Mt. Whitney Lottery
It’s amazing how quickly January flew by. It’s now February 1st, and that can mean only one thing; it’s time to send out your application to enter the Mt. Whitney lottery.
If you want to have a chance at securing a spot on the mountain this year, you need to get your application in before the end of this month. If your envelope does not have a February postmark, then you’re just out of luck. There is the off-chance that you can pick up an unclaimed permit in April, but I wouldn’t count on it. As always, read the fine print.
Inyo National Forest Lottery Page
Be sure to put down as many alternate dates as possible. This will increase your odds of securing a permit.
Pro Tip: If you happen to secure a permit, remember to show up a day before your planned ascent, and pick up your permit before noon. If you show up after 12pm, your permit is null and void. There’s zero chance that you’ll get a replacement (unless you’re attempting a single day assault, then you might get a replacement day use pass).
To get you excited about Mt. Whitney 2010, check out my post from last year’s ascent.
Last year I completed the round trip in 10 hours. I’m hoping to cut 2 hours from that time. I think this year I’m going to talk to my doctor about altitude sickness medication. If I can negate the effects of altitude sickness (which really killed my time last year), I’m confident I can complete this run in 8 hours. I’d like to get the medication early and test it out on a Mt. Baldy (Mt. San Antonio) training run.
Man…I’m getting the butterflies just thinking about this run. Can’t wait!
See you on the trail!
