It was our first time up to Mt Whitney this past weekend. I have to admit I really didn't know what to expect - other than what I had read on this site and others. This forum was an indespencible asset to our success. I personally had never experienced anything quite like this trip. Use of ice axe, crampons etc... I consider myself and those in my group somewhat seasoned backpackers but, it was our ' first ' time at Mt Whitney and we all had a great time - and we all summited safely without much incident. So, with that said - here is what we experienced:
By the way - the weather for the most part was awesome.
Sun June 12th - Got on the Main Whitney trail about 830am - and we pretty much took our time and made it to Trail Camp about 445pm. Conditions were great. Sun was out, mild melt was in effect. After Lone Pine Lake up the mtn we felt crampons were in order... up to Trail Camp. Great hike. Elevation at about 11k we started to feel it a bit. But not drastic. There were a few campers at Trail Camp. We were pretty wiped out - we made some dinner and crashed out.
Mon June 13th - We woke up about 445am and finally set out to head up to Trail Crest with ice axe, crampons, chg of clothes, a bit of food and water. We finally got hiking about 45min later than we wanted, but we got started about 620am. By the time we reached the steeps it was getting a bit slushy, but not too bad with crampons and ice axe. I was pretty wiped out by the time we got to Trail Crest. And I was out of water so we melted snow and refilled our camelbaks. The altitude just killed me. I lagged pretty hard, but was hydrated and had eaten - we managed to summit about 330pm - what a climb - the marmots were very friendly - and were a joy to see scurrying along. It was a fantastic view at the summit - and it was so peaceful - no crowds - just our group of 5 - we headed back down to Trail Crest as the clouds started to hover over the summit. Once we got down to Trail Crest we glissaded all the way. Now that was a blast. Snow was a bit ice in sections since the sun was no longer shining on the steeps - but we slid most of the way to camp - made it to camp - It started to snow a bit - yes - snow - not much but enough to mention - made some dinner and went to bed.
Tuesday June 14th - We got up early packed up and headed down towards Lone Pine Lake. We hiked down about 10am and the snow was decent but we still used our crampons. We camped up on the rocks above the meadow right beyond the trees on the other side of the lake. It got very wind later in the afternoon - but otherwise the weather was great.
Wed June 15th - We hiked out and made it to the Pizza Factory in Lone Pine in one piece. We enjoyed the food - esp after our 5 days of eating nothing but trail food.
I tried to make the report somewhat short - but still report the essentials. It was our first time out using ice axes and crampons - and the climb itself was much easier than I expected. The hike didn't wipe me out - the elevation did. The experience was one of a lifetime... and I would do it again.
