Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board How to predict Sunrise at summit of Mt. Whitney

Anyone know how to predict the time for atual Sunrise on Mt. Whitney summit? I can get the information for Lone Pine, but assume that it would be earlier on the summit. I've got permits to be on the summit of Whitney on August 30th and really want to plan to watch the sunrise on the summit.

We were up there on June 4th, and sunrise was exactly... and I know this because I looked at my watch... 5:41am.... We left headlamps on till 6 and then were fine without.

** This was while on Trail, near lone pine lake.. not at summit.. sorry

Try this;
http://www.srrb.noaa.gov/highlights/sunrise/sunrise.html

or this;
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php


Hiiker

It seems to me that since you now have the exact time of sunrise on one specific date you can go to the noaa site and see what they give for Lone Pine on that date, figure the difference, and apply the difference to the date you'll be on top.

mnkanderson,

Check out the links above. Put in your date, and Whitney's longitude and latitude: 118d 18m and 36d 35m, plus 8 hours (west) for the time zone, and the site will bring back 5:23 am PST, but you need to add an hour for daylight savings time, which would give you a sunrise at 6:23 am PDT.

No adjustment for elevation?

You're right, there is an elevation adustment, but the 6:23 would be close enough. Sunrise would be slightly later due to the height of the eastern mountains. Better to be early, than too late!

I did some more checking. Sunrise will be about 5 minutes earlier because of Whitney's height. Look for sunrise on August 30 just to the right of New York Butte (63 degrees magnetic north) at 6:18 am. Thanks saltydog335 for pointing out the adjustment. Hopefully mnkanderson will post a photo of the sunrise.

actually, you want to get there well before sunrise.

picture is worth a thousand words even if not at the summit, but on the way up the MR - you get the idea

I spent the night on the summit of Whitney twice, 1978 and 2007, just to see the sunset and sunrise. As mentioned by h lankford, if you want to see the sunrise, plan on being on the summit well before the actual estimated time. Believe me, it will be worth it, and you do not want to miss anything. I started taking pictures 10/15 minutes before sunrise. If you want a real cool shot or two, as soon as the sun comes up, turn to photo the alpenglow on the Eastern ridge. Actually, the photos I have of the alpenglow I think are a bit better that the sunrise ones. Enjoy the experience.

Whitney Mike

@Whitney Mike, You need "special" permits to sleep on the summit or if you have an overnight permit for the Whit zone is that good enough?

Yeti

we overnighted on the summit 28-09-10 with overnight permits (the ranger had a fit when I told her the plan;she was sure that I was going to get struck by lightening....only me -- no mention to the others who getting the exact same permit)

I've stayed overnight a couple of times, each time at the end of a Muir Trail hike and usually as a result of unstable afternoon weather. Once we got there at sunset, another time at 3am under full moon light. Both pretty epic climbs, and the only way for us to safely bag the summit and avoid the afternoon storms.

The light started building around 5:15am. By the time the sun actually comes up, it's very bright up there.

Lots of waiting first



and eventually sunrise, and since there's just dry desert air to the east, it is more like a light switch gets hit

Jeff:

As already mentioned, you do not need any special permit to spend the night on the summit, just a valid overnight permit. When you pick up the permit in Lone Pine, the ranger issuing the permit will ask you where you plan on camping each night. All you need to do is say the summit, and you're O.K. The ranger may ask if you have the proper gear, especially if you are like me and sleep outside of the cabin.

I really did enjoy sleeping on the summit, mainly for the experience and of course the sunset and sunrise. I hope to do it again sometime.

Whitney Mike

Here is a jpeg of all sunrise-sunset times from Mt. Whitney for an entire year:

If you would like a copy of this image, please click here.

You can get your own original copy (much better than my post here) by going to the government website at http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneYear.php. You can either input Lone Pine, CA in Form A, or use Form B to enter the longitude and latitude for Mt. Whitney in degrees and minutes: 118d 18m West and 36d 35m North, and 8 hours for the time zone. Because of Mt. Whitney’s height, and if you are on top of Mt. Whitney for a sunrise, you would need to subtract about 5 minutes for sunrises. You also need to add one hour for Daylight Savings Time when it is in effect.

Or, if you prefer simplicity, just copy my jpeg here.

I have spent the night a couple of times, and I would definitely agree that you want to be there well before the actual sunrise time. The show starts Early! And since the trail is on the backside of the ridge for the last couple miles, you can't see the show from the trail very well.
Camping on the summit is great IF you are well acclimatized - I would do it again for sure as long as I was up high for at least three days prior. Weather permitting, of course.