Mt Baldy vs EBC

[funnyman7878]

For those that have done both Mt. Baldy and Everest Base Camp can you contrast the two?

I summited Baldy last Sunday and it was about a 13 mile hike, overall moderate, not too difficult but not easy either. No altitude problems at all, but then it's only 10,064 ft.

[funnyman7878]

nobody has an details to contrast the difficulty of the two? Okay, how about describing EBC in terms of trekking difficulty overall?

[kevin trieu]

It isn't easy to compare the two because one is a long distance trek at altitude and the other is a one day hike. But if you want to know if you are ready for EBC then do the hike from Bears Flat up to the summit and back every day for two weeks straight eating only rice and lentils then you will be ready.

I'm only half joking.

[spapagiannis]

I agree with Kevin, I'm not sure it's easy to compare the two. I haven't done the EBC trek myself, though from what I have read about and know second-hand, they are incomparable at best except maybe for the similar type of terrain you'll encounter on both (dirt, scree, etc). Don't forget that when you're standing atop Baldy you still have to add another 7,500 ft or so to be at EBC elevation. I'll defer to anyone who might chime in who have done it (or both) and could provide more concrete details.

FWIW, I crossed paths with a pair of hikers when on San G who were preparing for the EBC trek (first time). They regularly hiked San G via Vivian Creek (a few times per months I think), and two weeks before heading to Nepal they were going to switch things up and hike in Colorado for about a week - I presume for more sustained hikes above 10K ft and maybe summitting some 14'ers, since Southern California's offering are limited. Might not even be necessary, but that's what they did and they were a pretty fit pair and seemed to have a well-prepared game plan. Not sure if that helps at all.

[asmrz]

Totally incomparable, these two.

Baldy by most routes is a casual hike from cc 4,500 feet to 10+ and down to about sea level (in the city). It takes a few hours in a safe, casual environment.

Everest Base Camp is a multi-day trek in increasingly higher elevation starting in Kathmandu or Lukla at fairly low elevation (cc 2,000' in KTM, I don't remember the exact elevation in Lukla). You are likely to sleep at 10,000' to 14,000' a few nights, at 16,000' at least one night before going to BC at 18,000' something.

The human body in general will take elevation up to about 11,000-12,500' fairly well, anything after that depends on the individual's acclimatization ability. When my wife went to Everest BC in 2003, out of 12 people in the party, only two (she was one of them) even made it to BC. All others turned back because of altitude issues. Granted, they were mostly non-climbers who didn't know about their high altitude acclimatization , but all were fairly strong hikers.

You need to find out how you function in extended stays (several days) above 14,000' of elevation. That is not easy to do even in the Sierra. Staying that high in the Sierra requires some planning.

The hike part of EBC is a small, tiny part.

[willytinawin]

Apples and oranges. Baldy you basically zoom up to 10K then drop back down to sea level. I have not been to Everest, but have camped at 18,500' in the Andes. What I learned is that you need to take altitude seriously. Anything above 12'000 is high, and the difficulty thereafter is not linear. The smart thing to do is to go up slowly and sleep a little higher, gradually. I personally did not like sleeping at 18,500. A better comparison would be Whitney and EBC. If you can zoom up to Whitney in a day and feel great, then EBC might be for you.

[asmrz]

Agree with the above.

The only thing one could say about going to Whitney in a day is, you basically run up there before your body feels and starts to adjust to the elevation. There is a time gap before your body starts to feel the heights and starts to adjust. IMO that is not the best way to find out what your body will do in extended stay above cc 16,000'. But it is way better than going to Baldy... if only because of the distance and the altitude reached. If I had problems on that trip, I would not be eager to go higher.

Better test would be to stay up there for a night or two at or about 13,000'-14,000' and observe what happens to you and your body. Severe reaction to that elevation would be a huge sign...

I have been on several trips that went very high. Nobody who had problems high in the Sierra has ever done much while going higher. Most of them recognized their limitations and adjusted their trips to stay lower.The problem is, we don't know if we are Olympic athletes when going high or not. Our ability or lack of it is genetic and the only way to find out is to go up and observe your body and your brain.

Psychologically it is so comforting to know your reaction to exertion and altitude. Knowing what you are likely to feel after two or three days of work at 14,000' is invaluable when you go on extended stay above 20,000'.

[fatdad]

nobody has an details to contrast the difficulty of the two? Okay, how about describing EBC in terms of trekking difficulty overall?

You've posted some other similar threads, where you appear to either fail to perform any research on your own about a subject, or ask such naive questions, I still question whether your handle (funnyman) suggests that you're just trolling everyone.

[MoapaPk]

Where is the pink shirt?

[lasvegaswraith]

Where is the pink shirt?

My thought exactly. This seemed to be begging for Mel's return...

[lasvegaswraith]

Remembering a true classic

[artrock23]

For those that have done both Mt. Baldy and Everest Base Camp can you contrast the two?

I summited Baldy last Sunday and it was about a 13 mile hike, overall moderate, not too difficult but not easy either. No altitude problems at all, but then it's only 10,064 ft.

Well, you've done Mt. Baldy, now you just need to do EBC.

After having done both, you can post-up your findings here, and inform us all of the contrast between the two.

[John Duffield]

But Mel, wanted to run his whole family to the top.

EBC, is only a "C" grade adventure on the scale A,B,C,D,E.