Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Training & Conditioning - late Sept. Main Tr. Hike

Hello, I have a question for the experienced people on here...
I am hiking the main trail on September 30 and exiting October 2, my first time to Whitney. I have experiences in the high eastern Sierras, but not at 14K. And for "training" I have recently hiked San Jacinto as a day hike last month (by myself, took 6 hours round trip), and plan to do San Gorgonio as soon as I have time this summer. Well as for this Whitney trip, I plan to reach Trail Camp the first day, summit the next....
Anyways what are some ideal training/exercises that I should focus on in order to achieve ideal shape in order to accomplish this upcoming trip? Any ideas, tips, and advice would be appreciated. If this helps, I am 31, 6'2, and about 200 lbs. I have just recently began working out; doing mostly stationary cycling (every weekday morning), some free weights (wrist curls), and pick-up basketball (once to twice a week). Any specific and helpful advice to better detail my workouts?
Thanks!

JH-

I'll be up at Whitney on Sept. 28-30 doing a 2 day trip (third day in case of weather or more time acclimatizing). I'm 29, 6'2 and 240 and have been on a diet and workout routine for 2 months now and have lost 25 lbs. Got some more to go, but my trainer has me doing the following exercises:

Lunges with 30lb dumb bells, instead of just coming up from the lunge with feet even, he has me come up on one foot, balancing, then bringing the weights up to a overhead press. I do 3 sets, 25 reps each. (Note: When I started I was able to only do 15 reps in 2 sets...they are thigh burners!)

I'm also doing crunches, sitting chest press, along with various other weight training. Every morning I running 2 miles, but when I started I was lucky to get 1 mile. I'm also starting to do lots of stairs and eventually doing them with a pack and some added weight.

And of course, plan a few longer hikes during the summer as training hikes with a weighted pack.

The weight is coming off and I just did a hike in Mammoth this past weekend (8 miles round trip) and I felt real good! It will be my first time up there to Whitney as well, however, I've been over 14K in Colorado, hiking Pike's Peak, doing a 3 day trip to Mt. Yale and another weekend trip to Mt. Elbert (14,433').

Hope this helps!

San Jacinto via Marion Mtn and San Gorgonio via Vivian Creek are good SoCal training hikes. Good backing areas and will help you acclimatize. And if you can dayhike them then you're set.

-lance

I'm gonna take the answer somewhere else.

At significant altitude, the most important factor is not state of being in shape, but state of acclimatization.

There are plenty of couch potatoes who have done Whitney, although some "reasonable degree" of fitness would help.

On the flip side, there have plenty of studs who hit the wall at 12,000 feet. They often blame their slowdown on late start, weather, lack of food, training ,etc, etc, but in fact it is lack of acclimatization that is the bigger problem.

I'd prefer 3 days of acclimatization beforehand over 3 months of training at low altitude. I think others will back me up on this.

Harvey

Hike as much as you can. Every day do stairs and 2-5 mile hikes in the neighborhood and every weekend get out in the mountains for 4-6 hours. Reserve 1-2 rest and recovery days a week. Start carrying a 15-20# back pack and over a 4-6 week period work up to a 35-40# back pack. Depending on where you are in So Cal, do San Jacinto as often as possible. Also San Gorgonio. If you're in the CV area spend a lot of time on the Murray Hill trail up behind Bob Hope's house. If you get a chance this summer in July and August drive up to the White Mountains to the east of Big Pine and Bishop and do White Mountain Peak (14,246')--no permit needed. It's an easy walk up from the end of the road. It will give you a real life experience of what it's like on a 14er without the long trek in. The Bristle Cone Pine Motel is a good cheap place to stay in Big Pine. Regular weight and core workouts are good and will help. Watch your diet and focus on low fat high carbohydrate meals with enough calories to fuel your workouts but not so much that you put on weight. Drink plenty of water. Figure out what nutrition works best for you on the trail. It's going to be 8-10 hour days if you do it in two days or a 14-16 hour day if you do it in one day. You have enough time to get ready and to have a successful hike. Just focus on the goal, be disciplined in your training, and you'll be standing on the summit.

