Attention hopeful 2011 Whitney summiteers – the season of informational Whitney Clinics has begun!

On February 17th at 7PM, the Santa Monica REI will hold its first Whitney Clinic. I attended one of these last year before my summit hike, and if you’re even thinking about tackling Whitney this season, I highly recommend you attend one of these lectures. They give you a great overview of the routes, realistic first-hand experiences from the trail, tips on the often-confusing permit system, and a nice job of just putting the entire preparation period into perspective.

The REI Clinic is free, but space is limited. They strongly recommend you try to snag one of the few remaining registered spots – and if you can’t, then try to get there nice and early. The one I went to filled up pretty quickly, and some people had to be turned away.

If you can’t make this one – don’t worry. There are more spots in the Arcadia, Manhattan Beach (on 2/16), and Northridge (on 2/15) REIs.

If local chains and wine are more your thing, Adventure 16 is also holding clinics in early February, featuring mountaineer and Whitney guide Kurt Wedberg AND a “Happy Half-Hour” before the program featuring wines from Redwood Creek. These events are also free, but you should probably get there as early as you can. Happy Half-Hour begins at 6:30, with the program starting at 7PM. The Tarzana Store’s presentation will be held on Thursday, February 10th, with the West LA Store’s at the same time on Friday, February 11th.

Tags: Adventure 16, Clinic, free, Hiking, Los Angeles, mount whitney, planning, preparation, REI