I’m 75 years old. I’m slowing down, but I refuse to quit. Yesterday was my 40th summit of Mt. Whitney in 40 attempts. In those 40 climbs, there were a few trips up the trail, a bunch on the Mountaineers’ Route, nine on the East Face (eight free solo), three on the East Buttress, and one on the North Face. Two of those climbs were in January, and two of them were on 7-29-2010, when I was 61. My fastest ascent was 3:29 from the car, spending 46:51 on the East Face.
Yesterday, my partners wisely headed down after we made the summit, but I wanted to climb the pinnacles between Whitney and Muir. By the time I climbed six of them, it was 3:30, my ass was dragging, and the seventh pinnacle looked rather technical. I headed down slowly, making it a 17-hour day.
I’m not as strong, fast, or brave as I once was, but it still feels great to get out and climb something!
