Mt. Whitney Alternative (Permit Denied!)

[roadtripper]

Our Mt. Whitney Permit for Six Overnight Hikers = DENIED! No hard feelings, though,

Since our flights are already booked, and there's dozens of other fabulous big mountains out west, we are all wondering what your recommendations are for an amazing first 14er for us. (we are all 14er newbies)

FYI - this trip is in late July.

Criteria:
~ nothing harder than easy class III
~ over 14,000 feet (we all want to climb our first "14er") unless you can recommend the most phenominal 13er
~ southern california or western colorado
~ 1 or 2-night overnight trip preferred
~ would love to snag a lakeside "at-large" camping spot, but this is probably just being picky

So far, White Mountain Peak in California and Mt. Sneffels & Uncomprahgre Peak in Colorado have caught our attention.

Capital Peak looks tempting, but not as a first 14er

 

[bcborder]

Mt. Sill

Google maps calls it a 13 hour drive from Lone Pine, CA to Ouray, CO. If your flight was originally destined to get you up Whitney, I'd imagine you're arriving a whole lot closer to the Southern Sierra than Southern Colorado. I'd spend that time climbing peaks in the Sierra as opposed to driving to Colorado!

Personally, I wouldn't want my first 14'er to be a peak that you can drive to the top in a jeep. That eliminates White Mountain Peak; although I would love to mountain bike it!

My favorite trip in the Sierra was an attempt on Mount Sill via the Southwest Slope, class 2/3. According to Secor "has one of the best summit view of any peak in the Sierra". We approached via Bishop Pass. Spent a night at Dusy Basin. Then offtrail over Knapsack Pass and Potluck pass into the Glacier Creek drainage. Another night there. Summit attempt, then two nights out.

I guess 4 nights out doesn't quite satisfy your requirements but it was a fantastic trip. "The High Sierra" by R.J. Secor will give you lots of ideas. Don't miss the off trail routes in the high Sierra! They're as fun as the summits. Plus the weather will probably be better than the t-storms you get every summer day in Colorado.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

There's a pretty good chance you can get a walk-in permit to do Whitney, as there are lots of no-shows. Send me a PM or an email if you want to follow-up on the in's and out's of that.

You could consider Mt Langley - it's the 14'er south of Whitney - via Cottonwood Lakes. Beautiful area - go up thru Old Army Pass and turn right. No real trail, but it's a pretty easy cross-country. Can be done as an dayhike, or an overnighter at one of the many lakes you pass.

 

[Jay H]

From what I learned and remember as Tmax got the permit for our trip, there is no permit needed to go up mt Whitney from the backside, aka via Guitar Lake and the Jon Muir trail, you will need a permit to dayhike down to Whitney portal OR if you want to camp at any of the campsites on the Whitney portal side, however if are deadset on Whitney (and the backside is also beautiful, nicer IMO than the direct switchbacked approach from WP) you could per chance take 2 or 3 days to do Whitney from the backside. But not sure if you'd want to spend your entire 6 days on one peak, it sounds like you're trying to get multiple ones.

We got the best of both worlds, approach via Horseshoe meadow over 3 days/2 nights with 1 camp at high camp on our way down to Whitney Portal (we did a car spot).

If you're a state high pointer, Boundary peak is in the White Mtns but on the Nevada side, not a 14ker though, from Boundary you could hike over to Montgomery Peak which is higher than Boundary but in CA...

Jay

Jay

 

[Dennis C.]

As Kevin mentioned, you can most likely pick up a walk-in, one day permit for Whitney. Our objective was state high points, and we had hoped to get an overnight stay on Whitney as well. We did Boundary (NV) to acclimatize, then arrived early a day in advance to get the permit for the next day. It's a long hike (21 mi.), but certainly within reach.

 

[roadtripper]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Mt. Langely & Mount Sill both looks intriguing...I'll have to research a bit more about those mtns. Summitpost gives them solid ratings as well.

We may still hang around Inyo NF and try to get unused overnight permits for Whitney. I've read a ton about all the tricks to get up the mountain on trails that do and do not require permits (via the portal forums), but our somewhat large group of six makes me nervous. Also, I doubt the group could handle and/or enjoy Whitney as a day hike.

BcBorder - I think you're right. White Mountain Peak may not be quite the experience we are looking for. If only my group would be willing to haul some mountain bikes up

We have 8 unplanned days open for this trip, so we really could go anywhere. Southwestern Colorado is completely within reach I'd say.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Jay -

They've tightened up the permit situation this year - all approaches now require a permit, whether it's via the JMT (north or south) or via the MR route.

