Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board TWICE in One Day!

Happy Independence Day to everyone out there - today at (where else?) the famous Independence Fourth of July Parade/4k run/pancake breakfast (the parade alone is worth going to so you can watch the fire department hose down the crowd after they've been pelted with water balloons - a total hoot!) I ran into a very fit 60 year old man who told me he'd climbed Whitney twice in a day - he usually started at 7 pm. He said he started hiking/doing Whitney when he was 50. He says the guys who dish out the permits all know him. Incredible, no?!!??!!

Some inspiration for those 'older ones' (like myself) out there who think they are too old to tackle it.....it can be done.

As you get older, the fish that got away gets bigger and bigger...

I almost wish this had never been posted. I just turned 49 and last week I went up the MR route and down the main trail in 1 day and I have been trying to decide what to do next June for the big five-o. Being kind of half nuts I may just consider trying it myself. My girlfriend wants to take me up to the Oregon coast to relax at a coastal Inn for a few days but hey, we can do that anytime. Hmm........

Just before my five-0, I climbed up Mount Hood. I though it was going to a piece of cake. Boy, was I wrong. It's quite a different experience heading up a summit with an ice axe, crampoons, and roped as a group.

On my first summit hike up Whitney, I went with a thirtysomething
who after summitting, quickly made it back to the Whitney Portal parking lot, drove to Yosemite Valley and hiked to the top of Half Dome.

Why?

Celeste, the gentleman with the calm demeanor you are referring to is Jack N. (I know his last name and will keep it confidential) from the San Diego area. He is a roofer by trade and a college baseball coach on the side. His training regimen is riding a stationary bicycle one hour a day for cardio (there ain't no tall hills in the SD area.) He and his wife Betsy are incredible people. I met Jack for the first time last year at the Whitney Portal Store. I saw Jack standing next to his car parked next to the WPS with the plate border "Twice In One Day." I asked, "Couldn't do it 3 times in one day?" And we just started talking. He has been to the summit of Whitney over 50 times. All "doubbleheaders" I should say. I believe he did 51 and 52 last year and will do numbers 53 and 54 this year. I had another chance to see Jack and Betsy at the WPS on June 2 this year during the National Trails Day event. He gave the low down on his training regimen to my fiancee since she will be hiking Whitney in September.

Wow I turn 50 next march I think I'll do two loops starting at MR trail...Also is this the same guy Bob R. took a picture of last year on the trail and posted it stating he starting hiking Whitney as age 50...mark

My son and met Jack while hiking Whitney. He was doing it only once that day but was planning a double for later that week. We ended up spending a god chunk of the hike with him. We never had to ask "why" because (a) He was obviously enjoying himself -- how much more explanation does one need? (b) USMC.

What got me talking to Jack was his California personalized license plate (not just the holder) which basically says 'Whitney in 1 Day'. He laughed and said no one ever knew what the shorthand on the plate meant but I got it immediately (thanks to reading this board too much, ha!).

Incredible guy!

Well.........a) I kind of like hiking in the dark, too.....different world, and peaceful..b) AHHHH...there it is. I live in San Diego; USMC, Navy SEALS. Not surprising!

I am very intrigued by hiking twice in one day. I am going to hike again this year, will be my third time. If I was going to summit 2xs same day, what time should I start? My first time I started at 4am and returned 6pm, with a lot of sight seeing and picture taking with my group. Is it best to start PM or AM?

I attempted to do whitney 2x in one day via the mr back in aug of 05. THe first ascent was in about four hours, back down in 3. I was back at the portal by early afternoon, ate some lunch, drank some fluids and headed back up. While I am a strong hiker I was surprised to "hit the wall" at clyde meadow, which was as far as I got on attempt 2 for the day. I considered pressing on, but I listened to my body, took a nap at clyde meadow, and headed back down. I will attempt the 2x in one day again sometime. 20/20 on it would be to start earlier and set a slower pace on attempt 1, skip the pizza the night before, and load more electrolytes.

http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum/...=true#Post22887

For my big five-o last year, several friends joined my on a one-day hike up the main Whitney trail. To celebrate my 50th on the summit in style, I carried a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne. This year, five days after my 51st, I will be spending the night on the summit.

Whitney Mike

I met Jack and his wife in Lone Pine this week,great people.I got some good tips,and would like to thank them for that! Why not twice if you can.

I'm intrigued by the idea of twice in a day. Sounds like a goal to work towards. I assume that if you have a one day permit you can fudge slightly on either side of midnight and won't run into any rangers checking permits. Or, would it better to get the overnight permit? I'm 62 and going for numbers 6 & 7 this year and my bro in law is 65 and going for numbers 5 & 6 this year. All in the last 6 years. Assuming that you are otherwise healthy and put in the training, age shouldn't be a limiting factor.

When I try it next near I think I will depart the portal around 10:00 p.m. heading up the main route and will be sitting on the Summit at 5:00 a.m. as the sun is coming up over the Owens Valley, Maybe back at the portal by 10:00 a.m. decending the mountaineers route. Turning around and heading back up the mountaineers route and hopefully being back on the summit late afternoon then heading down the main trail arriving back at whitney portal in the dark. I will be doing it next june 21st so as you know I will have maximum light. It shall be interesting.............

I think it's a strange thing to do,why not do something like hike from lone pine to the summit and back? Laps seem a little crazy.

I'm imagining Jack's thought process.

Finishing the Whitney day hike:

Driving down to Lone Pine:

Later that day:

The rest is history.

So, I admit my Dad (Whitney N 1) is a little zealous. A week ago he completed his 5th double summit of Whitney. He started at 7 pm, hit the summit at midnight, and arrived at the store at 5:30am. My brother(21) and I(30) stayed at Horseshoe Meadow campground Sat. night, before spending Sun, and Mon. at the Portals. We started up the trail with Mom(Betsy) at 4am on Tuesday, and crossed our Dad on the trail around 4:45. Around 7am we hit the switchbacks, and my brother was doing much better than I, so we sent him ahead to the summit. (I admit I was jealous that he was faring better than myself, as I trained, and he didn't, but he has Dad's genes, so I shouldn't be surprised. He decided on Father's Day that his present to Dad was to summit the mountain.) I had a little mental party once Mom and I were past the cables, as last year we only made it that far since the cables were iced in on our summit attempt. My mantra was "I think I can" so we kept a steady pace. We summited at 10:40, where my brother had been waiting for over an hour. Dad arrived on the top from his second ascent 45 minutes later. After a quick break, we all headed down together. Our descent took 6 hours, and we were all tired at the bottom. We stopped at Trailside Meadow to stick our feet in the stream, and I think we all would have been happy to be done at that point. I could barely walk the next day (the 4th), but my Dad summited again on Thursday, and Mom and Dad did it again Sat. I'm proud to now own the Whitney N 1 tee shirt about extreme experiences. I'm sure I'll do it again, but I don't know if next year will be too soon or not. My brother is already talking about return trips. Our older brother summited 2 years ago, but won't go again until Dad hits his 100th summit. We are now a Whitney family. (Especially as my grandfather first took my mother at age 9.) His legacy continues.

Amber - daughter of WTNY N 1

P.S. Dad says thanks to everybody who supports his endeavors.

Above and beyond everything else, the entire Whitney experience is nothing but fun. Weather is is for speed climbers, multi-summiters, fat people who decide to get in shape and "do it" in 1 day, it doesn't matter because the whole experience of planning your trip in whatever way that you like is nothing but full fledge fun. The more far fetched that it seems then the more rewarding it is to reach the summit. It sure beats sitting in bar talking about it....