Mt. Whitney MR input

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susanjoypaul
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Re: Mt. Whitney MR input

Post by susanjoypaul »

Heck no! Between the job, the writing, the driving and the hiking, I have no time for dating anymore :D
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plantmandan
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Re: Mt. Whitney MR input

Post by plantmandan »

spiderman wrote:Definitely learn how to find the old trail from the portal to avoid the neverending initial switchback.
I tried that shortcut without fully researching it and ended up in the wrong canyon. This canyon was quite beautiful, but I had to do a tricky traverse to get back to the trail. There are several worn paths that look like they could be a trail around the start of the old trail. Choose wisely.
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nyker
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Re: Mt. Whitney MR input

Post by nyker »

C'mon now, you have to get better at multitasking! ;-)
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rockyalps
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Re: Mt. Whitney MR input

Post by rockyalps »

I've considered the idea of going up the Mountaineer's Route and down the main trail, but after getting my butt kicked by Capitol when trying it as a day hike (wasn't acclimatized, and started too late, but I'll be back for Capitol) I'm re-considering. How would people here consider the MR/Main Trail loop on Whitney in a day compared to other 14er day hikes here in Colorado? Would it be comparable to doing Capitol in a day (lengthwise & technical difficulty)? My guess is it would be similar, since California's Class 3 is more like Colorado's Class 4, but I was wondering what other people thought.
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nyker
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Re: Mt. Whitney MR input

Post by nyker »

The MR going up will take a bit more time as it's not as clear as the Main trail and moves cross country along much of it with some scrambling along the way - going down the Main Trail would be pretty straighforward as it's all class 1, but it is longer at 11 miles each way. There are a couple spots where you need to pay attention to so you don't make a wrong turn where the trail gets weak, but even in the dark, it's not too bad assuming no new snow covers it when you are there.

As far as effort, it will be a long day and you will be pretty high up for a long time from Trail Crest (13.7k) for about 5 miles -I hear the signpost marking 1.9 miles is off and it's really a bit longer. As for time, my last two Whitney climbs were dayhikes and took 12.5hrs (dry) and ~13 hrs (partial snow) roundtrip from the Portal. Depending on your fitness, you could do it much faster, or much slower. I'd consider myself moving at an average hiking speed, but not really stopping much except for photos.

If you're coming from the MR (Iceberg Lake) - carry all your water up and over since you won't find
any until midway along the switchbacks (if its running) or lower at Trail Camp. Also...if you are considering Camping, then don't do the circuit as you will have to carry your camping gear up the Mountaineers Route and over the summit...
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apasquel
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Re: Mt. Whitney MR input

Post by apasquel »

Hey MR vets...what do you guys think is the average summit time from UBSL to Summit. How about turnaround time? Usually like to start by 5am...but if you guys think I should start sooner, let me know. I move faster than the average hiker.
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JenGa
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Re: Mt. Whitney MR input

Post by JenGa »

Good luck on your hike! It took us 6 hours to reach the summit from UBSL, but we were really taking our time because the weather was stellar and it was a great day to be out in the Sierras. It was also our first time hiking on steep snow (what a place to get oriented to snow climbing). There was a guy in front of us hiking solo that made it up in 4 hours. If you are fast and there is no snow, you should be able to cruise up it in 4 hours I'm guessing. Have fun, and take your time, and just enjoy the beautiful scenery. Oh - and the scariest part of the whole thing for me was down-climbing those dang E-ledges on the way out, with my 40-pound pack exposed above the 200 foot cliff. No siree, not a fan of those.
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