Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board where to rent gear

i'm going up this friday. Does anyone know where to rent some gear (ice axe, and crampons) at? A couple of different places would be useful.
And for that matter this is going to be my first time. I'm a decent rock climber and so is my girlfriend. I know the conditions could be better but how dangerous is it really going to be?? Its not worth getting hurt. Thanks!

Don't know where to rent gear. I don't think you can rent either in Los Angeles.

As for danger, both items of gear are sharp instruments. People die on these slopes this time of the year. I don't think that rock skills are particularly useful for this route at this time.
This is a time of the year where conditions change hourly, and judgements have to be made about what is safe. While one may be lucky, things can go wrong pretty fast.

You said, "It's not worth getting hurt."

Get some training before you attempt to use ice axe and crampons anywhere there is significant risk (and there is significant risk this time of year on many mountains, let alone the "chute" on Whitney). These are not skills to be self-taught and it is no exaggeration to state that your life depends on them.

Remember the First Rule of Mountaineering:

1. The summit is optional. Coming back in one piece is mandatory.

and its first corrolary:

1.a) The mountain will still be there next year.

REI's website says that they rent mountaineering gear at several locations in Socal - you can call them to find out exactly what gear they rent. Here is the link to their rental website:
http://www.rei.com/stores/rentals.html

As others have said, be sure to be properly trained BEFORE using any equipment.

Have fun!

You've stumbled across the fatal flaw of SoCal mountaineering -- it is hard to rent gear, in contrast to places like Seattle, where you can't walk down the street without bumping into bums trying to rent you crampons.

But there are a few options. As mentioned above, a few SoCal REI's rent technical gear (but only a few). The website is not 100% accurate, since last time I checked, it said the Arcadia REI does not rent snowshoes, which isn't true (they do rent snowshoes and camping equipment). Sports Chalet doesn't seem to rent anything technical.

Here are three more options:

1) UC-Riverside's outdoor club, "Excursions", rents gear to students and non-students. If you can get to Riverside, then check it out. Their equipment website.

2) Rent in Lone Pine: try either Elevation (located in down-town Lone Pine on the W. side of the highway, about two blocks N. of the Whitney turnoff), or the Whitney Portal Store (which I've never been to, but I've heard that they have some kind of internet forum thing). The disadvantage is that you need to get to Lone Pine / Whitney Portal during business hours, unless they agree to private arrangements. I don't know what the Portal Store rents, but Elevation will rent crampons (and maybe ice axes? give them a call to check).

3) If you get to Bishop or Mammoth, there are plenty of options. The classic store in Bishop is Wilson's, and in Mammoth, try Mammoth Mountaineering.

Hope this helps you and others

-Stephen

We rent from Elevation in Lone Pine, we did this in late October last year, and it worked out great. They do not rent ice axes though (you can buy from them or anywhere else), but they do rent crampons.

If you go the day before your hike to pick up, they will fit the crampons to your boots with tools for a better fit.

Good luck.

Often stores don't like to rent highly technical gear that is life dependant. If a used piece of rental gear breaks while you are on the climb, there are liability issues and potential law suits. This is certainly the case in lawsuit happy places like California.

Make sure to call around first to see what is and is not available from local outfitters. REI and A-16 in LA are limited in technical gear they rent.