Wow I have a lot of options to choose from. Now everyone mentions acclimating... How serious is the thiner air? I know this is not Mt. Everest but honestly, is it that easy to get mountain sickness? Using myself as an example... I am 29 years old, in great physical shape, but I live at sea level. Do you think I am still extremely prone to feeling the effects of the thin air? Is sleeping at the Portal for 2 nights not enough to get my body adjusted? Should I be sleeping higher?
Very serious. Yes it is that easy to get mountain sickness. I am 38, a marathon runner, living at sea level, and before my Whitney hike last year I was sometimes hiking 3,-4000 elevation gain hikes more than once a week (Top Altitude of those hikes was always under 5-6000). Last year, I attempted to hike Whitney with my father and got very sick just after Trail Camp. I made it down okay, and made an additional trip from my home in Alaska a month later to complete the hike, but I had never had that kind of scary mountain experience. Other factors such as lack of rest due to a red eye flight may have contributed and your two nights at the Portal are more than what I did but it is still serious. On the second trip I also took small doses of Diamox.
