Mount Whitney: The Complete Trailhead-To-Summit Hiking Guide

• Offers a full range of options for every kind of hiker, novice to experienced
• Covers not just the Mount Whitney Trail, but also several lesser-known or -used routes
• Includes route descriptions for five other 14,000+ footers-Langley, Russell, Muir, Tyndall, and Williamson

Mount Whitney draws nearly 30,000 visitors each year. A good portion of them climb to its top via the Mount Whitney Trail. But there are less-crowded trails to the summit that traverse some of the most stunning terrian imaginable. This hiking guide is the definitive, most complete resource-not just to the Mount Whitney Trail, but to those others as well.

Excellent, well-researched route descriptions and planning information make this guide an exceptional resource. A section on what to expect covers weather, high-altitude problems, hydration, and the wildlife you might encounter along the way. Trip-planning tips, plus information on wilderness permits and regulations, thoroughly prepare hikers for any kind of outing, from a one-day ascent to a week-long backpack to a night climb.

Paul Richins, Jr. has been skiing and mountaineering for more than 30 years. He is the author of 50 Classic Backcountry Ski and Snowboarding Summits in California. He lives in Eldorado Hills, California.

Paul Richins was raised in Weaverville, California, and started hiking in the Trinity Alps at age 12. He has more than 35 years of wilderness experience backpacking, mountain climbing, ski mountaineering, and white-water kayaking.

As a longtime member of the American Alpine Club and the Sierra Club, he has participated in a number of major expeditions to Alaska (West Ridge of Mount Hunter and the South Ridge of Saint Elias), Canada (East Ridge of Mount Logan), Argentina (Cerro Aconcagua), and Tibet (Cho Oyu, the sixth-highest peak in the world). Paul Richins and two climbing partners completed the first ascent of the Southwest Ridge of Stortind, an impressive peak in the Lyngen Alps of northern Norway.

In addition, he has climbed many other peaks in Norway, Argentina, Canada, Ecuador, and the western United States. He has hiked extensively throughout the Sierra Nevada and has climbed hundreds of peaks in California. He has climbed Mount Whitney by the various routes detailed in this guidebook and has completed a ski ascent and descent of Mount Whitney’s Mountaineers Route.

Paul Richins is author of the highly successful ski mountaineering guidebook 50 Classic Backcountry Ski and Snowboard Summits in California: Mount Shasta to Mount Whitney. He also maintains the Backcountry Resource Center, a website of valuable information for the backcountry skier, climber, or hiker wishing to explore the mountains of California, the United States, Canada, and beyond.

Professionally, Paul Richins is an economist working as a project manager at the California Energy Commission, overseeing the work of a multidisciplinary team of engineers, planners, and environmental scientists. He lives in El Dorado Hills, California, with his daughter, Sierra Nicole Richins.

Paul Richins is interested in your feedback and encourages your comments on the book. His email address is prichins@jps.net.