You'll get lots of views. Here's mine.

Hiking solo as a woman on Whitney has not concerned me. But hiking on a 14k peak has challenges and dangers that are unrelated to your gender. I think it is good to go with at least one person, and look out for each other. For example, if one of you gets an altitude-related issue, your judgment can become impaired. It is good to be with a compatible hiking partner, who you trust, to be available in such circumstances. Plus companionship is nice for its own sake.

The key is "compatible" and "trust." There are books dedicated to the single topic of climbing Whitney that have entire sections devoted to "group dynamics."

I did do my last summit solo (via the HST). But by that point, I already had 4 Whitney summits and knew a lot about both the mountain and my own history with altitude. I absolutely would not have wanted to do the first, or even second, or third, solo.

Last edited by Akichow; 06/25/14 08:01 PM.