RE: Hiking Mt. Whitney Trail in mid-March

slowerthanu wrote:

In a typical year, you won't see a lot of the trail in March. The upper switchbacks will be snowed/iced over. You would probably need snowshoes, crampons, an ice axe, route finding skills, etc. If you have to ask these questions, you aren't ready for Whitney in March.

not true...

you don't have to be an expert hiker to climb mt. whitney in the snow.. hell when i did it i was about 30 yrs old, never ran a 5k and smoke a few cigs a day...

to hike in the snow and ice you will need crapons.. also it would help to use ski poles for balancing especially on the switch-backs...

since this is your first time be prepared to camp overnight. it will take a day and a half to complete the hike..

cheers!

1998 was a big snow winter in CA, but gives you an idea of what it could be like in mid-March:

http://www.abovecalifornia.com/routes/intro.php?id=5

Let me say up front that I am no super athlete. But I hiked Mt Whitney in April in crampons as a day hike from Whitney portal and it was a long painful day. I left at 3:30 am and got to the summit at 11:30 am. Very windy day and I was exhausted when I returned about 5:30 pm. If I recall correctly it is about 21 miles round trip and over a 5000 foot climb starting from 8700 ft. From 130000 and above it was a death march, walk 100 steps and rest 30 seconds. Saw very few people and think it would be smart to carry some sort of communication device. I had cellular communication at the summit, but I didn't bother before then. At the "window" at the third needle the wind was very intimidating and I remember an anxiety that I couldn't attribute solely to hypoxia. Be conservative. My friend who is a much better endurance athlete pushed ahead in the early going and did not make it to the summit, hitting a severe wall at the top of the switchbacks

Not a good idea.

A one-day up-and-back always carries risks of altitude adaptation and possible altitude sickness. Going solo in snow and ice is always dangerous unless you're experienced in those conditions and at those altitudes.

I've done one-ups on Whitney in August and September, and had to push very hard even without the handicaps of weather, ice and snow. Once I developed altitude sickness, fortunately on the way down after summiting, manifesting as a loss of balance. I'd fall down, usually on my rump, about every fifty feet, and ended up crawling on my hands and knees into the parking lot at Whitney Portal.

Just curious.

What was your time to the summit? I have wondered if the very fit are at a higher risk of altitude sickness because their rapid pace involves a greater elevation change per hour. I have heard people say that greater than 1000 feet change in elevation change per hour is courting disaster for many people if you are not adapted for 10000 foot elevations

I've hiked Whitney 2x. If you're concerned about missing the permit lottery, you should still be able to get a permit in the summer. If your group is small (just you or maybe just 2 of you) and you have some flexibility in your schedule (e.g., if you already live within driving distance and don't need plane tix; you can hike during the week instead of a weekend), you should be able to secure a permit in the summer.

Keep calling the rangers office the week before you plan to hike and you'll be amazed that people do call in and cancel their permits. Also, if it's not too far away, you can be at the rangers office the day before your hike and pick up an unclaimed permit.

I got a permit in the lottery last year but then couldn't use it due to a funeral of a family member. I was surprised that I was able to get another permit in August for the 2 of us.

Whitney is a great mountain and very doable. The trail is not terribly steep, not even the 97 switchbacks... which is why the main trail is 11 miles. Acclimate for a day or two above 8000' and you'll be less likely to get a headache from the altitude. You can camp in the Whitney Portal campground right near the TH at 8300'. They don't take reservations, just walk-ins. All 3 times I've been there, I got a campsite with no problem.

Oh, BTW, if you feel adventurous and don't get a permit, you can always get up a permit for the Mountaineers Route (a class-3 climb) and go that way. The downside is that it's not too fun coming back down that way. It's nicer to go back down the main trail... but you would need a permit to do so.

GORP wrote:

Alright, sounds like it is probably out of the question for the time being then. Can anyone suggest another challenging climb/hike within a couple hundred miles of Los Angeles that would be possible in March?

It's been a big snow year in SoCal so far. All the mtns above 8000' (San Gabriels, San Bernardinos, San Gorgonio, San Jacinto, Sierra) have gobs of snow... and that snow won't melt off by March. Any peak-bagging in SoCal in March will involve snow and lots of it. Crampons and ice ax would be necessary.

