"Climbing Mt Whitney in One Day" Lone Pine Travelogue by VA_Dave

Lone Pine Travel Guide: 133 reviews and 294 photos

14,497 Summit - warm enough for shorts! - Lone Pine

I have some crazy friends in Santa Barbara who try climb Mt Whitney every year to show that they are not getting old. So I tagged along in 2001.

Mt Whitney is the highest point in the lower 48 states: 14,497 ft high, 22 miles RT, ~6500 ft altitude gain. We started in the dark about 5am and finished in the dark about 8:30pm. The secret of not getting altitude sickness despite no acclimitization is taking 2 asprins/ibuprofins every 4 hours.

It is a good idea to stop at the local hot springs after you get down, and soak your poor tired feet.

Mt Whitney is a very popular climb and it is necessary to apply weeks or months in advance to get a permit. This commits you to a particular day, even if the weather is bad, so you may not make it to the summit even if you are fit enough.

For more info on this hike see:
http://home.earthlink.net/~bclk/dhindex.htm
http://gorp.com/gorp/location/ca/hik_whit.htm
http://www.nps.gov/seki/whitney.htm
http://www.peakware.com/encyclopedia/peaks/whitney.htm
http://www.sierrawilderness.com/mt_whitney_trail_desc.html

I will add some more photos later if anyone is interested.

Page Updated Nov 24, 2002
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Comments (4)

Hopkid Jan 21, 2007 at 3:26 PM Report Abuse

The aspirin trick didn't work for me but luckily it didn't stop me from making the summit. I was a bit grouchy though...just ask my wife!
XenoHumph Jul 14, 2003 at 7:37 AM Report Abuse

Yes, I'd love to see more pictures! Bravo for your success! Very interesting page!
seratonin Jul 14, 2003 at 7:22 AM Report Abuse

Congratulations for reaching the summit within one single day! Good job! :-)
mtncorg May 28, 2003 at 2:00 PM Report Abuse

The aspirin trick does help. Though a good solid physical condition is necessary too. Good to see people from the Right Coast can get vertical too!!