Mount Whitney in California’s Sierra Nevada is the highest mountain in the lower 48 states. Because of that distinction, Whitney is also one of the most climbed mountains in the United States, although of the 30,000 or so that attempt it each year, only about a third actually reach the 14,505-foot-high (4,421-meter) summit.
Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the United States outside of Alaska, is understandably very popular. So popular that since 1996 the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service, who jointly administer the peak in Sequoia National Park and Inyo National Forest, have required hikers and climbers to have a permit, which limits the number of daily visitors to preserve the area’s wilderness character. Oh, you also have to pack out all solid human waste. Permits are assigned by lottery in February. For more information about the lottery, follow this Inyo National Forest link.
If you’re lucky enough to garner a Whitney permit, then climb and enjoy this unique and beautiful granite peak. Most follow the 10.7-mile Mount Whitney Trail, a grueling 22-mile trek with an elevation gain of 6,100 feet if you do it in a day. Most choose to camp along the way to break up the ascent. It’s a fairly easy highway, er trail, to the top with lots of folks sharing your experience—as many as 500 a day. The biggest causes of failure are altitude sickness, mostly in those coming directly from sea level, snow and ice, weather, exhaustion, stumbles and falls, and bad judgment.
Rock climbers should not even bother with the regular Whitney Trail and instead go for one of the superb climbing routes on the East Face. One of the best is the Mountaineer’s Route, a long 3rd Class scrambling route first done by the great naturalist John Muir in 1873. For a technical route, the East Face (III 5.6) is a must-do classic. This stellar line, threading up the big wall, was established in 1931 by Robert Underhill, Glen Dawson, Jules Eichorn, and Norman Clyde—a veritable who’s who of early Sierra climbing. The East Buttress, put up in 1937, is another great and interesting classic Whitney route with sustained climbing, great position, little loose rock, and no crowds until you pop onto the summit and the gawking hikers wonder how the heck you got up there.
To find out lots of cool facts and interesting tidbits about Whitney, read Mount Whitney: Highest Mountain in California.
Photograph above: Susan Paul scampers down 3rd Class terrain on the Mountaineer’s Route on Mount Whitney. Photograph courtesy Doug Hatfield
Comments
Mount Whitney looks like a great climb. I can see why approx 30,000 try their luck on it every year.
Mount Everest The British Story
Good basic presentation. My wife and I made it to the summit of Mt. Whitney on September 11, 2009 by the Mt. Whitney Trail. I am 57 and she is 56. She is deaf and has balance problems. She also has arthritis in her big toe. We took the climb very slowly in order to acclimitize to the altitude, car camping at about 6,000 feet and then 8,000 feet before starting on the trail. We then camped on the trail at about 10,000 feet and finally at 12,000 feet before hiking on to the summit the third day. We moved slowly and it was very tough. We had good weather – there was rain and snow the next day. It is an incredibly beautiful and very rugged mountain, and our success together is something we will never forget. We made it to the top breathing hard, but with no real altitude sickness. Any healthy person has a shot at success on Mt. Whitney.