Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board LIVE! From Mt. Whitney.

Shin got his first winter ascent of Whitney!!!!!
Passing the window near Muir on our way down!!!!!

WAY TO GO SHIN

Nice work, this keeps up he'll get 100 summits before the end of the year Cannot wait to see the pictures

Following tracks on the Main Trail side.

Parked at the end of the 1st switchback. Vehicles put tracks all the way to the Portal.

How'd the trail look?

You need snowshoes, or skis, from about the time you cross the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek. There was a group that went up and climbed Candlelight via The Red Chute without and I can guarantee that they weren't having any fun in the afternoon.

Snow down low is melting fast. A car (4WD) was up at the Portal when I walked by on the way down the road.

Saddest thing is that the upper section of the Mountaineer's Route is still only a mix of rock and ice. Wind must have been blowing hard out of the north during the storm and none of the snow seems to have stuck.

I'll have photos of both up in a while.

Hi Richard,
I enjoyed your pictures very much.

To be honest with you, I don't have a courage to do what you do in Mt. Whitney area on every weekends. My sphere of acceptable risk is very small as Mt. Baldy since I am a just weekend hiker without any technical knowledge of real mountaineers. Even if I had many years of experience in high Sierra and I were 30 years younger, I won't be able to climb alone Mt. Whitney with deep fresh snow in winter season.

All natural elements such as temperature and wind,can be dealt with many advanced equipments and gears but there is nothing can improve or strengthen the individuals mental strength. Your sphere of acceptable risk is much bigger than most of us who live in southern California.

Congratulations,again.

Shin

Thanks Shin.

I'd bet you'd be surprised to hear that I consider myself to be conservative in making Go/NoGo decisions regarding all of my summits of Mt. Whitney...

- I've been avoiding the Mountaineer's Route because I don't want to deal with the higher risk of the E-Ledges, potential snow bridge collapses in the Lower North Fork, the crappy conditions of the Final 400'... etc.

- I watch NOAA and a few other weather forecasts. The climb two weekends ago was "squeezed in" in a 12 hour weather window. I was watching the storm move in very carefully. This past weekend the winds were forecast to diminish, so camping high would work...

- I've been on the mountain probably approaching 200 times... meaning I know the mountain "like the back of my hand." Yeah, that means that I've been up there an awful lot without getting anywhere near the summit.

- I try to stay in good enough shape that when I need to move fast, I can...

I was going to write a TR titled "After The Storm," but don't really feel like it. The short version is: I parked at the end of the first switchback, followed tracks until they went WAY OFF-ROUTE near Lone Pine Lake, broke trail, on snowshoes, up to Trail Crest, made camp at the JMT Junction, spent a wonderful night (not being sarcatic) because there wasn't a breath of wind, woke up, climbed to the summit, suffering a bit because a breeze started blowing, and headed out via a wandering route towards Lone Pine Lake. About 19 hours of climbing over the two days.

Walking the road sucks, inspite of the sometimes gorgeous views.

The deepest snow I encountered was thigh deep, which on me is a little over 2'.

A little advice to any others heading up:
- Crampons are advised for the hard-packed, wind-blown snow near the summit.
- Don't be an ID 10 T thinking you can get around up there without snowshoes. The post-holes created by "booting it" screw the track up for those of us who know better.

You can see the photos at:

http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/Whats-New-1/Mt-Whitney-January-28-29-2012/21246599_LGXHTf#!i=1691302902&k=pZr68XF


BTW: if I was eligible to give out an YAI award, I would give myself one for this climb.

Bad Ass Richard..Thats amazing what you do and can do..
Nice pictures, so where's the thermometer I like temps what was it in the morning..

Congrats to you..

mark

These pictures are beautiful, Richard. I especially love the views looking west over the Sierra, and also the one titled "looking back to Trail Crest"; it looks so clean... so crisp in the cold air. The "Sunrise Glow" picture was beautiful with its deep opal colors. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Mark. I don't know. My hands started going numb on the way up to Trial Crest with mid-weight gloves on in the afternoon on Saturday and they were definitely numb with the wind on Sunday morning with heavy gloves on with heat packs. The point forecast for 13.1k was 17 degrees as the low.

BTW: the moon is good for this weekend... and the weather doesn't look bad.

Glad you enjoyed the photos Rosie.

Keep it up Richard, you can do it. Weather looks like it's holding for now!!!

Jeff

[quote=Richard PBTW: the moon is good for this weekend... [/quote]

Congratulations on another one! I'm sure Mark can't resist a full moon summit Maybe we can make it a party.

Speaking of which, I haven't heard anything new about the group hike in Feb.

I hear there is going to be a Potluck at the Hostel sometime over the Presiden't Day Weekend. Probably should contact Doug since you were the one who started this.




That high-clearance 4WD of yours would easily cruise us up to the Portal. Talk to Mark and Shin. I'll show you guys the shortcuts if you get me up to the Portal. This weekend may be windy though!

5 stars for this post and pictures, Richard.
Comment on photography and hike:
Superb, my gut was tightening up at each advancing photo to the summit. (I went solo, last Oct 3rd, just before that 1st storm, temp was rigidly cold with wind gust up to 30 MPH) My 6th summit and 1st 1 day trip.
My thoughts, I'm over it.
Than, I see your story and pictures and I see some extreme stuff.
How can he possibly be hiking in snow up to your waist? I ask myself? On that trail. Well, the pictures speak for them self and the truth is in the pics. My congrats, kind Sir.

I enjoy photography and editing.
Your comments and locations had to be time taking and I am sure it took lot of patience. It allowed the viewer not only the situation, but also the topography. Many of these peaks , I did not know.
Like I said 5 stars and accolades for you and your sharing. Many thanks,

Cascadesrule (Tim)

The Jeep is getting more stuff done....she's worse than Joan Rivers.

Thanks Tim... Interesting that I woke up in the middle of the night dreaming about a Winter ascent of Mt. Rainier... No, I don't think so!

Sitting in the parking lot of my second office... lacking the motivation to carry Mark's thermometer up to the summit.

Hope you'all had a good time at the show last night.

0744

Heading up the Main Trail. Broke trail up the old one.

Birchey and friend are heading up the NF to link up the Blue Ice with Whitney. Good Luck.

Long day. Almost back down to the Portal. Have to walk down to the campground.

Half a sandwich and a bunch of brownies powered the day.