Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion 2012 Whitney Hike Calendar

Hi Lane, we are going up on June 1. We will probably see you guys. We are bringing wine too...LOL!!! We are party of 10.

Steve, I got your message and I am listing my trip here. By the way, my son saw a news report of a 7 year old getting to the top of Whitney and he told me he wanted to do this, that is why we are heading up


My son (a 7 year old) and I and hopefully my wife (if we can find a sitter for our 20 month old) will be trying for the summit on June 9th.

We will be up there a few days early trying to acclimate to the elevation. But our itinerary is as follows

7th-Sleep in the lot at Whitney Portal
8th-pick up permit and then head up to Lone Pine Lake that night
9th-Head for the summit. Camp at Trail Camp.
10th-back to the parking lot

I was hoping for something later in the season to avoid the snow, my son has very little experience in it. But I guess that was the luck of the draw. So by the 9th if there is still too much snow, we may have to call it a day and try again next time we can get permits.

I will be reading reports though and if it seems like there is too much snow I might just opt out and pick a secondary location...Big Pine Lakes, or something of the sort. Safety first especially with my little dude.

Lane and Pretending have been added to the calendar.

PTW: I hope you are hiking this weekend, and next, too. In fact, next weekend, you could head up to Horseshoe Meadows and camp -- walk-ins are easy to use. A day hike to Cottonwood Lakes, or a climb of Trail Peak would be good for your son to work on his hiking legs PLUS get some acclimatization.

As for the trip plan, it might be better to push the first day to Outpost camp, and camp there two nights. Breaking the first camp and carrying gear to Trail Camp on summit day is tough. I think it would be easier to just hike to the summit and back using Outpost as the base camp.

Steve C, we are going to try and get up to that area and maybe do White Mountain this weekend. But worst case scenario, we might stay down here and end up on some part of Mount Baldy. We've been doing quite a bit of hiking, lots of distance and elevation gain to prep for this trip. I am not worried about his hiking legs though...just him being able to acclimate to the elevation.

As for doing 2 nights at Outpost Camp, I don't think I can based on my permit. I have an overnight permit with a June 9th entrance. I thought I could camp at the lake without a permit then spend one night in the permit zone. If I could extend my permit, I would be more than willing to do Outpost Camp as you suggested.

Oh.... You cannot camp anywhere on the Mt Whitney Trail without a wilderness permit, not even Lone Pine Lake.

However, your overnight permit is good to enter on June 9, and every overnight permit is good for up to 14 nights. You do NOT have to exit next day!!! All you do when you pick up the permit at the Visitor Center is tell the people how many nights you are staying. They keep that info for stats, and in case someone calls and reports you missing -- that is the ONLY reason.

So... adjust your time schedule. Acclimate the night of the 8th at Horseshoe meadows (or maybe two nights!), pick up your permit the morning of the 9th, and hit the trail all the way to Outpost. Summit the 10th, back to Outpost, and spend the night.

Beware of the weather this weekend!!! it's supposed to be cold!

I got to say I am glad I joined this board. The amount of mis-information one receives is huge, even with all the research I have done and people I have talked to, it is hard to pick the right info from the wrong. I am going to take your word for it since you seem like the "man" around these parts, so Steve, thanks for all the info.

Just spoke to the wife, we are going to rearrange the days a bit and do as you suggest. Spend the night at Horshoe meadows, on the 7th and 8th, pick up the permit and hit Outpost camp on the 9th. Summit on the 10th and back to outpost camp, drive back Monday.

Great news is we found a sitter for our little dude (21 months) so my wife will be joining us too. Good thing I requested 3 permits. She can also help haul some of stuff up. I can feel my pack weight getting lighter as I type this.

Hi Steve and all!

I was planning a day hike to Mt Whitney, leaving from Lone Pine on June 02/12 (3am), however my "hiking companion" had some issues and he is not coming; I have experience hiking but never been up Mount Whitney; how easy is to find the trail at night? Any part of the trail that I need to be extra carful to avoid getting lost? Finally I have an extra permit so if there is anyone in the mood of hiking that day please let me know, I'm driving from San Diego on June 01/12 around noon.

Thanks!

Sounds like a party! We'll be in a group campsite. See you at the portal!

Can't say how difficult it is at night. Much of it is very easy, but for some people in some places, they can get off the trail.

David, that is a pretty ambitious time schedule, driving up in the afternoon, and starting up the trail just hours later. Please read up on altitude issues, and maybe consider getting some Diamox. The Orientation Notes is a good place to start, or search this forum for Diamox.

I'll be up there with my sister and a couple friends June 15th for a day hike. Hoping for the best around the cables... We're not looking to take any unnecessary risks, so hopefully things will clear up just a little more before then.

We are a party of 3 guys (3 generations: 19yo, 46yo, and 73yo) entering MT on 6/6/12 (D-Day). Staying at the portal the night before. We have an exit date of 6/10.

Still trying to figure out what we're going to do with the cables section on the switchbacks.

We coming in to portal on June 6th for climb on 7th. First time on anything beyond 8k elevation. 52yo and 30yo. Hope the cable thingy people talk about will be all ok by then.

Two guys from Tracy, CA. Camping at Whitney Portal on June 6 and 7 for day hike climb on 7th. Plan to start early at 3AM. First time a 14neer. Hope we make it! Would appreciate if you post the need for crampon and/or ice axe. I will monitor the posts for conditions at the cables. Thanks! This is a nice forum for information. excellent, please keep up the good work.

Lots of people wondering about ice axe and crampons.... Watch the Current Conditions thread for updates. Several people have already written that, although the picture looks bad at the cables, if you are careful, you can make it through without special equipment.

The cables are fine if you keep a couple things in mind,move slowly and in single file ,meaning give your partner some space ,I have been watching a lot of people get almost on top of one another ,this is not very safe , micro spikes are proficient enough if you move cautiously, and look forward not down . I helped a family across the other day one boy was 9 he had the proper gear but Mom did not however it was a success as we had them spread out, and move in single file and look a head. Its a short way through the cables micro spikes work great on all types of shoes if u don't have crampons, but remember they rent crampons at elevation mountaineering store in Lone Pine early starts make for a much more pleasant hike, one more thing LOTS OF WATER i have been seeing people NOT having enough water just a reminder

MW85

Thank you both for the gear advise. Good to know they rent crampons in lone pine. We will monitor this and current conditions threads. Hope to see more people post the conditions as our June 7 date comes up! Thanks everyone.

Thank you very much for the info!

I have 6 overnight permits for the Mountaineer's Route on June 10th-11th. We're heading up from Santa Barbara on June 8th to begin acclimatizing. This will be my first time on the mountain as well as my first summit over 10,000 feet. Couldn't be more excited.

David, good luck tomorrow. Looking forward to your hike up the mountain. We are also doing it for the first time Mt Whitney. Looking forward to your report. Thanks!

Pratic, thank you so much for your donation to the Mt Whitney Hikers Association!