We were a rag tag group of climbers, three of us came from Folsom - Gary, Brandon, and myself; two from LA - GENE and Jason; and one mustached mountain man from Mountain House State Forest - Rick. Rick does forest management at a California State forest. The group's climbing experience was thin with only Gene and I having relevant experience. What they lacked in experience though the rest of the group compensated with determination and a lot of laughs.
The trip started with an ominous tone as Brandon forgot the most essential piece of gear, his boots. Luckily we were only 10 minutes up the road so we doubled back, then onward to pick up Gary. It only took leaving the neighborhood before Gary asserted that he forgot his boots too. Newbies!
Gary, Brandon, and I rocked out to sweet country tunes heading south down US 395 towards Mount Whitney - the miles ticked off quickly as we passed numerous small towns and the turn-off to Mammoth. We rolled into Bishop, an hour away from the Whitney Portal, with our minds on our last real meal before facing the mountain. After consulting the Yelp! machine, we settled on a little BBQ spot called the Holy Smoke Texas Style Barbecue. When the hostess greeted us with a big Texas drawl, we knew we had hit pay dirt. Out came delicious cuts of beef brisket, half chicken breasts, pulled pork, and ribs along with tasty sides of mac'n'cheese, baked beans, 'slaw, cornbread, and apple cobbler. We ate, then ate some more. There were delicious BBQ sauces along with the meal and we even tempted fate by trying the ghost pepper based sauce. It brought the punch but it was more Oscar de la Hoya than Mike Tyson. No standing 8 counts were given out as we continued through and polished off the meal. Holy Smoke was a good choice for our last meal before facing the mountain.
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| Pre-game meal at Holy Smoke and the Ghost Pepper sauce! |
Onward we continued south and made out way to the Whitney Portal well after dark. The chosen rendezvous spot was in the "overflow parking lot, near the port-o-potties" according to Gene. Classic. Everyone else was there with Rick just getting settled and Gene and Jason already set up with their parking lot sleeping bags next to the car. Gene was rudely awakened by me as we got the run-down of the plan. Gene was our guide as he'd been to Whitney's summit a handful of times before.
That night the plan was to get some terrible sleep in the parking lot and get started in the morning - no rush on day 1 as we just had 8 miles to cover by mid-afternoon. The sleep went as expected (rather horribly) yet everyone was in good spirits as we put our packs together in the early morning light and readied for the hike. A quick stop at the trail head pack scale and we were off. Gene weighed in with the heaviest pack at 36 pounds and mine was just behind at 33 pounds - rather light. Others' packs were between 25 and 33 pounds. Off we went.
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| Getting packed up. |
My expectations were that this hike was going to be relatively straightforward and easier than both Rainier and Shasta. Besides being slightly less gained elevation than Shasta, we would not need any ice gear and were forecast to have relatively benign weather. Additionally, I'd been hiking all summer long with numerous strenuous day hikes and various other activities - I felt like my body was at it's peak for the year, perhaps ever. Would expectations play out?
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| Look at these guys! From left to right - Gary, Rick, Jason, Gene, Me, and Brandon |
We made steady progress throughout the morning, stopping at nearby Lone Pine Lake as a quick aside and at a few spots for snacks. Weather was really good, sunny and in the 50s, as we hiked through the alpine forests loaded mainly with pine. Great vistas of the below valley were abundant as we continued to gain elevation. The trip couldn't have started any better.
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| Great views and sunny skies on the way up |
As we gained elevation, we made our way above the treeline around 11,000 ft. and into the exposed hills guarding Whitney's summit. Base camp was attained around 2:30 PM and we found a suitable spot for setting up our one-night camp. Boom, tents came out, water got filled; we could smell the summit. Soon, the mountain began to have her presence become known. Winds picked up and the temperature dropped. As the sun dropped below the ridge line around 5 PM, the temperatures plummeted into the 30s and the winds began howling. We started to realize that it was going to be a very cold night. Quickly, our MRE dinners were assembled and scarfed in an attempt to stay warm. Then, one-by-one, as we were all freezing in the evening twilight and howling winds we retreated to the relative warmth of our tents and mummy sleeping bags. The last of us were in our beds by 6 o'clock at the very latest. The night would not be kind.
Brandon and I hunkered down in our two man tent with Gene and Jason in another with Rick and Gary in a third. Our agreed-upon plan was to wake up at 4 AM and start the summit climb. At best, I got 3 hours of sleep that night even though we were in our tent for more than 10 hours as the wind howled and whipped the tent into our faces. Halfway through the fitful night I felt the pillow portion of my sleeping bag and felt nothing but ice. I assumed that condensation was freezing on the bags. I pulled my head into the sleeping bag like a scared turtle. As I watched my watch tick down to 4 AM and waited huddled inside my sleeping bag, I worried about my hiking companions who were even less prepared than me and probably colder. It was maybe 2 AM at this point; two more hours of waiting and shivering before I would poke my head out of the sleeping bag and see that Brandon and I were covered with a light dusting of super dry snow. Anything outside of the sleeping bags was frozen and cold. Luckily I had put my boots and most of my gear inside of my pack so it was sheltered under the tent vestibule and at least dry. Brandon's boots had a half inch of snow inside them. The wind was still whipping, keeping everyone awake, I got up and checked on everyone. Everyone was alive, cold, and not ready to start the hike. We agreed that 2 more hours of huddling and shivering in our respective tents would be enough to time to perhaps wait out the storm and warm up slightly. Back into the tent and turtle position in my sleeping bag I went. At this point I was starting to have pessimistic thoughts that not everyone would be able to make a summit attempt.
