Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Whitney Trail Video

I watched the Half Dome climb yesterday....awesome video! I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be watching the Mt. Whitney one soon. Great job!

HikeAlongPete:
Thanks so much for sharing this video with all of us. I am heading back to the mountain for the first time in 12-13 years next week, this time to summit! With all the research I've been doing to prepare myself for the trek (and physical training to boot!), it was extremely helpful to be able to see what I'm in for. Last time, my dad and I only made it to Trail Camp!
Thanks again for the inspiration! Summit here I come!
-Laura
PS: I'll have to get your Half Dome video, too. That's in October!

Thanks Lacydotcom, I am glad you have enjoyed the Half Dome video, pulling myself up on the cables was no easy task with camera rolling. But wait 'till you see Whitney! It's absolutely the best and one of the most scenic trails I've ever hiked. Enjoy!

Laura, great to hear that the video helps you to visualize and to plan your hike all the way up to the summit. Those last 2.2 - 2.5 miles past Trail Crest can really take a toll; it's the altitude, but also the trail seems to go on for ever and ever. Pace yourself and have a good time! Also, enjoy your Half Dome hike in October - a great time to do that hike, with cooler temperatures and fall foliage.

AWESOME!!!! I told myself I would never do Mt.Whitney again, but after watching your video. I just might have to go again.
Thanks so much.

Thank you so much for your wonderful work. I may never climb Whitney but I have the utmost respect for those who do. Your video inspires me to try.

Thanks, I hoped the video would inspire and show what great scenery awaits. All the best to you both for a successful Mt. Whitney hike!

hikealongpete

Dude this video is good meds. it brings back so many memories. i love the MWT , some people dont think it's true wilderness but for me it's more, it's just great. fine job.

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CLICK HERE for a quick (9min. 33sec.) hi...to the Summit.
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This video is so great I can use it as a training
aid!

hikealongpete

Fantastic video! Wow, did I just take a walk down memory lane. I summited Whitney in the fall of '86 or '87. And to date, Mt. Whitney is my favorite 1 - 2 day hike. I am looking forward to summiting again...soon. I am glad you brought this thread back from the time you originally posted it. Great job Pete...thanks!

Pete, fabulous video. Did you use a wide angle attachment? If so was it a screw-in (in front of the normal lens) or was it a wide angle interchangeable lens?

Bill

You can also click to YouTube to watch many different clips of the trail, however the video quality on YouTube is marginal.

Check out and virtually "hike" part of the Whitney Main Trail by CLICKING on each PICTURE or on the VIDEO LINKS BELOW.

Ten video-clips of approx. five minutes each will give you an overview of the trail from Whitney Portal Trailhead to the Summit of Mt. Whitney. Distance, timing and elevation pop-ups log the locations.

Note: This trail-video-documenting was done a few years ago at the end of October (just before the first arrival of snow), and under most favorable weather conditions - not even a breeze - and no snow on the trail, except for some ice at the cables. The video may tempt you to think the hike is easy, but in fact, high altitude and inclement weather could make this a very tough, treacherous and exhausting 22 mile round-trip.

CLICK ON VIDEO LINKS TO FOLLOW THE MT. WHITNEY MAIN TRAIL IN .1 MILE INTERVALS

Miles	Video Links	Duration	Area Covered
0.0 - 1.0	Whitney Portal	4:48	Trailhead, Carillon Creek, North Fork Lone Pine Creek, John Muir Wilderness Sign.
1.1 - 2.0	The 2nd Mile	4:17	The Second Mile of Trail
2.1 - 3.0	Lone Pine Creek	5:38	Log crossing Lone Pine Creek, Lone Pine Lake Junction, Whitney Zone.
3.1 - 4.0	Bighorn Park	5:16	Bighorn Park, Outpost Camp.
4.1 - 5.0	Mirror Lake	4:38	Mirror Lake
5.1 - 6.0	Consultation Lake	5:36	Consultation Lake
6.1 - 7.2	Trail Camp	5:25	Trail Camp, The Switchbacks, The Cables.
7.3 - 8.5	Trail Crest	5:03	The Rest of the Switchbacks, Trail Crest, el. 13,600 ft.
8.5 - 9.5	The Windows	5:10	From Trail Crest to mile 9.5 on the west-side, The first Windows.
9.6 - 11	Mt. Whitney Summit	5:05	The final Windows, Summit House, Mt. Whitney's Summit.

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YOU CAN ALSO CLICK HERE to see highlights of the trail on a single 9 minute clip.
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I'd like to add my two penny worth and say 'loved the vid your a star and i'll be there soon, cheers'

I just bought your video of the Whitney hike. It was worth it because it is the only thing like it. That said, I think you should do it over again with up to date equipment. The current version makes me motion sick if I watch it from a stationary position. The camera is almost always focused on the trail ten yards in front of the lens. All the great scenery is not in clear focus. But like I said it was still worth the price.

These look great for a virtual training guide. Can you get these DVDs at REI?

Randy S,

Sorry, but they're not available at REI or at any other store.

This may become more clear when reading above on Senior Boyd's comments (sorry Boyd, I will not film the trail again, once was enough for me - this was a tough one!). Most of my customers are quite happy with the videos, and as Boyd suggests, "they're the only ones available", but I also realize they may not be of "Travel Channel" quality, stores are seeking these days - maybe someday...

How could I really compete with the likes of National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, etc. videos? With their superior (and expensive) camera equipment, large film crews and editors? It is also much easier for them to shoot a great video with a "stationary" camera, than hiking with a "moving" camera while huffing and puffing up a mountain side.

I believe my videos are of an unique one-of-a-kind type which focuses to show the trails in greater detail and to provide a true virtual hiking experience for those watching it. They were meant to be an addition to others' outdoors videos, not to compete, but rather to compliment each other.

By-the-way, Microsoft Virtual Earth has introduced a pilot program of virtually "driving" the streets of San Francisco and Seattle - check it out:
http://preview.local.live.com/

Wouldn't it be nice, if Microsoft, Google, etc. could do something similar with our trails and the outdoors? ...and we could just click on our favorite mountain trail and virtually video-hike them at home on our computer?

Meanwhile, I've uploaded some of my videos (including Mt. Whitney) to the sites below for anyone who wants to see the entire trail, without having to buy DVDs. The clips, due to the small file size, are a bit jerky and not as clear as my DVDs, but still not bad:

Travelistic Clips of highlighted trails only. (this site shows the videos in better quality than the others).
LiveVideo LiveVideo[/url] Entire Mt. Whitney Trail).
UnCut by AOL Entire Mt. Whitney Trail.
YouTube Entire Trails of: Mt. Whitney, Grand Canyon's Bright Angel Trail, Mittagskogel in the Austrian Alps, Zion's Observation Point up & down.


Enjoy!

HikeAlongPete

Click on the controls at the bottom to watch a 9:34 video of the Whitney Main Trail, without leaving the site. (If you double-click on the picture itself, it will take you to the Travelistic video site).

I just got the DVD. Great 'souvenir' of the hike. I can show people what it's like to hike Whitney. Sure it's not produced by the Discovery channel, but if I brought a camera up it would look just as good. Come on people, quit being so hyper critical.

Pete:

I think I saw some copies of your DVD at one of the stores in LP. The little mountaineering gear/clothing store on the west side of the street near the western clothing store? I got all excited!

I still think of your video every time I head up the trail. It was a perfect tool then, and now.

-L