 

[David Metsky]

We have 8 unplanned days open for this trip, so we really could go anywhere. Southwestern Colorado is completely within reach I'd say.

Sneffles and Uncompahgre Peak are great, but they're really not worth 2 full days of driving when you have all of southern California to choose from. Where are you flying into?

 

[roadtripper]

Sneffles and Uncompahgre Peak are great, but they're really not worth 2 full days of driving when you have all of southern California to choose from. Where are you flying into?

In and out of Las Vegas. We do have 7-8 days total, so the plan was to pick either the Southern Sierra or maybe the San Juans as a base to acclimitize and explore the area with a few shorter hikers. The plan was to then attempt a 14er over the last few days of the trip before flying home.

We're also trying to get permits to "The Wave" in Arizona, but I've been denied for 2 years in a row on that, so I'm not holding my breath....

 

[Kevin Rooney]

If you do end up headed for the Sierra, you could climb Telescope on the way. I was over there Sunday, and the gate is now open so you can drive from the charcoal kilns the last mile or so. There's a nice campground at the trailhead, Mahagony Flats, as well as one lower on the road (not far above the metal gate) as well as back at Wildrose. Bring your own water, though.

The NPS periodically grades the last few miles of the road, and sometimes I can make it with a car, but usually I drive my Tacoma 4x4. If you have to walk the last bit of road it adds about an extra 1K' of elevation.

This is a good aclimatization peak. Mahogany Flats is 8K', and the peak is a tad over 11K'. It's one of the few that actually has a trail to the top, and the views are first rate.

 

[Peakbagr]

I'd opt for White Mtn Peak. Trailhead is in the bristlecones, around 11K. You'll drive 20 miles on an above the treeline access road and hike all day above the treeline, right from the car.
WMP is described as the highest desert peak in the North American and at 14,K and change one of the highest 14ers in the US.
Its a great dayhike, and you can easily spend a day hiking and exploring the bristlecones, a wonderful experience on its own.

 

[mirabela]

For what it's worth, I'd suggest against going after *any* 14'er with so little time, simply because the odds of one or more party members being very seriously debilitated with AMS are very high.

A couple thousand feet can make a big, big difference. If you want a high, classic alpine peak with a gorgeous class 3 approach including a marvelous knife-edge traverse above a glacier, the East Ridge on Mount Conness (approach via Saddlebag Lake, off the highway that enters Yosemite from the east) would make a great trip. It's "only" 12,600 feet, but if you shoot straight up there from sea level that will be plenty. This peak is in no way a "gimme," either.

Happy to talk more ...

 

[David Metsky]

For what it's worth, I'd suggest against going after *any* 14'er with so little time, simply because the odds of one or more party members being very seriously debilitated with AMS are very high.

Really? With 3-4 days to acclimatize I wouldn't hesitate to plan a 14'er with a group.

 

[mirabela]

Hey, whoops, sorry, I saw the 2-day timeframe for the hike / climb & ignored the 8-day window for the whole thing. Should have read more carefully.

Yeah, 3-4 days should get you up there. The Mt. Sill area is phenomenally beautiful, although all the routes on that peak that are less than **hard** class 3 come from the west, which means you have to get yourself over the divide somehow first, i.e. a really long and involved approach hike. I haven't done Langley myself, but from what I know or think I know about it, it might fit the bill well.

In any case, though, be it duly noted that Conness is an exceptionally excellent mountain, and the route I suggested is within reach of a strong hiker confident on steep rock, i.e. if you enjoy Adirondack slide climbs or Huntington Ravine, you'll probably like it.

One way or the other, have a good trip.

 

[Frodo]

Lets see... You want to do 14'rs, your flying to Vegas with no permits for Whitney, you have 7-8 days, and your willing to do the long drive to CO, personally I would just go with the San Juans. That is my favorite range in the whole state, and with about a dozen Fourteeners to choose from, your hiking options are almost limitless...

Now the Sierra's are also spectacular, even if you don't do Whitney (and so is the Death Valley), so you have a nice problem on your hands...

What ever you end up deciding is going to be awesome!

 

[Peakbagr]

The SJ's are beautiful. Durango is a cool town to hang out for a couple of days. Ouray, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde. Wow !

 

[Karst]

We were above 13'300' for 3 days in the San Juan's in SW Colorado last summer and several of our party got headaches even after 3 days of acclimating - not debilitating, but a nuisance for sure. One of us took diamox to avoid altitude sickness, but the cure seemed worse than the "disease" - intense cramps, nausea and associated symptoms. Drink lots of fluids regardless. It sure sounds fun.