Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Fear of Heights

Has the fear of heights affected anyones climb on the switchbacks from trail camp to the summit?

Any ideas to get over it?

Our group is heading up Mt. Whitney on a day hike on August 7th. This is our first time.

I've read many of the recent trip reports. They've helped greatly in our planning process. We now appreciate the arduous task in front of us.

However, none of the reports have talked about the "Windows". I understand that the Windows come after Trail Crest and that they are essentially ridges with steep drop-offs on either side.

From other sources, they seem to be a major stumbling block for people with a fear of heights. In fact people have turned back rather than confront them even though the summit is so near.

Can anyone give a more complete description of the Windows such as their number, their lengths, the width and condition of the trail on a Window ridge, and the nature of the drop-offs?

Please see the post on June 18, "Exposure and Vertical Drops on Whitney." I also suggest clicking on the search feature above and entering the word "windows."

I am afraid of heights. Hiked Whitney last August, successfully. Get me over 20 feet in the air with an unprotected drop off and my kees get weak, my stomach churns and it feels like some unseen force is trying to pull me over the edge. I was bothered in 2 places on the trail between Trail Camp and the summit.
The first was about halfway up the switchbacks. Walking east on the trail and making a switchback to the west the trail approaches a drop off above the snow field next to Consultation Lake. I was spooked because I couldn't see what was below the edge of the trail. That feeling hit me and I just hugged the inside of the switchback and tried not to look at the drop off. Only takes a second to get past it.
The second was on the large window on the way back down from the summit. It didn't bother me on the way up as the trail on the other side is flat and you can walk past the window quickly and keep on going. On the way back down, the trail on the downside of the window is a series of steps causing me to stop at the end of the window to step up on the trail. That's when the feeling hit again. Again I got past it quickly. The worst part was hearing my wife fall behind me at this part of the window. Luckily she fell on her rear on the trail and not over the side but the sound scared the heck out of me! This window, the biggest one, is only about 10 feet long and the trail is about 4-5 feet wide. Look at the trail in front of you and walk quickly and you'll be fine.
All in all, the trail isn't bad for exposure to heights. There is usually a sloping grade off the side of the trail and I'm ok as long as I can what is below me. The cables were no problem at all and the same for the smaller windows. Go for it and I'm sure you'll be relieved when you see how easy it really is.

A couple of weeks ago, we met a woman at Trail Crest who had turned back after encountering the first of the windows. She was patiently waiting for her boyfriend, who had gone on to the summit. So, yes, there are people who turn back.

Trail Crest is a long way to go to have to turn back. I don't know how one would determine in advance whether to go or not. The trail is nice and wide. There is certainly no place where... "one slip and you're gone." There are a couple of places where you can look down and be impressed with the drop off. They go by pretty quickly. I've heard people say that they are pretty scared of heights but got by those places pretty readily by just concentrating on the trail ahead. You're tired anough at that point that there is little energy for extraneous falls.

IMHO, if you can fly in a plane, you can do this.

I'm not fond of heights. I'm not paralyzed by fear, but I find myself avoiding high places in normal (non-hiking) life. But on Whitney, which I day-climbed in August 2001 for the first time, I found that heights presented no problem at all. Perhaps my reason is idiosyncratic, but the main reason was that by the time I reached anything that presented a potential problem (generally, anything above Trail Camp), I was so utterly exhausted that I couldn't have cared less. I recall passing by the "windows" without so much as a quiver of fear. In fact, I didn't realize that they were the infamous "windows" until I'd already passed them by. Strangely, it was only after I finished the climb, and sometimes in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, that I've worried about the switchbacks and the "windows." But when you're there, it's fine. Don't worry about it.

I always find I'm more bothered by the height on the upper part of the switchbacks than anywhere else. The Windows are exposed, but very short. I guess my nervousness on the switchbacks is more agoraphobia than acrophobia, as it's the most wide-open view aside from standing on the very edge of the summit's East face.