Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board time table for one day summit

I am looking to hit the summit and be back out in one day. I am taking the main trail and am in good shape. What is a good time to leave the portal for a one day attempt? I have heard 3-4am. Does that sound about right? Thanks for your input.

Last year, in August, conditions were excellent i.e. NO SNOW and took me 15hrs round trip - 1am to 4pm.. But under these conditions, I would allocate at least 4 to 5 hrs (maybe 6?) extra. Good luck!!

Please see "Frequently asked question......." by VersatileFred, I think that's the best one so far.

That really depends upon you and your fitness level, and how well you will adjust to the altitude. I have done it twice in the last two years and have completed the trip in about 13 hours - starting around 4 and finishing around 5 pm. These are with few breaks either on the way up or down, just enough to drink plenty of water and eat lunch at the top (and in very good conditions). I trained considerably both times prior to my ascent (doing San Gorgonio, Jacinto, and Antonio or Olancha peaks as primers) prior to Whitney to get acclimated and prepare my body for the rigors of the hike (mostly for the painful descent). But others can get away without the training - it just might take several extra hours. Good luck!

I have done the main trail in 8, 10, and 12 hrs. The determining factor for me was weight. When I did it in 8 hrs, I was wearing trail running shoes with practically no weight to them, and I carried only a light jacket, a quart of water, and a water filter. If you add 4 lbs to my feet from boots, and 7 lbs to my back from crampons and the like my time would be in the 12 hour range. I left for my trips anywhere between 4 and 6 a.m.

Also, I put my food, and water in areas where I could easily get to it without removing my pack, this reduces the amount of time you need to stop, and increases the likelyhood that you will actually eat.

Goodluck.

I did it last year in 15 hours.It was only my 2nd time up,1st being the month before on an overnighter.I left at 4am,summited around 1pm and back out at 7pm.It was by far the hardest thing I've ever done.There wasn't any snow to speak of either.Also,I'm 275lbs so if you don't have to haul a big butt up the trail you should be quicker.Plus,the big bonus,I lost 10 lbs on that hike.I'll be going up next week on an overnighter.That should be fun.

Boxer427,
I did a day trip on June 4. I went up MR, but in terms of time and effort, I'd say it's equivalent to doing the main trail up and down. I'm fit but I don't consider myself to be super-fit.

It was a 17.5 hour day for me, including 1 hour on the summit and about 1 hour for routefinding at various places along the way. I left the Portal at 3.30 am and reached the top at 2pm. Left the top at 3.15 pm and reached the portal at 9pm.

My trip report contains time stamps, check it out -
<A href="http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=003088" > MR one-day solo June 4 Report & Conditions </A>

--Ajay

Assuming that you are from a place with low elevation and haven't spent a lot of time hiking above 10,000 feet, your first trip up the Mt. Whitney trail is quite exhausting. I trained for 6 months, mostly running, but I still felt very tired doing the 97 switchbacks above trail camp.

If you are aclimated and in good shape, you might be able to summit in a quicker 6 hour time. That would be a big accomplishment to average 1000 feet per hour. It is more likely though, you will take 8-10 hours up.

Down is a consistent 5-6 hours.

So I like to leave by 3:00 am which gives me a few hours of flexibility to get back before dark.

As I said in my topic for <A href="http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002363">first timers</A>, you probably want to leave before 4 AM to give youself at least 8-10 hours to reach the summit. If you leave at 3 AM and it takes you 10 hours you still have one hour to be at the top before 2 PM. If you leave at 2 PM you can be down by 8 PM if you walk a brisk pace. I usually plan on around 4 hours to get to Trail Camp and 5 more hours to get to the summit from there (due to the altitude effects). (That is without any delays due to ice on the trail).

As most everybody above has said it mainly depends on your physical fitness and how well yur body adjusts to altitude. I am 67 years old and been an ultrarunner for 20 years. The last two years I have done the round trip in around 11 hours plus one hour on the summit. I hke/run with minimun weight(wind pants, wind jacket and water purification) and in running shoes, plus altitude doesn't seem to effect me too much. Take your time, eat and drink plenty and have a great day. Good Luck

I have summited three times over the past eight years, the latest last August. Each time I've left at 6 am and returned at 6 pm. I've always questioned getting up in the middle of the night to start the hike. I use Mt. San Jacinto as a training hike and a gauge as to determine one's preparedness to complete a Whitney day hike.

From Humber Park to the peak, San Jacinto is approximately 75% the distance of Whitney. However the steepness mimics Whitney very closely. The trail is rougher than at Whitney.

One key thing about San Jacinto is, like Whitney, you can break it down into a series of 2.5 mile segments.

I believe that hiking Whitney is at least as much mental as it is physical. I tell people if you can make it up and down San Jacinto without having to take long breaks, you can do Whitney. The X factor is the altitude.

I believe you should complete several hikes and monitor your time per elevation. Mine is always around 1 hour per thousand feet of elevation, regardless of distance. This drops down once you start reaching true elevation (10,000 +).

Estimate your time and start back from 6am (12 hours) 5 am (14 hours) 4 am (16 hours) etc.

I've met too many people who turned around because they were mentally exhausted.

Thank you all for your input. I had no problems last year getting from outpost to the summit and back out with snow from trail camp to the summit in 10hrs. I think that I should fair well in this one day trip based on your thoughts. Thanks so much,
Pete