East Buttress of Whitney, Car-to-Car

Thinking of doing this in late May. How terrible of an idea is this? Will we hate our lives? 

Barring more snow -- conditions good for easy travel and downclimb -- only your own aerobic conditioning (and acclimatization) will be the difference between a long, but fun day and epic.

oretrowrote:

Thinking of doing this in late May. How terrible of an idea is this? Will we hate our lives? 

Do you have a day permit? That's the crux. 

Been done a thousand times. Got a permit? You'll need one. Snow on the descent can be a concern. 

Whether you pull it off is dependent on your physical conditioning and ability to acclimatize.

I think it’s a reasonable c2c objective, but camping at iceberg lake is incredible. Most c2c objectives I’ve done have been pretty miserable compared to a relaxed overnight trip 

Went C2C in 19.5 hours a few years ago. You got it! With a one-day push, you're gonna be approaching and slogging down in the dark. If you've got the lungs and quads and the permit, it's a jam!

14 hours car to car included a nap in the summit hut, and we were not acclimatized.  should have no difficulty if you're comfortable simulclimbing.

-Haireball

oretrowrote:

Thinking of doing this in late May. How terrible of an idea is this? Will we hate our lives? 

Have both of you been at that elevation before? If not be prepared to turn around at rhe first sign of altitude sickness.

It depends.  

I did this last year in early May and the weather was nearly perfect (upper 30's at the peak and a brief light hailing event).  Did it in 1.5 days.

For the following 2-3 weeks, the high was mid 20's and the wind was well windy.

Did you get a permit?

I was pushing pretty fast the whole way and got a headache right as I got to the summit. Not sure if I had paced myself a little better if that would've been avoided. Spent about a half hour on the summit for lunch then headache went away as soon as I started to descend. For me I'd rather go light and do a day trip than carry everything for an overnight trip, that extra weight impacts my body more than 1 really long day.

Oh damn! I almost forgot to ask if you got a permit!

Did you get a permit?

Start early and come back late, tag muir on your way.

I think you will have a great time. I have climbed Whitney four times. East Buttress once, East Face twice and the mountaineers route. The only time I have done it car to car was when I did the Mountaineers route up and the trail down in 11 hours. The other trips I camped at Iceberg lake and did a climb on Russel also.

Here are some times to maybe help you. All of these are assuming you can stick the trail and route finding.

Car to Iceberg-3hrs

Time on climb- 3-5 hrs

Summit to iceberg 2hrs

Iceberg to car 2-3hrs

Total 10-13hrs

I really did not enjoy the trail down and would always do the mountaineers route down. Late May you could have good fast snow down. Have fun!

Do it. We took 10 hours. Car to car

Hah 11.5 hours for us. We regretted not doubling up with a lap on the East Face for dessert.

Did you send?

We did! But then we de-send and thus it was cancelled out. Oh well... that's life in the mountains.