Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mentoring needed for a early June hike

My wife and I are planning on hiking Mt.Whitney the first week of June '10. We are Blue Ridge Mountain hikers(VA) with no experience with crampons and ice ax. Scheduling with kids etc. dictated the timing. From what I've read it sounds likely we will need some crampon and ice ax skills. How much of a pucker factor would we encounter? We are also interested in how we will respond to altitude(we've been to 10,000). We will go to yosemite to hike before Whitney as a warm up. Does anyone have experience with altitude simulators (specifically Altolab)for training us East Coast sea level dwellers? Thanks, Rob

First wk in June, pucker factor 6-7.

given you don't have much winter mountaineering exp, it might feel like a bit harder. But go for it, the mountain is twice as nice with fewer people around.

If you are in reasonable physical condition, and take the time to acclimatize, the altitude should not be a problem, unless it turns out you are particularly susceptible (my daughter gets headaches every time we get to around 9K). I wouldn't waste my time with altitude simulators.

First week of June will almost certainly require snow travel skills. I'll bet you can find a class not too far from where you live this winter. You'll want to carry axe and crampons and know how to use them.

Rob N, don't worry too much about the altitude if you've been to 10K and were all right. Doing some acclimation hikes at altitude before you hit the Whitney trail is a good idea, but I live in San Diego (sea level) and have driven to Lone Pine (3700') and then backpacked up to Trail Camp (12K) the next day without any problems. It helps a lot simply to be very fit.

You have way more winter skills than many that try the walk, we see a large part of the early June hikers that have never walked in snow or been in cold weather , I would say several trips to a ski area back east, walk up the runs afew times find a slope of 30-35 degrees and that is the angle of the slope past trailcamp , hardest part will be finding the way to the summit, tracks will be all over the slopes going nowhere and people you see on the mountain are not going to be much help, they are following the tracks also, I would bypass Yosemite and try to hit Mammoth for several days doing the runs around the cornice they are harder than the chute above Trailcamp. Thanks Doug

If Tioga and Glacier Point roads aren't open, you may not get a chance see Yosemite's high country. No snow practice, no altitude acclimation, and a very long drive to get from Yosemite to Whitney.

Have you planned for this possibility?
Tioga and Glacier Point Roads Opening & Closing Dates

Pucker factor...I don't know.

There are a few area that can produce a bit of pucker but on the whole it's really not all that difficult, especially if the conditions are those produced mild winter followed by a hot spring.

Spend the winter preparing, reading the pertinent sections of Freedom of the Hills, going to wherever kids sled and practicing ice axe technique, figure out what works and what doesn't and just going out as much as you can to get experience.

With all that said, when you get to the mountain, don't go any higher than you can safely descend.

ditto that. sorry I didn't catch that earlier. You will NOT be able to practice in Yos. prior to your climb of Mt. Whitney in early JUNE. (check road opening Rt. 120 usually 6/15).

I want to think everyone for the info provided. You have given me some things to think about. My wife and I are considering a mountaineering course that teaches techniques using crampons, ice axe and others. A question I will post here and likely as a new thread is if we are prepared for the snow on the trail with the proper gear and techniques, are we still going to have a tough time following the trail in early June if we are unfamiliar with it. Thanks, Rob

Rob, here's a good thread to read, started May 31. Has some pictures of the worst section of the trail at that time -- the top of the 99 switchbacks.

Bad conditions May 29 and Christine's fall