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| Whitney bathed in the first rays of morning sun ... and the cold shade that we needed to escape! |
Fortuitously the wind abated and air temperatures slowly began to rise with the coming dawn. Our group was able to get a little bit of sleep with our delayed departure and the improving weather. We emerged from our tents after 6 and this time everyone agreed that we would depart soon. The gathering of day packs and consuming of calories commenced as we began preparing for the day. Although it had warmed slightly and the wind calmed, it was still in the 20's and felt colder in the shade of the mountain. We saw headlamps working their way up the 90+ switchbacks and thousands of vertical feet waiting to greet us after our miserable night. We began the switchbacks, going up to meet the sun's rays as they slowly descended the mountain to meet us. The thought of the sunshine on my face and warming my body pushed me onward at a fast pace. Quickly we spread out with myself taking the lead followed by Gary, Rick, Gene, Jason, and Brandon. As we climbed, I observed Brandon and Jason falling behind. I began worrying when 10 minutes had passed and Brandon and Jason did not resume the climb. I did the last thing I wanted to do, turn around and descend, telling the others to continue as we would try to meet them higher on the mountain.
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| The snow that tormented us all night. Frigid. |
I got down to Brandon and Jason. Brandon was struggling with classic symptoms of altitude sickness, he wasn't able to warm up, had slight headache, couldn't feel his hands or feet. We got him some aspirin, fluids, and calories and waited to see if he would feel better. I sent Jason up the mountain and waited with Brandon. After 10 mins or so and some encouragement from me, we started at a slow pace up the mountain. Moving would help Brandon warm up and the sun above would really help. I took Brandon's pack, carrying both of ours, as we trudged along. I felt really good and slowly Brandon began to regain strength. We reached the sun and Brandon really picked up the pace - it was clear he had fought through the altitude sickness and we were going to be fine. He took his pack back and we continued up to meet the others just before the Trail Crest at 13,600 ft.
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| Gene at the Trail Crest. |
At the Trail Crest, we took a break. Here we were only 900 vertical feet from the summit yet still about 2 miles away. Two miles at these altitudes is no picnic but very achievable. From the Trail Crest I put it into high gear. We were on the backside of the mountain and tip-toeing along icy loose rocks. I passed the 3 "windows" with views back to the front side of the mountain and below valley. The backside views were of the Sequoia National Forest; we could see the John Muir trail cutting up the ridge to meet the Mount Whitney Trail. The last couple of miles ticked off and finally I saw the Mount Whitney hut as the trail flattened to the summit. I was there and threw off my pack. Whitney had been more of a challenge than I'd anticipated but at the end we would all make it to the highest point in the continental United States at 14,506 feet, just a hundred feet higher than Mount Rainier.
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| That's my boot! Victory! |
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| Traditional victory summit beer! The highest bud light consumed on that day in the Continental US! |
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| A lot of happy faces at the summit |
The rest of the group trickled in and we enjoyed lots of snacks and of course some traditional victory beers. We were behind schedule so we did not linger too long. Down the mountain we went. Between the summit and the trail crest, I had to make a bathroom stop which proved to be most satisfying, my first experience with a wag bag. It was all downhill from there as we made good time down the mountain to our camp and got all the gear re-packed. I hung out with Gene and Jason on the descent as we fell behind Rick, Gary, and Brandon. I snapped a lot of pictures and enjoyed the sun on my face and increasing oxygen as we descended.
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| Third 14,000+ ft. summit under my belt. Also, an 'E'. |
Back to the vehicles by 5:30, we headed to Lone Pine for our victory meal. Old fashioned milkshakes (with the metal cup) and hefty burgers were consumed, recovering our calorie deficits. A 6 hour drive awaited Brandon, Gary, and I; we would arrive back in Folsom just before 1 AM.
What a trip. We dealt with considerable adversity yet overcame. It was great to introduce 4 new hikers to some serious climbing. I was challenged more than I thought mainly because of a lack of sleep and colder than expected temperatures. Since the hike, I've bought more cold-weather gear for the next adventure. The down jacket is a piece of gear one should never be without.
Our group was awesome. So many laughs shared and grit shown when things got tough. I wouldn't have it any other way; well, except for maybe those howling winds, unexpected snow, and frozen sleeping bag. Now, which adventure is next ... stay tuned.
Many more pictures on Picasa.
https://picasaweb.google.com/115426733602360079088/MountWhitneySummitSeptember2013?authuser=0&feat=directlink
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