Climbing Mt. Whitney - pros and cons for amatures?

Question

I am considering climbing Mt. Whitney with some friends. I understand that Spt-Oct is the right season. If anyone has ever done it, can you give advice on do's and don'ts?

Thanks!

Answer 1

1) Get acclimatized to the high altitude. Either stay at high altitudes in other places in the days before the climb (try nearby Cottonwood Lakes), or figure on spending the night on the trail to Mt. Whitney. Drink lots of water. If you do suffer from bad altitude sickness, GET OFF THE MOUNTAIN OR GET DOWN LOWER.
2) If you're spending the night, reserve your permit way ahead of time, because the Mt. Whitney trail climb is one fo the most popular in the entire USA. You can reserve online, but don't expect that you'll automatically get it for the days you want to go.
3) Day permits are easier to get but it means you'll have to make the climb in one day, and you can only get them on the day you leave, not the day before, at the local Lone Pine ranger station.
4) Unless you're absolutely sure you can get off the mountain on the same day, be sure to bring warm clothes for the night. It will get freezing as soon as the sun goes down.
5) Understand that you'll be climbing 6,000 feet from the trailhead. Have you done anything like this before? There are very few places east of the Mississippi River that even have mountains that high from sea level. Half of the people who try the trail never make it. The most likely reason why you'll fail is failure to acclimatize to the high altitude. The trail starts at higher than anything east of MIssissippi.

Answer 2

I climbed Mt. Whitney in 2001. I started at 2 in the morning and I got down at 1 in the afternoon. I am very fast. You can do it in one day, but you have to start early, and hope there aren't any storms. I don't like to carry a lot of stuff with me, but the views are very nice, and this would be a good mountain to spend the night on.

Answer 3

You should check out the alpine institute - a climbing/expedition company. They have lots of good material.

http://www.aai.cc/default.asp

I've done Denali West Buttress with them, its an intermediate level climb - 21 days, but be prepared for a little longer total trip time (rest, layovers, shopping). I was 38, and had been doing a lot of leg work and aerobic work (high altitude cycling and racing), and did over 20 14K climbs in Colorado in the months prior to get in the required shape. Its required that you get in great shape, have good mountain climbing skills, high altitude experience, and experience climbing ice.

Good luck - Its the most amazing view in north america.

Answer 4

Take your time getting to the top and drink lots of water.
You may want to consider backpacking in to Trail Camp and spending the night to acclimate to the altitude.
It's a pretty good trail, but those 90+ switchbacks above Trail Camp are a bear!

BTW - get to the ranger station early so you can get a permit (I'm assuming that you don't have one yet).

Answer 5

It takes place a lot. genuine sons and daughters will regularly take 2 or 3 days to make the trip. you may camp alongside the way, by way of fact by way of fact the different poster suggested, 20 miles is a protracted day hike for a infant.