Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Day hike times

What are your best times to the summit and back in a one-day hike. I did it in just under 8 hours last year at age 62. Am going to try to beat that time in a week or so. Can anyone give me a time to aim for?

Phastphil if your post is true then you are the man!! We are shooting for 7:47 round trip in a couple of weeks. I am 41. My hiking partner and I were talking last week after our one and only training hike that at some point we will not be able to better our times. But if you are for real then you are a great inspiration. I need some detail on your hike last year. I think you intimidated the heck out of everyone on the board and they didn't want to respond to your post or else they don't believe you. Make us believe you Phastphil.

GRINDER

If you want to do better, train with someone else. Why don't the two of you race up and back together? I'll bet both your times will be better.

Thanks for the input Grinder. It's true. I've done it 4 times so far. The first time taking about 16 hours with my wife and a Japanese fellow we pursueded to keep going near the top on the way up. Two years ago I did it in 11 hours with an asthmatic friend from the UK who did pretty well apart from a little altitude sickness. Then last year I did it alone; and when I realized I was under 8 hours, I ran the last hundred yards to make it in 7:57.

This time I'm going on Sept. 10 with my brother (who lives in England - low altitude)and we've been doing some mountain work around Lake Tahoe to get him acclimatized. He's pretty fit and I'm sure only altitude will keep him from matching my time. He's 57. It may be a race to the top as you suggest Jonathan!

Grinder, What makes you aim for 7:47? Because of this we are now going to target sub 7:30! Will keep you posted.

First summit about 16 hours. Second summit 14 hours, third summit we were shooting for 12 hours and posted a 8:49. Last year we were shooting for 7:47 and it just did not happen. No matter how hard we pushed going up we could not get ahead of the previous years time. Coming down was a joke. I know it sounds crazy but we got lost.....twice!! Actually we somehow got off the main trail, once at outpost camp and had to backtrack then we did it again, found ourselves halfway to Lonepine lake before we figured it out. Lost about 10 or 15 minutes. We were in real danger of posting a slower time than the previous year and ran most of the way from Lone Pine lake to the Portal, came in one minute ahead for a 8:48. I was not a happy hiker!! After cursing the mountain most of the way down and vowing never to return we were sitting in the jaccuzzi at the Dow a couple hours later going 'o.k. next year we can shave 10 minutes here and 5 minutes there.' Actually I really think we can pull it off this year but everything has to go right and on Whitney alot can go wrong. One delay and its over. 7:47 was picked because my psycho hiking partner, ex military 10th mountain division guy, picked it out of the blue and it sounds good. Phastphil I am impressed, big time and I am rooting for you to get your 7:30. Taking about speed on this site really rubs some people the wrong way, so sorry. Whitney is what it is to different people and speed is what it is to us. It is a huge challenge and to hear that Phastphil is posting that kind of time at 62 is incredibly motivating for me and my next 20 years of Whitney hikes.

Good luck to you Phastphil, hike hard!!!
GRINDER

Phastphil,

Your day hike time is truly incredible, especially considering your age. Can you give some intermediate times for your 8 hour Whitney hike, for example, how long does it take you to get to Lone Pine Lake (2.8 miles), then Mirror Lake, Outpost Camp, Trail Camp, etc? You're saying you do no trail running at all, just the last 100 yards? I find a sub-8 hour time w/o trail running to be almost impossible. How often do you rest and how long do you rest for? With a time of 8 hours, the rest times and the time at summit must be measured in the minutes. But please correct me if I'm wrong.

I've done Whitney about 15 times over the years and am now 41. My best time is 10:02 and I tried twice this year to beat that, but could not. Maybe next year.

What kind of physical training do you do aside from hiking? Running, weight lifting, stair climber... please elaborate. I am in awe of this time for a 62 year old man.

Candace, thanks for your post. I don't want to disillusion you but here are the facts! I take no rest stops except for 5 mins (timed)at the summit when I do stop the clock. I jog on level areas going up and then shuffle rather than walk on the downhill. I travel super light with only a 100 oz. Camelback and three Power bars.

In 2002 my summit time was 4:10. I don't remember the specific way points but am fairly certain I was 1:55 at Trail Camp. I have an advantage in that I live at 4800'. In winter I snowshoe and XC ski; in summer I'm a high mountain trail runner. Typically last year I would run 10-12 miles at 8500' to 10,000'. I also worked out in the gym on a Nordic Track XC and a rowing machine. I am also an ex-marathoner with a personal best of 2:36.

This year I have not been able train as diligently and have had some medical contraints so I may not hold onto my time. I'm sure going to try since my younger brother will pace and harass me.

Grinder, you have scared younger brother and he's checking the map and will probably leave a trail of M&M's so he doesn't get lost on the way down.

