Climbing Mt. Whitney - step two: training

Mt. Whitney lies 14,505 feet above sea level and every year, thousands make it a goal to reach the peak. The Whitney trail is a 22-mile out and back hike with over 7000 feet of elevation gain. Training to hike Mt. Whitney on the surface may appear to be simple enough - get some food, good shoes, and let's go! I sheepishly remember my first trip that started off so well - I was in excellent shape, in my early 20's, and loved being outside. That first attempt left me puking along the trail about a dozen times until I finally got my sorry ass to the bottom. You don't get rescued from altitude sickness.

I have since successfully climbed Mt. Whitney three times and I have learned plenty on what TO DO and what NOT TO DO. The following information has helped me lead two groups up Whitney with a 80% success rate (more on that 20% in a bit).

CHALLENGES TO CLIMBING MT. WHITNEY-

1. Permit will dictate your pace. It is hard to get a two-day permit and you may end up with a one day permit. You will need to prepare your body to do the whole 22-mile trek in 12-16 hours. (3% of those who attempted were too slow and didn't make the cut off time).

2. Hard on knees - all that descending is hard on your knees especially if you are predisposed to knee problems. You will need to calculate how much climbing you will want to do. The challenge in climbing Mt. Whitney is not just the 11 mile climb; it's the 11 mile climb down. Having a parachute has crossed my mind. (Another 10% was from bad knees.) Hiking poles is a smart choice to help you reach the peak and that beer at the end.

3. You are the pack mule - carry your water and be ready to refuel. Be smart on your packing and know your gear.

4. The big one - Altitude sickness. Some get it worse than others and fitness level is not a predictor of how you will respond; hence my puke fest the first time up. (Last 7% was from altitude sickness)

TRAINING - Give yourself 2-3 months to train. Upon receiving notice that you got a permit (YAHOO!!), set up a calendar with your friends and be sure everyone is committed to the hikes. When I train people, if they don't come to the training hikes, they don't get to hike Mt. Whitney. Period. Also, start to gather your gear & smart, lite clothes. To see of items to carry with you, check out my One-day pack blog from September 2010

First Month - spend the weekends hiking 8-12 miles working on pace and stamina. Wear your pack, shoes, and clothes that you plan to bring with you on your trip. It may seem silly that you fill up your entire water bladder for a 4-hour hike. You will be thankful that you learned about an issue on ...a 4-hour hike vs. an 8-hour hike. Get comfortable with the size & weight of the pack as well as where you like your stuff to go (e.g. camera, chap stick, headphones). You may discover that your pack hurts your back, your shoes suck, you get blisters, cotton vs. smart fabrics, you need hiking poles, you don't like beef jerky but you like PB&J's, etc.

Hiking schedule - The local mountains in San Diego offer the distance and elevation change to start off your training. There are a handful of trails that give you 8-12 miles of hiking and 2000-4000 feet of elevation gain. Sample schedule - Iron Mtn (8 miles; 2,696 foot peak), Mt. Woodson (8.7 miles with steep sections), Mt. Baldy** altitude hike (12 miles, 4000 feet of elevation gain, 10,084 peak).

During the week, work on your cardiovascular endurance with running, fast walking, and stair climbing for a minimum of 30 minutes but aim for 45-60 minutes, three times a week. This cardio will build your base for intervals next month. Add strength training into your training with squats & lunges (compliment with chest, back, and core) two times a week. Both strength training and high-intensity endurance training help train the muscles to deal with anaerobic situations.

Second Month - Continue your training with longer hikes, steeper terrain, and another hefty altitude hike. You should be comfortable with the weight of your pack and shoes. (Planning Logistics - for the longer hikes in the mountains, get all the maps and directions the night before and plan to leave San Diego at 5am so you can start the hike by 7am. Though San Diego is often under a blanket of marine layer, the mountains are hot and it is best to get to the peak before it gets too hot. Training for the heat is not part of preparing you for Mt.Whitney; just part of the package.) Get creative with your meal planning. You will be on the trail for 5-8 hours and those bars will start loosing their appeal. Instead, go for real food like last night's pizza, sub sandwich, PB&J, peach's in a cup (personal favorite). You will want a combination of complex carbs, protein, and fat. I actually like to think of something sweet, salty, crunchy, & something with chocolate.

Hiking Schedule -

San Jacinto via of Marion Mtn** (PERMIT REQUIRED) - 11 miles, 6700' elevation gain, 10,834' peak - this climb is particularly steep and a good test of what the change of altitude does to you. Work on slowing your pace a bit and deep belly breathing. I particularly don't like lots of stops because the muscles and breathing lose their rhythm - steady pace works well.

Mission Trails - nothing too exciting except that you can get a lot of miles. Goal for this hike is steady pace of 15 miles in 5 hours.

San Gorgonio** (PERMIT REQUIRED) - 16 miles, 5419' elevation gain, 11,499 peak, 6-8 hours. Practice with food and test your water purifier on this trail. Again work on pacing and breathing - you may catch yourself only doing shallow breathing. Work on breathing thru your diaphragm.

Once every couple of weeks, challenge your cardiovascular endurance with intervals by running up a hill for 1-3 minutes at an intense pace and then allow yourself to recover before repeating 3-4 more times. Add some more weight to those lunges and squats.

Final Month of Training - Just to clarify - climbing at altitude won't actually acclimatize you. You need to live in that altitude for days, weeks, or (for some)months to actually get the physiologically changes to enable you to function with lower levels of oxygen. However, hiking at altitude will give you a look at how your body responds. Slowing your pace and breathing smooth are both effective tools to improve your chances.

Hiking schedule -

Big Bear - 10+ miles. Get yourself up to Big Bear at 8000 feet. There are plenty of trails that interweave and offer beautiful views.

San Jacinto via Humber Park (PERMIT REQUIRED)- 16 miles, 4,384' elevation, 10,834' peak, 8 hours. Reach the peak using a different trail. It is longer but the elevation gain is a bit more forgiving.

Each training hike will give you precious experiences to prepare you for the actual Mt. Whitney climb. Learn from your mistakes and your friends mistakes.

Climbing Mt. Whitney - step three: wake up at 3am....More on the final days of preparation.

Remember to stop and smell the pine trees.

Chi