Acclimatizing for Mount Whitney?

M Roller wrote: Do you have any advice or tips for someone doing what I would consider their first "big wall" that isn't typically covered in books (i.e. what do people often forget to pack, is a bivy or a small tent preferable, etc.).

For the day of the actual climb, my "never-forgets" are:
plenty of food and water ("plenty" is relative for sure). Eat a big breakfast and hydrate like mad before leaving camp. Carry 2 liters between the two of you (most of the climb is in the shade so you'll stay cool even on the hottest days). Add a couple extra bars/GUs/GORP.
2 Headlamps with extra batteries for each.
Photocopied route description/topo/descent description...as well as helpful comments from this site's descriptions/pictures of the climb/descent.
Extra layer and rain jacket.
Camera.

If you are planning to backpack in and camp at Either Boy Scout or Iceberg, do it in roughly the same style as you would for any other backpacking trip. If you are used to a tent, bring it...you'll be warmer. But, also remember that light is right. Forget the creature comforts unless they are absolutely necessary! Except the camera:) You'll be lugging this stuff up 3500+ ft over 4 miles...that's just to your campsite. Using iodine instead of a water filter or instant coffee instead of a coffee maker or your headlamp instead of an extra tent lantern can easily shave 2 lbs off your pack weight!!

If you end up doing it in a day from the trailhead, don't forget a bivy style space blanket or the iodine. You'll be drinking more water than you would want to carry all at once. Always bring extra headlamp batteries.

Get this supertopo.com/packs/highsie… you'll be hard pressed to get lost on the approach. Obsess over this mountainproject.com/v/calif…

Have a blast!! You'll be stoked to stand on top after such an accomplishment!

Scott Thalacker wrote:(I've never been above 14K)

How high have you been? Whitney is ~14.5k

"Climb high, sleep low" is traditional advice. YMMV but you could have a rough time if you go straight from sea level and camp at Lower Boy Scout Lake (10,300'). As others have said a more conservative choice would be to camp at Whitney Portal. You could spend the next night at Upper Boy Scout or Iceberg Lake if you're not sure about completing the climb in a day from Whitney Portal.

OTOH you might not have any problems at all.

The East Buttress is a fine route but the climbing isn't very sustained, it's a few short sections of 5.6/5.7 with lots of 4th class and low 5th class. Apparently the East Face is even more disjointed.

Erik W wrote: Nobody called you out on anything, man, chill.

Erik, passivism is not something to hide behind.

Besides.

Calmer than you are.

JLP wrote: With just a wknd, I'd go to the Valley or do some car-car peaks that don't require a permit.

Depending on where and when you are flying in this is great advice. If you are flying into the Bay Area/ Nor Cal then I would check out Mathes Crest, Cathedral,Snake Dike, ETC. These are all classic routes closer to you, easily doable in a day. Mathes is amazing.

R. Moran wrote: Depending on where and when you are flying in this is great advice. If you are flying into the Bay Area/ Nor Cal then I would check out Mathes Crest, Cathedral,Snake Dike, ETC. These are all classic routes closer to you, easily doable in a day. Mathes is amazing.

I was thinking the same thing. N Butt of Bear Creek Spire, Mt. Conness, Tenaya Peak, etc. Though you now need permits for Half Dome.

Fat Dad wrote: Though you now need permits for Half Dome.

What?!?!? Which routes? All of them?

J. Albers wrote: What?!?!? Which routes? All of them?

You only need a permit to hike the cables. If you climb a technical route you can descend the cables without a permit.

Of course, if you sleep at the base of the face or the base of snake dike or anywhere outside of the valley floor, you need an overnight permit (those aren't hard to get).

They can and do fine climbers from time to time for sleeping below the face without a permit.

Colin Simon wrote: You only need a permit to hike the cables. If you climb a technical route you can descend the cables without a permit.

You're right. My understanding was that it applied to everyone, until I rechecked the NPS website after J. Albers' post. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

You can start by catching COVID-19. Dr. Anthony Fauci joked that there’s a 1 in 20 chance of catching “long COVID” for high altitude oxygen deprivation.

Several thoughts:

1) A friend went from sea level to the top of Conness and got severe headaches; two years later he's still getting exertion headaches. This incident was a fluke as he's done a lot of stuff similar. If you're not feeling good it might not be worth pushing too hard.

2) Per training, Training for the New Alpinism preaches doing a lot of cardio in Heart Rate Zone 3.

3) Dude, the trolls stayed away and you got pretty good advice!  (I'm kind of amazed tbh)

Arise dead thread, arise!!!

Whitney Portal is 8374 & Lower Boy Scout Lake is 10,350 . Spend as much time as you can at both. Good luck !

Nothing like a 10 year old thread....When I climbed Longs Peak via cables, I had spent an entire week camping above 10k feet at Mary's Lake. I still got a headache and felt nauseous. The climbing part was a breeze, but the altitude was a bitch.