Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Whitney via MR - which tent should I use ?

Hi it's been a couple years since I've done Whitney via MR so I can't remember the conditions exactly. I currently have two tents: one's an awesome, ultralight tent that needs to be staked into the ground - the other is a (very average) Coleman freestanding tent. Obviously I want to take the lighter one, and also I'm unsure about the Coleman's strength against that Whitney wind, but what's the terrain like at UBSL ? I think I remember it to be very hard and rocky. But if it's possible to find a softer area to stake down my tent, please let me know. Thanks in advance going the weekend of July 4 and can't wait ..... !!!!

I don't know re UBSL. However, I have used my UL tent (Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1) on a variety of surfaces and in a variety of conditiosn, including hard rock (where I tied my tent lines around rocks rather than staking the tent into the ground) and on snow (where I buried stakes as snow anchors). I cannot imagine a situation in which a Coleman would be superior to a high quality UL tent. Yes, if there is a lot of wind, a hardier, high quality tent might be preferable to a UL tent from a noise perspective.

Margaret, What day are you going up the MR?

Thanks for your reply !

I'm without permit at the moment, but am hoping for a typical weekend ascent. July 2-4.