Climbing Mt. Whitney

With all the Mt. Whitney books out, there is little here that is new. And what does appear elsewhere, such as in the Thompson-Newbold or Richins books, is often covered better in those other sources.There is unwarranted hyperbole: On Giardia and E. coli, "our streams and lakes are filled with these nasty bugs." And eyebrow-raising phraseology: "From late July to the end of September, technical climbing gear is generally not needed on the Whitney Trail" and "Bivy sacks slip right over a sleeping bag and are roomy enough to allow the user to cook a meal...."An example of wrong information: "Diamox...helps flush lactic acid out of the body" purportedly explains why it helps prevent altitude sickness. But Diamox's actual mechanism of action is to inhibit carbonic anhydrase, which in turn counters the acid-base imbalance produced by altitude hyperventilation.More attentive editing would have helped. For example, Croft's encounter with an enraged grouse is hilariously related on page 67. But it is repeated on page 94, and it's not needed in both places.While there is more to fault, much in the book is correct and to the point. Unfortunately, the novice reader is not in a position to make the distinction.The first third of the book covers history-both natural and mountaineering-and these are well done. A nice touch is the final chapter, a Norman Clyde narrative. And Glen Dawson's Foreword is a delight. Finally, a good bibliography is included-somewhat uncommon in mountaineering guidebooks.

I was looking for a guidebook that had the "standard" route to the summit as well as covering the technical routes on the E. face. This book is a perfect melding of both. It covers the approach to the E. face as well as the routes.Where this book stands out is the training and acclimatization advice. It is not a training manual, but rather a brief summation of training and it gives excellent advice on acclimating before tackling Whitney. It encourages a one day ascent and gives an outline of what you should be doing on the days before a one day attempt.While this may not be the only guidebook on Whitney you should buy, it definitely needs to be in the collection.

This is a good, thorough book to prepare for hiking Mt. Whitney. Confess I knew of the author before purchasing. Impressed ever so much beyond that after reading. I have been to the top of Mt. Whitney twice before. This book prompted me to say, "Oh Yes! I remember now." The information is in this book. The information that will prepare you to summit!Mark S. Allen

Peter Croft has put together an excellent resource which should be required reading for climbers who wish to attempt some of Mt Whitney's more technical routes. Peter is a legend in climbing/mountaineering and one should appreciate his efforts in seeking to give climbers a broad background on this subject.

For a book so highly recommend, it is bafflingly light on actual details. The sections on the history of the route, the geology of the mountain ranges, and personal anecdotes far exceed any actual advice on how to prepare or navigate around this mountain. For example: The Mountaineer's Route - probably one of the most popular alternatives to the main trail is mentioned multiple times and a few pictures (random people holding on to some rocks with no context) are scattered throughout the book, but the actual section of the book that is devoted to this route is amazingly sparse: one whole paragraph. It is paraphrased here for your consumption: "Aim for the gully then continue on to the higher notch. Descend a little bit and then climb through the trough to the summit." Information about other climbs and approaches are about as useful. I deeply regret spending any money on this book.

Very helpful guide, although a few more visuals would be beneficial for some parts (ebersbacher ledges).

This book is great. We traveled to California to do the hike and the book provided all the information we needed. My father Larry Manth and I did the hike in about 20 hours and the book was invaluable.Larry ManthBuffalo, NY

The book was a little expensive for what I got - O.K. , but not thrilled witht his product quality.

Bought it, did it!