Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Help -- Training Advice

Hi. I have grown up going to Mt.Whitney, but I have never climbed it; everyone else in my family has. We own a cabin in the portals, and im thinking it's time i go up to the top. I need some good advice of what to do exercise/physically to get ready for the climb.

Thanks!

See Training for first timer and Training.

As least get into a running program.

First person to talk to would be your GP/Internist/Family MD and let him/her know that you are starting an exercise regimen with the goal of summiting Mt. Whitney. I would encourage you to brainstorm little pieces of your goal: Do you want to do it in a day? Do you want to backpack? What are my experience levels with either of these? Do I have any conditions that would possibly interfere with this? etc.

There are a lot of ways to develop an exercise program, but really there's only one combination that will work the best for you, based on answers to the above questions and also what you enjoy doing (ie, if I hate the stairmaster, it won't make the training all that much fun, and I won't want to do it!). I would then talk to either a knowledgeable personal trainer or even a physical therapist (easy, gang, I know, shameless plug! ) who could assist with showing you a healthy and safe path to take to the fitness needed to achieve your goal.

You'll definitely get a lot of points of view from this board, that's for sure!

Good luck!
-Laura

As a former triathlete I have come to the conclusion that the best training for any particular activity is that activity. Swimming a mile each morning didn't hurt my level of fitness but I don't think it ever made me a better runner or cyclist. If at all possible, get in as much uphill hiking as you can prior to your trip to Whitney. I'm fortunate to have a 3500 verticle climb in my back yard. Though it does nothing to help me with altitude readiness - tops out at 4000 ft. - it does get my legs ready to go up and up and up. When I get serious about a trip I do this 9 mile hike twice in a day, about two weeks before my trip to simulate Whitney a bit. Then a week or less before Whitney I do either Kearsarge or Cottonwood for some altitude. Happy training to you!

Truly, one of the most important training factors is altitude. You can be in the greatest physical condition and a little altitude sickness will stop you dead in your tracks. If you have a place up by the portal try to sleep there for as many nights as you can before you attempt a summit. Of course being in shape helps, but I would imagine more attempts are foiled by altitude than anything else.

Stadium stairs. I have trained many different ways and cross training is always good but running stadium stairs has proven the single best method for me. Almost any high school football stadium will do.

By the end of my training before I hit MR, I was running 20-25mile/week and hiking 15-30miles/week. The altitude didn't affect me at all.

Mono, you're one of the lucky ones. When I was younger, I was in outstanding shape, running lots of distance plus stairs. I could get to the top of Whitney in less than 5 hours.

But once there, I was one very sick puppy.

Altitude affects at least 75% of those who climb to Whitney's summit. You are in the 25% who are just plain lucky. It has nothing to do with your condition.

Agree with you Steve on the altitude thing. It's a genetic luck of the draw. I started hiking big hills at age 16 in 1975 while living in Estes Park. I hiked Longs 4 times that year and never had a lick of trouble with the altitude but people who went with me who were in FAR better shape struggled. Even though that is the case for me I still spend at least one night at altitude before going up high. I just think it's the prudent thing to do even if altitude doesn't ever seem to bother you.

I lead a group every year on a single-day hike of Whitney, and my suggestions to the newbies are training and acclimation.

1) Training: We usually do two to three good hikes in advance of Whitney. My trainig this year included Cactus to Clouds (done three weeks ago), Half Dome (just completed on Thursday, and the Vivian Creek Trail of San Gorgonio (planned for July 13th). Other favorites of mine are Mt Baldy from Baldy Village, and White Mountain (3rd highest peak in California at 14,246 feet). No matter what you do, try and get a few good hikes in that have both distance and elevation. Another good suggestion made on this post is stadium stairs. This is also part of my training regiment, and highly recommended. After you pass Mirror Lake (mile four) on the main Whitney trail, the trail becomes more granite than trail in places, and steps cut into the granite. Plus the 97 switchbacks after Trail Camp are tough, and I have found that doing sets of stadium stairs really pays dividends in these sections.

2) Acclimation - This is a key part to summiting. I always arrive at Whitney Portal two three days ahead of my planned hike day. Not only does this give me time to relax, I also are spending time at 8,300 feet, and getting my body used to the elevation. I'll also usually get in a casual final warm-up hike to Lone Pine Lake (elevation 9,800 feet) two days before hike day. Plus, no permit is needed if you only go as far as Lone Pine Lake.

Hope this helps you in your training. Also, please read Versatile Fred's section on Training for first timers, it is very informative.

Whitney Mike

Does anyone have data on how long training hikes' effects last? If your training hikes are several months before your Whitney hike, do they really "stay" with you and make a difference?

Would a hike up Mt. San Jacinto on May 15 prepare you better for a July 15 attempt at Whitney than would a much lower hike on July 1? It seems to me that your body would "forget" the effects of the San Jac hike long before your Whitney trip.

A lot goes into training for a Mt. Whitney Day Hike, less for a summer backpacking trip in the summer.

Here is what I do and it works for me...

You need to build endurance, aerobic capacity, get use to hiking at elevation in excess of 11,500' for long periods of time and you have to get use to the eventual boredom of a 22 mile round trip.

Other than consulting a physician before you start here goes...

Run and/or bike at a very high aerobic level for 20 minutes building to 60 to 70 minutes 4 to 5 days a week. My heart average heart rate is 82% of max during this training.

Go into the mountains at least one day a week and go at it hard. My heart is in the high 70% range during these with I max out at about 10 miles round trip with 3,500' to 4,000' of gain. Later, I was go for endurance doing day hikes of 16 to 22 miles and backing down to about 65 to 70% of max heart rate on the ascent. The distance is also to get use to hiking long hours.

This is especially important to the Whitney novice, I go to Sierra and backpack or hike with the idea of being over 11,000' most of the trip and topping out somewhere between 12,900' and 14,246', I like the Cottonwood Lakes and White Mountain areas for these trips. I will do this about a month before a trip to Mt. Whitney. This will give the novice an idea what it is like to hike at these elevations and if they are affected by AMS in time to do something about it. While in the Sierra it is a good idea to stop by the Portal to get the lay of the land.

At a high level of fittness, the effects of training goes away real fast.

Does anyone have data on how long training hikes' effects last? If your training hikes are several months before your Whitney hike, do they really "stay" with you and make a difference?

Would a hike up Mt. San Jacinto on May 15 prepare you better for a July 15 attempt at Whitney than would a much lower hike on July 1? It seems to me that your body would "forget" the effects of the San Jac hike long before your Whitney trip.

Typically, you will lose about 50% of your training condition after 3 weeks. Therefore to answer your question, hiking on May 15th will help with leg strength, stamina and hiking at elevation but you will lose over half of the gains realized on that hike if you don't continue to train. So for a real conditioned attempt at Whitney or any other long hike, one should continue to train at least once a week on trails and mountains. The gym is also a good place to spend time...work on leg strength, core strength and use the eliptical trainer or stationary bike for a good cardio workout.
Ed

I just climbed Whitney on the 25th of June. I didn't have any problems getting up to the summit. For training I did several hikes
in high altitude and did 500 sit ups every day.