The Big One: Mount Whitney Climb

Hi everyone.  I hope you've had as good a weekend as I
did.

Today was a great day, a culmination of the previous
two day's activities, and some very nice and
thoughtful message I received from many of you -
Thanks for thinking of me!


Last weekend I took a break from my outdoor adventures
to attend Belen's, my niece, high school graduation.
Belen - Congratulations again on your graduation, your
scholarship, and for inviting me to celebrate with
you!


This past weekend I resumed my wandering - Many of you
know that this weekend was the "Big One".  The one
I've been preparing for, for months.  Well, I'll cut
to the chase:  Yup, I did it.  And, Yes, it was
awesome.

Any adventure worth recalling has some twists and
turns, some unexpected events, and certainly, this
past Friday and yesterday had a small bit of each.


For the past four months I've been planing and
preparing for a hike of Mount Whitney, the highest
point the United States - actually the lower 48
states, to be precise.  Mount Whitney is found in the
John Muir Wilderness Area, a national park, while the
trail that leads to the summit is maintained by the
inside the Inyo National Forest.

Because of the lottery permit process, being able to
get an opportunity to attempt Whitney is a big deal so
I was glad to have the chance to do a summit attempt.

What was originally planned to be a three day, family
event turned into a two day, solo journey.  The first
twist of events came when I went to pick up my permit
- I explained to the Ranger how my plans had been
altered and she offered to give me an overnight permit
instead of the Day permit that i was originally
issued.  After a quick mental assessment of my gear
and available time I took he made the change to my
permit and began my climb on Friday.

Once I cleaverly resolvd having left my crampons at
home, I left the Trail-head (8,360 ft) at 2:30pm, and
was at Trail Camp (11,984 ft) before 7:00pm.  There I
met several groups that had arrived earlier the same
day and the day before.  Along the way I hiked from
one impressive vista to the next; past numerous stands
of weather worn trees, past an untold number of
streams and large waterfalls from the abundant snow
melt.

The trail itself is extremely well maintained.  My
first impression of the trail was that it seemed like
a highway to the sky, and indeed it was.

The tree line is roughly at 10,500 ft, after which you
are enveloped in a world made exclusively of snow, ice
and rock.  A landscape made of granite edifaces; all
around you, shear walls of rock, thousands of feet,
stretching far into the sky.  But that was only the
beginning of the visual feast.

Although surrounded by an inspiring, rugged skyline
Trail Camp was a hard habitat for those of who chose
to  call it home for the night.  We all fruitlessly
battled the wind which rarely subsided below 20 mph,
and instead blew steadily at about 40 mph with gusts
in excess of 60+ mph.  Fortunately my tent survived
the night, however, only barely.  My rain-fly was torn
in several places, and a couple of tent pole sections
were noticeably bent.  This tough was far better than
some others in camp whose poles shattered completely
and their tents collapsed.  The only reason my tent
didn't get blown away was because in addition to
myself I supplemented it with about 60 pounds of large
rocks in the interior.  I think I maybe got a total 40
minutes of sleep during the night.  The next morning
everyone was equally haggard, and we all agreed; it
had been a miserable night.


Once everyone was up, half the campsite retreated to
lower grounds due to the difficult night, and others
because of altitude sickness.  Ten of us however
remained and made our bid for the summit.  Although
everyone broke camp before I did, the earliest ones
had over an hour start on me, I managed to pass them
all on the chute ascent, except the lead climber. 

The chute, between Discovery Pinnacle and Mount Muir,
was the crux of the climb.  It consists of a 1,200 ft
elevation gain in less than a quarter mile of travel.
The climb was arduous but the reward at the top was
absolutely magnificent.  From atop the crest trail I
found an unsurpassed vista: row, and row of snow
capped peaks, jagged ridges, deeply etched granite
faces, vasts forests, and frozen lakes.  It was only
at this point that I was grateful for the winds during
night before.  They had no doubt provided for the
pristine skies and the hundreds of miles of visibility
that I observed.

From the top of the chute the summit was a short two
mile hike over a narrow path, alternately bordered on
one or both sides, with drops of several thousand feet
to the valley floors on either side of the trail.  I
was the second person up to the summit and had it to
myself for close to an hour.

Once at the summit a whole new vista unfolded in front
of me - An unparralled 360 degree view: To the
Southwest the Golden Trout Wilderness, and the Sequoia
national Forest; to the West, Northwest, and North the
remaining portion of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range;
to the Northeast the White Mountain range; to the East
the Owens Valley and the Inyo Mountain range; to the
Southeast Death Valley; and to the south the peaks of
the South Sierras.

All along the perimeter of the summit you can approach
the edge, as I did, and look up, down and all around
to appreciate the height that you've scaled.  Perhaps
it was the thin air, the fatigue, or both, but while
at the summit I thought to myself:  For however much
we are capable of imagining, it fails in comparison to
the beauty that mother nature has in fact constructed
throughout the eons.

Trip Summary:  Two days, 22 miles, 6180 ft elevation
gain.  Maximum elevation 14,492 ft.  Travel times:  Up
to Summit, 7 hours.  Down to Trail head 5 hours.


Climbing Mount Whitney was great experience; and an
accessible one that I encourage all of you to attempt
someday - You will no doubt be the better for it.

Glad to be alive - And loving it!