Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Climbing Lite

My husband is climbing the East Face on 9/11 and I want him to keep his pack lite. Can he get away without a tent? Any other suggestions on how to pack with ropes and gear, and still keep the total backpack wieght to under 35lbs?

~Swifty's wife

you can get away without a lot if you do the e. face in one day. just start really early and know your route. its not that uncommon and not as burly as it sounds. i've made it back well before sunset.

Vibnze 2.0, thanks for the reply, but my 42 year old husband is going to take 2-3 days. We're thinking about taking a chance and doing it without a tent...what do you think?

~Charles

going up anywhere in the sierras without a rain shelter sounds kinda dicey. do u own bivy sacks? i have a bomber bivy sack that weighs about 23 oz's. i also have a north face slickrock 2 man that weighs just under 5 pounds. at least take a tarp and a few hiking poles to prop it up. there's no need for any expedition grade tents and i certaintly wouldn't carry a tent made for more people than will be in my group.

if i could give you an average of times it has rained on me when weather forecasts called for good weather i would say that happens about 1/8 of the time. not very good odds when your nights rest depends on it.

After being stuck in a thunderstorm on Utah's Kings Peak without a tent, my husband & I, who climb ultralite, just got a Kelty Dart 2 tent. It's more bivvy than then but it also weighs just a couple of pounds and will fit the 2 of us. It was cheap ($112)and should serve us well if by chance we get rained on again when we're on Whitney in a couple of weeks.