Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Trip Report: Toughest climb of my life

In 2009 I got a notion to climb Mt. Whitney. I soon learned I had missed the lottery for permits, and I really didn't like the idea of red tape or a crowded trail. So I decided to climb in the snow, despite having no winter mountaineering skills or equipment. I decided to teach myself, and I did a decent job, playing in the snow every chance I got, and managing an ascent of San Gorgonio in deep snow using only cheap snowshoes and old ski poles (not recommended!) In May of 2010 I thought I was ready for Whitney, even knowing I'd encounter heavy snow above Outpost Camp. I'd fortunately by then acquired some crampons and a shiny red ice axe, and I was making good progress in the area of the switchbacks (which I couldn't actually see, as that was a heavy snowfall year), when fresh snow began to fall. The falling snow was obscuring the tracks I'd followed, and I knew I lacked the navigation skills to get back without those tracks. I made the wise but sad decision to retreat.
Work and life kept me off the mountain for a year, but in 2011 I was ready to go back and training hard. I planned another trip to San Gorgonio, and left my house with a full pack, only to become overcome with exhaustion, at which point I went back inside and slept for a long time. A few days later my girlfriend dragged me to the emergency room; I don't remember the CAT scan or checking into the hospital, but I remember someone saying the tumor was the size of an egg and that my brain was shifted 5 centimeters to the left. I remember that I liked the narcotics and the nurses that brought them, and a few days later I remember a pretty, young oncologist explaining that I didn't have brain cancer, I had a blood cancer that just happened to be in my brain. The difference was lost on me. Later I would come to understand that I had central nervous system lymphoma.
When I finally came home from the hospital, I asked my girlfriend to take me to Cowles Mountain trail, a 3-mile, 1,000 feet up hike in San Diego. I was to weak to go beyond the quarter mile marker, and was afraid I would never hike again. The next few months were filled with chemo, radiation, and boatloads of corticosteroids. But by 4th of July, I was able to complete the two mile hike to Castle Rock near Big Bear Lake. It took all afternoon.
By August the cancer was in remission, but I was back in the hospital with massive blood clots in my leg and pulmonary embolisms. Not good news for an aspiring mountaineer. But after a lot of blood thinner and the insertion of a filter in my IVC, I was home again and trying to get back in shape. I got my last chemo in November and when I got out I took my girlfriend to the courthouse and made her my wife.
I've been hiking (slowly) as much as I can, on Cowles Mountain, Cuyamaca Peak, Mt. Laguna, wherever I can. Saturday night we drove up to the portal and spent the night, and Sunday morning we scored a coupe of walk-in permits. We hit the trail at 10:30 am and it took until about 6 to make it to Trail Camp. I didn't think I'd be able to summit. But at 7 am Monday morning, we started up the switchbacks. I thought about all that had transpired since I'd last been there two years earlier. At noon on August 20, 2012, I stood together with my wife on the highest point in the contiguous states. What a feeling it was! And the 'crowd' didn't bother me one bit.
So, although I don't actually know the folks who post on this board, I'd like to say thanks to all who have shared their knowledge here, as I've learned a lot from this forum, and especially those who've shared their own stories of overcoming medical challenges to hike on Whitney - you've inspired me. And if anyone reading this is having their own challenges, I hope you'll see that there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and goals delayed doesn't have to mean goals denied.
Chris

You are wrong, Chris...


You have inspired us...


Way to go! Way to celebrate life...way to celebrate living...


Hey, when did you tie the knot?

Chris, thank you for the incredible story.

Next step: let's go play in the snow!!

Best,
Laura

Congratulations Chris...

On the summit...good health...and a new and what sounds like an incredible wife...

D...

Wow! You've really overcome tough challenges--physically and mentally tough. You are a total inspiration. Thank you for posting your story.

What an incredible story, Chris! You have inspired me. Thank you for sharing this. All the best to you and your wife.

Joyce

Chris,

Wonderful story of perseverence. Thank you for sharing.

An incredible achievement. Congratulations.
For anyone who did not catch all the medical terminology, Chris should not be anywhere, summit, lowlands, anywhere. What a miraculous medical and spiritual experience. Harvey

Chris,

Thank you for sharing your uplifting story of personal perseverance. You have helped many on this message board, share in your joy.
Congratulations on your family summit!!!

Nice Chris! Nice! Reading that made my day. Best of luck as time goes on.

John

Chris,
I have no hearing, but heard everthing you said. Good job.

THE SILENT HIKER

Looking for the "like" icon!!! Inspiring story!

Mere words cannot describe your spiritual experience, but they are all we have. Congratulations.

Like your style .
Congratulations on a hard-earned summit for the two of you.
Wishing you good health and good climbing.

As many have said above, I find myself inspired!

Thanks for the story, and hope you keep on hiking!

-AJ

Cristobal - I remember the feeling of the first Whitney summit. Yours must have been sweet. Thanks for the inspiration and best wishes for more great hiking adventures to come.

A South African runner who competes in the Olympics on prosthetics. An abused child who grows up to become a loving parent. A single mother who educates a child out of the ghetto. A sober alcoholic. Humanity just keeps going despite the odds. Like those trees we admire impossibly growing out of the thinnest of crags on granite slabs, humanity at its best uses those insurmountable odds not as limitations but as context for what we do next. Thank you for you and your wife sharing the best that humanity has to offer.

Wonderful.

Brent N.

Now THAT'S a climb! Bravo, Chris!!

Daryl
(First-timer, going up at the end of September)

Your story really hit home for me. I have struggled with quite a few health issues over the last couple of years, some worse than others.

I have permits for this year, third week in September, and it's quite doubtful whether I will make it out the front door. I have struggled with severe plantar fasciitis, knee issues, and a toe that was broken in three places and did not heal properly. Nothing like you have gone through.....but I know what it feels like to wonder if you will ever be able to hike again.

Whether or not I am even able to attempt this year, your story has inspired me and I will keep pushing on!

Thanks so much for all the kind words. Throughout my illness and recovery I've been continually buoyed by the support of family, friends, neighbors and folks I've never even met. The generous thoughts shared here mean a lot to me. Happy hiking to all and I hope to someday see you all on the trail.
And Dharma, slow and steady was the key for me, good luck to you.