distance differently so it is hard to give people solid recommendations, as you can see from my recent trip post where I described three previous trips (http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=reply;f=1;t=002276).

The three women that I talked about who had problems were all over age 40 while the people who zipped ahead of me were all 30 and younger.

In my opinion, people should check out the trail up to Lone Pine Lake in daylight hours first before deciding when they want to leave on a subsequent day. That is what I did before my first hike, and it paid dividends when I excorted the woman who had problems down in the dark. That way you will feel more comfortable hiking up the first part of the trail in the dark (as well as the 24 switchbacks after the John Muir Wilderness sign).

That is my 2c.

Fred

On my previous 3 hikes, we have started in midnigh-1.30am range. We never had any problems following the trails in the dark. Only part that requires some careful eyes is the one between mirror lake and trailside meadows.

To me, there are two advantanges:
1. I get affected by AMS. So I would like to climb really slowly and account extra for any "issues" that might develop

2. Want to reach the summit by 1pm to avoid potenial thunderstorms that are more common in afternoon.

My dad and I hiked Mt. Whitney on July 2nd and it was my first time. We left at 3:00 AM and we arrived back about 5:00 PM. The hike to the top took us 8 hours exactly, and we spent about 45 minutes on the top. I have no regrets leaving at 3:00. The weather was a bit chilly, and even colder right before sunrise, but it was standable. If you are attempting to do this climb in one day, I definately suggest you leave before 4:00 to give yourself plenty of cushin so you don't have to rush. Make sure to bring a pair of gloves and wear a sweatshirt with a hood. I also wore "swishy/warm up" pants over shorts which I took on and off. Good luck on your journey, it's worth it!

3 AM is a good time to leave since you can get up to Outpost Camp around the start of twilight. We did it last weekend. (Just be considerate of the overnighters who may be waiting to sunrise to get up, but most of them were already up when we went by because it was pretty windy on Saturday).

Fred

Starting as early as possible is good to have
the best chance of not being high on the mountain
if there is an afternoon thunderstorm. I did the
day hike with my son and we were caught in such
a storm at 12k and it was very frightening with
thunder and lightning in a confined canyon area.
Also, extra time is always good if extreme fatique sets in particularly on the way back.
Be aware if you are not familiar with the route,
it is easy to get off trail in the dark. This
happened to us and we were lucky to recover from
our mistake. You may find yourself alone and unsure of which way the trail goes.

Hi Hikemike,

Where did you get off the trail in the dark? My husband and I are day hiking main trail on August 24. It is going be a moonless night. The more tips I can get the better.

I have only been on trail that one time and
am not familiar with all the trail fork locations. I would suggest having a high resolution topo map that clearly shows all the trail fork locations and have the highest power
led headlamps possible. I would also talk to
rangers in lone pine and the people at the Portal
store. I suppose the other common sense approach
is to wait if not sure at a fork and someone who
is sure will come soon enough. Study the route
ahead of time. Carrying an altimeter to compare
with topo map is not a bad idea either.

Hikermike or anyone who knows,

Where can I find a high resolution topo map that clearly shows all the trail fork locations?

REI, for one, has a computerized mapmaker that provides the ability to obtain waterproof topo maps of chosen location and resolution. Easy and
fun to use from my experience.

What is REI? Where is REI?

never mind. I search internet and found REI.