Sure you'll hear people brag about bagging some peak in the snow without snow/ice gear and that it wasn't risky (for them). But beware. When the snow melts and glazes back over, you can quickly find yourself in an unexpected slick spot. Once you start sliding and tumbling on a good slope, you're toast. Plenty of experienced hikers have died this way. I remember reading about a guy a couple of years ago who died on San Gorgonio because he slipped and fell while not wearing crampons... but he had them in his backpack but didn't put them on. Google some search and rescue reports on some of these mtns and you'll quickly learn from the mistakes of others.

Check out summitpost.org and you can get lots of good info about mtns. You can search by location, elevation, name, etc. There's plenty of photos, trip reports, description of routes, permits, red tape, etc. If you have further questions about a particular mtn, you can ask about it in the SP forums and you'll get lots of informative feedback.

Another option for March is driving a bit farther up to canyon country... SW Utah. Zion Natl Park is one of my favorite places. It's like a smaller, redder version of Yosemite. There's some great hikes in there... Angel's Landing and Observation Point, among others. You're also not far from Arches Natl Park which is an amazing and unique place to see.

To answer a question above:

Started in the dark at 4 a.m. from Whitney Portal, resting ten minutes every hour, reached the summit at about 11:30, took photos, signed the book, ate, and started down. Altitude sickness set in on the way down, immediately after getting on the top levels of the switchbacks.

dr no wrote:

Just curious.

What was your time to the summit? I have wondered if the very fit are at a higher risk of altitude sickness because their rapid pace involves a greater elevation change per hour. I have heard people say that greater than 1000 feet change in elevation change per hour is courting disaster for many people if you are not adapted for 10000 foot elevations

Altitude issues seem so random....I've heard of some climbing trips with all runners where what you are saying happened...the guy who was doing the most speedwork was the one to have the worst time with altitude.

i've also heard it's genetic, but that wouln't explain how you can go without having any issues forever to out of the blue, really suffering on a trip. the only altitude i've had were on Whitney. I suspect it was because the trail had great footing so you can move faster and push the pace if you want. but a group of us went from 8000 to 14000 in a car, then climed to 18,000 (on snow with crampons) 3 days later without so much as a bit of a headache. in reality, based on what you read, all of us should have been sick. so maybe the faster you *can* move makes a difference??

but i've seen some of the discovery channel stuff on this where they wire people up and find that they could predict who whould have problems by their respiratory rate. people whose respiratory rate didn't increase with increasing altitude had the most problems.

anyway, this is always interesting to me.

Where did you go to get to 18kft 3 days after Whitney?

totally different trip in a different year. the 18k was in mexico.

i guess i should clean up the writing.

I have done a winter climb of Whitney (February of 1974, I believe). I was a very experienced climber and brought along gear to survive a winter storm if need be but luckily it never happened. I also did not go alone. I went with another equally experienced climber. We actually did the east face so the last part was up a class 5 wall. I know the ratings have changed but the gist was that is we fell, we went all the way down.

I would not take this lightly. It is not a a dash in and out. One storm and you are in trouble. If you don't have the experience with winter camping at high altitudes then you are playing Russian Roulette.

I have also camped in the Mojave. Beautiful area. Just let someone know your route and return date.

gotta say, no one likes an elitist mountain climber commenting on other people without knowing all the facts. A lot of supposed experts in climbing have done really stupid things, and really died trying. Mt. Whitney is not technically difficult, but it is a bear for people not in the best of condition- lung challenges are tougher than many think.

cali today wrote:

gotta say, no one likes an elitist mountain climber commenting on other people without knowing all the facts. A lot of supposed experts in climbing have done really stupid things, and really died trying. Mt. Whitney is not technically difficult, but it is a bear for people not in the best of condition- lung challenges are tougher than many think.

Whitney is not a technical climb, but a 14,000' mtn is not to be underestimated. Many people attempt Whitney unprepared because they've never even attempted a 10,000' mtn.

I was there last August and it was a snow storm on top the day before I got there. Newbies can overlook simple things like gloves or a ski cap if it's warm/hot down in Lone Pine and then run into trouble on top. I hiked Whitney with a guy one time who forgot to bring his sunglasses. The snowfields near the top (in July) nearly blinded him.

I apologize for offending you. I'm not an elite mountain climber by any means, but do know that a trail in the Sierras isn't the same in March as it is in August - nor is the weather.

I would just like to add that I am named after a friend of my dad's who was a mountain climber. He died doing it.

My little brother is into climbing but I think that given my name it would be an omen against trying it.

Anyone know if the trail is runable? I was thinking of doing a combination of running, jogging and hiking just so it wouldn't take so long.