Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Summit from Outpost Camp, any opinions?

I have been up to the summit of Whitney via MMWT with a night at Trail Camp. That night at Trail Camp was very restless. The next day at Trail Crest I developed symptoms of AMS and made a miserable day of going up to the summit and back to Trail Camp.

So, taking from a experience earlier this season at Mt. Shasta. We camped low and exercised high. So, those familiar with Shasta, we camped at Horse Camp instead of Lake Helen. We spent a day exercising/training up around 10K ft. but still came back to sleep at Horse Camp. The next day at midnight, left for the summit and was back by 4pm. No symptoms of AMS.

So, I am planning to go to Whitney in two weeks and thinking maybe the same could apply to avoid any symptoms of AMS. If I go to Outpost camp, and leave from there for the summit. Two pluses, 1. heavy pack only to Outpost camp use a day pack for the summit attempt. 2. probably get a better nights rest.

I know most people like to camp at Trail Camp but I hear stories of restless nights, lack of sleep, etc. So, just wondering if I am missing something so I come to you guys for any opinions.

Seems like a good idea to me. I've thought of taking my 11 year old daughter up and was contemplating that idea. Post and let us know how it goes.

I was just up on the mountain last week. If I were to climb it again I would definitely spend two nights at Outpost Camp if I could get the permits. Trail Camp is too exposed and just seems like an awful place to spend the night. If any weather comes down you will be miserable. Outpost is in a much more sheltered location near a beautiful meadow and a waterfall. Although it is further from the summit I think the benefits of getting a good nights rest would outweigh the advantages of being 2 miles further along the trail. Just my two cents worth...Good luck and have fun on the climb.
ST

"Looks like you get affected by altitude easily."

Many people do. Threshold for AMS and other altitude illnesses is officially 8,000 feet per various medical conferences/literature.

So actually, "easily affected" is a bit of a misnomer.

Unless you have more time to acclimatize (the preferred option), staying below your own personal threshold is wise. One of the caveats of dealing with altitude is that the sleeping altitude seems to more important than the daytime altitude.

Our group stayed at the portal one night and then at Outpost the next night. We are from the bay area (sea level). While there it went down to the upper 20s at Outpost and the waterfall was partially frozen. We left Outpost at 5AM, summited around noon and were back at Outpost between 4:30 PM and 5:30 PM. Figure 7 hours up and 5 hours back. However that was on Sept 25th, with good weather(upper 40s at the summit), clear and a dry trail all the way to the summit. It has snowed several times since then. The trail conditions are very different now. After summiting I stayed overnight at Outpost and was glad that I did. The rest of my group left that evening from Outpost to stay in Lone Pine. The hike down in morning light was very beautiful.

Thanks for the replies. See you guys out there soon.

OBH,

I will be heading out from the Bay Area as well. San Jose to be specific.

I stayed at Trail Camp two-years ago when I went up and at Outpost just two days ago, when I tried again...but got slowed down by snow. Trail Camp is OK if the weather is right, but with conditions that are out there now, I would recommend to stay at Outpost. The hike move faster with a light pack and the chances of getting blasted by snow are much less.

If you do the first night at the Portal and then your next night at trail Camp should not be as bad. If you drive up from 3955 and start hiking your better bet for sleeping is Outpost Lake.

Dress warm