Mt Whitney Zone Forums Reference Unused Whitney Permits - 2012

Hours: Daily 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

source: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/inyo/about-forest/districts/?cid=stelprdb5136221

This will definitely help acclimatization, particularly the HM part. You will spend a couple of hours above 10K.

> I should have a very good chance of securing a permit if I try on Monday and Tuesday if needed?

Yes, very good chance. Not sure when your ride Sunday will be over, but you could go in before the 5 PM closing and inquire about a Monday permit. Some may still be available.

> I assume the times given with regard to securing a permit are for the previous day, right? E.g. 11am on a Sunday to get a permit to hike on a Monday?

I believe you intend to DAY hike, right? If that is the case, the no-shows become available at 2 pm, not 11 am. Note that I recently updated step 6 in Wilderness Permit Options to reflect the correct 2 pm time. Some permits come available before the no-show time, too.

> any thoughts as to how this might serve for acclimatization?

With the several hours spent climbing to HM and WP, you will have some acclimatization, but not likely enough. Being very fit is sometimes a disadvantage -- gets you higher faster so AMS can come on faster. If it were me, I'd get an Rx for Diamox (Acetazolamide), NOT the 250 or 500 mg, but 125 mg low-dose. I'd try one at home to make sure it doesn't bother you (if it does, try half the 125 mg). With that Rx, take one the night before, and one the morning of your hike. It may well help. ...or go without, be aware of headache and nausea symptoms, and turn around if they come on too strong. Make sure you drink lots so you are peeing every couple of hours, and snack a lot, especially lower down, in case you lose your appetite higher up.

Also, once you get your permit for next day, if you have time, drive back up to HM, and sit around and read a book for some hours. It will be time well-spent.

Good luck on the bike race!!

Thanks so much! Extremely helpful. I'm going to hang out in HM for a while on Friday as well, so hopefully that will help. Excited for the adventure and very grateful for all this info.

Steve:

Just a note that we climbed and summitted on Monday, using day use permits. I wanted to thank you for your help with info. FYI, although I know the odds were very good about unused permits being available on a walk in basis, with the distance involved in our case and expensive flight changes (change fee plus increased fare, about $200 per person, plus the uncertainty of when the next available flight might be), I wanted to hedge our bets. I kept checking the website, and all I could get in advance was one day use and one overnight permit (you will recall the ham and cheese without the cheese). Upon arrival, the rangers did not like that since it might deprive someone of getting on the mtn, but they had a day use permit available (about 1:00 pm), so they converted (or whatever) the overnight to a day use. All the same to me.
It was a long brutal day, but we got up and down and it was great. So thanks again for your help and info.
Larry

Way to go, Larry. Thanks for the update.

Now... What shoes did you hike in?

My boots. Glad I did. On the descent, I was tiring, and there were a couple of times when I stepped on an uneven surface and my ankle rolled. No injury, but the fatigue makes you a little less vigilant and probably susceptible to injury since your body parts are strained beyond normal. Limping down, or worse, the mtn would not have been much fun at that point.

Bump. I've updated the numbers through Sept 8.

edit:
Here are the 2013 Unused Permits numbers