Hello everyone!
I understand that in 1957, Bob Lee of Ridgecrest, did a documented round trip in the time of 4 hrs.56 min. I'm not sure if this record stands.
Tom

Tom,
That 1957 time is admirable but is bettered fairly often these days. AdamR is a recent example (see post on 8/22). Less than 5 hours is a doable time for a fit runner. I believe a fellow who had been part of a trail crew round tripped it in about 3 hours and change using the MR last year in August. I didn't write down the time but I'm sure someone did. Phastphil's time is certainly outstanding for a 62 YO!

I checked out AdamR's post of August 22 and his time is great for a Western States Ultra runner. Now do you want my excuses for not even thinking about that kind of time? My marathoning days were cut short when I reached 50 (I was looking forward to a new age group!) and had to have most of the meniscus removed from both knees. Only the use of glucosamine and chondroitin over the last few years have enabled me to trail run again - forget a marathon. Glad to have got some more input on "doable" times though. Thanks guys.

Phastphil.... Ah, now I see it - you are a super fit ex-marathoner with a p.r. of 2:36, I knew you had to have some mega credentials to post such an outstanding Whitney time at the age of 62. Very impressive!

I've saved many of the posts from the old Whitney board that related to round trip times. Call me a cynic, but I've got saved posts from people in the past who claim (with a straight face) to do Whitney in 7.5 or 8 hours and say they are out of shape and don't run a step of the route. I dunno... I find this extremely hard to believe. Cyberspace allows people to be anonymous and also allows them to say whatever comes into their heads - even if it's untrue.

Any time under 8 hours is just phenomenal, whether you're running sections or just hiking extremely fast. Hats off to you, Phastphil!

Whoa phastphil! I didn't mean to inply you should go for Adam's time. Just reporting to Tom on this thread. I think your 8 hour time is great and appears to be within your reach. Most of us would "blow a lung" attempting to match Adam's pace up there. Eight hours is a no nonsense pace that few could match at 30, 40, 50, or 62 years old.

Hi Phastphil- Your time is very respectful and it would fun to hike with you. In July this year I was able to do a 3:45 up with 3:20 down with no running. In Aug I did two 10hr each round trip from the Portals in the same day. I'm not as old as you but I am 56 and enjoy hiking fast. Keep up the good work!

Wtny n1 - Great times. Be prepared for Candace to give you her usual grind, because if she can't do the mountain that fast, especially without running or jogging, how in the world could anybody else do it that fast??

High five and congrats on a great effort.

Phil,
It wasn`t my intention to diminish your accomplishments with my post- your times are awesome!
Heck...... I always bonk at Trail Camp!
Tom

Phastphil & Pushypete are off the mountain! It was a phantastic day for a phast hike. Left the portal at 5am and made the round trip in 6:54:44. Couldn't believe we shaved over an hour off my last year's time and I'm a year older. With Pushypete behind me I had no choice but to keep going. My wife was even late meeting us with the beer! Thanks for all your comments. I think it really helped getting all that info. And thanks for the encouragement from the fellow who hailed me by name on the way down. As I said last year, I'll never do that again!

Hey Phastphil - Congratulations, we left the Portal @ 3:48 and you two passed us going strong somewhere after daylight, must have been between Lone Pine Lake and Outpost. We next saw you at the cables, as we were ascending, you and your brother were hotfooting it down. I'm the guy who asked "Is one of you Phast Phil?" as you breezed by. When I asked if you were going to make your goal,you assured us with a thumbs up that you were going to do it. As we drove home today, we wondered all the way home about your time. I'm 57, on my second climb with a son with back and altitude problems. We cruised easily, took an hour at both Trail Camp and Summit, stopped a lot and finished in 17 hours, much longer than I anticipated, but all, especially the son who just gutted it out, had the time of our lives. You and your brother are an inspiration to the graying crowd (of which I'm a happy member) to just keep getting out there and doing it as best you can. Look forward to seeing you on the mountain again, or perhaps Grand Canyon. We're planning a same day rim-to-rim next year.

If you guys want to have something to aim for you can read about his guy who summited all 15 California 14000 in 4d11h19m. During this trip he summited Whitney, John Muir and Russell in a 9h4m loop.

http://climb.mountainzone.com/2002/story/14ers/html

Dear Phastphil, your killing me!! Actually I am really impressed. We just did our hike on the 15th and got the time we wanted. Shooting for 7:47 and came it at 7:44. At this point after cutting an hour off the last two years times I can see maybe shaving another 20 minutes. Sub 7 hours seems impossible. I am 41 live and train at sea level and hike the mountain about 14 hours after arriving at the portal. How you are coming in under 7 I don't know but sure would like some advice. Maybe living at sea level I am at my limit. Help me Phast Phil!!

GRINDER