Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board preparing to climb Whitney

I'm a hiker, most recently I did San Jacinto (no problem there), but I would like to start working on getting ready for Mt. Whitney - elevation!!!
Any suggestions ? thank you, ursula

Here’s a link to a previous discussion on the subject you’ll find helpful http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001886

Since you hiked Jacinto I’ll assume you’re a southern Californian. I’d look for hikes with the same or greater gain in elevation. The obvious routes are:
• San G. Via Vivian creek
• Iron Mountain
• Mt. Wilson
• San J. via the Cactus to Clouds route (Skyline trail)
• Or Baldy (San Antonio) via Bear Flat

However, due the summer heat, the prime season for most of these trails is past. The exception is San G. which has higher elevation trailheads and will be a great trainer.

Early morning (2-3 am) and evening starts will get you past the heat problem, but night hiking is not recommended if you do not have considerable knowledge of the trail or experience night hiking.

WARING THE FILLOWING IS A BLATANT ENDORCEMENT OF OUTDOORSCLUB.ORG

A group of 11 including myself did Baldy (San Antonio) via Bear Flat last night. Four of us are doing Whitney next week. Here’s a link to the trip.
http://www.outdoorsclub.org/Pasttrip/PastTripDetail.asp?id=5534&leadername=Brian+Jennings,&area=1

If you don’t have the experience to pull off something like this on your own checkout www.outdoorsclub.org You’ll find great training trips posted weekly, you’ll make great friends, do things and go places you hadn’t even imagined.

Another blatant endorsement of outdoorsclub.org. Just got back from a group car camp in San Diego. Met lots of new friends to hike with. Love this club.

Ursula,

Stairs, stairs and more stairs...try working your way up to 10 flights/1000'...then and a pack building up to 1/3rd your body weight.

~swifty

I concur with Swifty. I started doing the stairs near Pacific Palisades about two months before my trip and worked them to exhaustion a couple times a week (about 45 min per trip).

I just got back from Whitney and the trip was such a resounding success that I cannot understate the effect that training on stairs made to my trip.

We also hiked Mt. Baldy a week before our Whitney trip via the Snow Hut to get ready for the altitude.

Happy Hiking!

I live in Southern California also. As preparation for Whitney trips I try to hike a couple of local peaks like San Gorgonio, San Jacinto or Baldy. Ive found that Baldy via Bear Flats and Gorgonio via Vivian Creek are great tests for Whitney preparedness. Hiking Whitney is a longer route than the local peaks and therefore, Whitney will most likely end up being a much longer day. Something on the order of dawn to dusk. But both Vivain Creek and Bear Flats trails are on the average steeper than the Main Whitney Trail. In other words, these local hikes have more vertical gain in altitude per mile than the Whitney Trail. The other factor to consider is that much of the Whitney trail is at a greater elevation than the local So. Cal. peaks. Be watchful of the effects of the altitude beyond Trail Camp which is where the altitude of the Whitney Trail surpasses the altitude of any of the local peaks. If you can hike the local peaks with relative ease and if you arent particularly suseptable to altitude mountain sickness, then most likely you will be able to hike the Whitney Main trail without too much difficulty.
Happy Hiking, - Rick

Hi, thank you all. I just printed every response & will follow your suggestions. I do live in South Bay and hike every week (local, conditioning hikes) and on weekends in San Bernardino , San Gabriel & Santa Monica Mountains or wherever I go. Stairs... that sounds convincing!
See you all on the trails, thanks, ursula

The only additional point that I would add is to be sure to spend at least a day/night at altitude (8-10,000 feet) immediately prior to your climb to minimize any altitude sickness. Even if you are fit, the altitude can do you in. If you can spend 2-3 days it would be even better.