Climbing Mt. Whitney

Rating:
Summary: Inadequate content for anyone wanting to day-hike Whitney.
Review: Having day-hiked Mt. Whitney in the summer of '98, I felt the book did not bring out the true spirit of what is involved in planning and executing a one day ascent to the summit of the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states.

Rating:
Summary: Adequate but some problems
Review: The Paul Richins Whitney guide is much superior to this, that remains the standard book in assisting Whitney hikers to the summit. This book falls short in a number of areas, though it's adequate for a complete novice or for those wanting to do the Mountaineer Route. If you have never hiked the main trail to Whitney, or if you want to try the alternate routes, then this is a a well-written guide, with insight from an experienced hiker and climber. There is ample information on how to secure a permit for the main trail, when to contact the Ranger Station and additional info on the annual February and May lotteries.

However, there are some problems with the author's descriptions of various other trails and this is imperative to point out. For example, the Meysan Lakes chapter claims that anyone can summit Mt. Whitney via the Meysan Lakes trailhead. This is problematic at best, and a falsehood at its worse. There is a trail to Meysan Lakes, but there is *no trail* afterwards until you hook up with the main Whitney Trail. The author fails to mention that an any hiker attempting the middle sections of this trail must have developed route-finding skills and this section would be a class 3 hike. This is omited from the book and consequently, could cause hikers somes serious problems.

I also quibble with the author's assessment of what is difficult and what is not. I've summited Whitney many times and regard a time of 10 hours (when not trail running) as pretty swift. However, the author says that "standard" or average time in hiking Whitney is 10 hours for a day hike. This is a little elitist and only well-conditioned hikers make it in that time. This also presents novices with faulty information. When they struggle to get done in 16 hours, they might rely on this book's information and regard that time as pathetic.

So be careful with this guide and the information contained within. I still recommend it for complete neophytes and for everyone not doing the Main Trail, and the elevation maps for each trail are interesting. But I still would recommend the Richins guide over this one.