As the morning sun began to rise from the east, I enjoyed the transition of the sunray minute by minute. Carrying a day pack of 18lbs of equipment, water and food, we continued the approach to the E ledges up the North fork of lone pine creek trail enroute towards the mountaineering route. We started 1 hour later than we had expected, and our pace was substandard. Two nights ago, I slept in Mammoth lakes at 7k and the previous night at a walk-in campsite near Whitney portal. My breathing felt normal, although I wish that I had slept at 10k the weekend before.
At 10am, after slowly gaining 2000 feet of elevation gain in 5 hours, one of our team member offered to head back at 10,500ft due to difficulty breathing and uncertainty to summit. Sean and I made sure he had a mapping tool and was able to safely retrace his way back.
We marveled at the stark beauty of the Whitney pinnacles as we continued our journey towards Ice Berg lake. After going up some scree and boulder hopping, we made it to Ice Berg lake at 11:30am at 12,600ft.
We spotted a few tents and climbers going down the chute. The temperature felt cold as I had all my layers on. I questioned the feasibility of filtering water from the frozen lake.
Making soft impressions on the frozen Iceberg lake, Sean took an ax and made a well where frozen water could be obtained.We wore gloves but could see our fingers turning red from the frozen water. The water was too cold to drink, we obtained 2L each and probably should have had more.
It didn’t look like crampons and axes were needed for the ascent since snow could be avoided. I was actually pretty bummed, I wanted to practice using crampons and actually use them for the mountaineering route! I guess I have another reason to come back here.
I had the most FUN on this climb than anything i’ve done in the past! There were some class 3 and class 4 moves that were so exciting to scramble.
The 'final 400' was the last bit of spiciness on the MR route. We have gained 6000ft in less than 5 miles and it's been 12 hours since I've woken up.
I remembered that the first few steps up the final 400 we're big steps, but the rest was pretty straightforward climbing.
Atop of Whitney at 14505', the highest point in the continental US, I was thrilled to have made it to the top of the ascent, and was expecting to be flooded with emotions. But I knew instantly that the 'fun' was over, and that today, the journey was more meaningful than the destination.
We summited at 4:30pm, and had the entire summit to ourselves for a minute. The wind was blowing relentlessly from the SW at 20-30mph, and the temperature felt like it was in the 20Fs. I had been cold for the past 2 hours climbing, and I'm praying that I will not lose additional energy from shivering on the descent.
I have gained a new respect and admiration for anyone who's climbed Mt Whitney regardless of the route. It was very difficult, and it acquires a heightened level of physical and mental strength and focus.
After summitting Whitney at 4:30pm, we took the Mt.Whitney maintrail to the JMT and looked for loose sand/scree on the left side of the trail, and indications of cross-country travel. There are no signs making the start of the route, it’s a class 2 route to a couple of class 3 moves on the summit block. We sumitted Mt.Muir at 6:30pm as the wind continued to howl at 25mph+.
The rest of the cables and back down were straightforward. My body has been cold from the afternoon from the high winds in 20-degree weather. I should have had another layer or two and drank more water. I experienced a case of AMS on the way down from around 8pm and threw up twice. We finally finished at 2am, making a glorious 21-hour day!
Detailed photos and videos on my Instagram...
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