Another point of agreement. I've been stating this to anyone who'll listen for a number of years. One interesting experiment I'd like to see done is: put someone up at the White Mountain Research Station for a couple of weeks of lounging, and a stud down in MDR doing intensive workouts. Take them up to Whitney and see who has the easier time hiking/climbing the mountain. I'd be willing to bet it's the guy/gal coming over from White.

I have done Whitney several times and am planning on celebrating my 70th birthday in Sept by doing it again. I find a good training hike is going up to Mr Baldy via the Bear Springs tail which starts at the Church in Baldy Village. Baldy in only 10,000 ft but the trail climbs 6000 ft in 6 miles. The grade is more difficult than the main trail to Whitney making it a good training effort. Good Luck on you trip.

I know I am going to get lectured to on this BUT, I believe there are physiological factors that effect each person's ability to go to altitude. Now I know that's a grand statement but from my own personal experience, the first I summited Mt. Whitney, we left Orange County at 7 PM on a Friday night, drove to and arrived at Whitney Portal a little after midnite, slept beside the car for about 3 hours, was up hiking at 3:30 am, arrived at the summit a little before 2 PM returned to our car at about 10 pm and drove back to Orange County. NO acclimitization at altitude. I would not recommend this anyone, when I did it, it was with someone else and I had no previous experience over 12K feet. Maybe I was lucky (and probably a little stupid too) but I jogged about 3 to 5 times a week, 3 to 4 miles at a time and hiked Saddleback Mtn. in Orange county regularly, a couple times a month. Two months prior to this trip I bonked half way up East San Bernadino Peak and had to stop and take an extended break to finish the trip across the top over to San Gorgonio over the next three days.

My point is, train for three months, acclimitize from three days and do whatever else you think is necessary, BUT your body will have the final say so. I have read hundreds of posts on this board and ever Tom Dick and Harry will add to the discussion but no one ever addresses that there may be specific physiological limitations that you cannot overcome.

I know that Ken was involved in a study a couple of years back but I am unaware of any study that has specifically tested individuals before during and after a trip up to and return from altitude other than some studies done on people part of an expedition.

I agree completely that the best chance for success is to acclimitize for a couple of days and eat and drink frequently.

Hiking, backpacking, and running - those work great for training.

Did you do San Jacinto from the Tram, Idyllwild, or Palm Springs? If you can do San Gorgonio via Vivian Creek, you should be able to do Whitney via the main trail. Whitney is just a little bit harder than San Gorgonio - mainly due to the higher elevation. Also, it may not be any easier to do Whitney as an overnighter than it is as a long day hike.

Have a look at http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum/...=true#Post27563

There are many others who would like to see more on this.

Memory, your speedy adaptability at altitude is wonderful. No lecture needed! Some of us are lucky to have it, many others do not, and never will. You are correct, there indeed are specific individual traits that are written in stone (sorry for mountain pun).

My point about fitness versus altitude acclimatization was not regarding you or any individual, but in general. Maybe Ken will see this and review for us some of his and other studies about poor acclimatization statistics on summiting outcomes.

There are lots of studies and personal experiences that many of us could quote from here to the Himalayas, but here is just one:it is from the International Society for Mountain Medicine

http://www.ismmed.org/np_altitude_tutorial.htm

regarding un-acclimatization and Acute Mountain Sickness(AMS), which turns around many, many people on popular high altitude mountains like Whitney and Rainier, it states that (italics mine)

"Anyone who goes to altitude can get AMS. It is primarily related to individual physiology (genetics) and the rate of ascent; there is no significant effect of age, gender, physical fitness, or previous altitude experience. Some people acclimatize quickly, and can ascend rapidly; others acclimatize slowly and have trouble staying well even on a slow ascent. There are factors that we don't understand; the same person may get AMS on one trip and not another despite an identical ascent itinerary. Unfortunately, no way has been found to predict who is likely to get sick at altitude."

Of course, most of us do both a fitness regimen and an acclimatization schedule. For those who have spent a lot of time at altitude, this schedule is discernable with experience. For newbies it is unknown and so longer is better. We should all make a distinction between fitness alone, versus fitness at altitude. There is a big difference.

Hope this helps. Harvey