On Sunday I successfully summitted Mt. Whitney for the 4th time. I'd climbed the mountain 3 times previously including one 3-day trip, one fast 1-day trip and 1 dramatic trip last year that led to my 14 yr. old niece being flown out of Outpost Camp with HAPE on Labor Day weekend 2005 (there are other posts on this board about that incident).

This was the first time that I did the hike on my own, and it was truly enjoyable to keep my own pace the whole way through.

TIMING
I left at 3 AM, saw the first rays of sunlight at Trailside Meadow at around 5:30 AM, was at Trail Camp by 7 AM and Trail Crest by before 9 AM. I summitted at 10:30 AM, so a total ascent time of 7 1/2 hours. Stayed on the summit until 11 AM. I took my time going down (no need to rush so I enjoyed some long breaks at my favorite spots on the trail which gave my sore knees some rest), getting off the mountain at 5 PM.

TRAIL CONDITIONS
1) Trash: Saw more trash on the trail than in previous years -- pack it out everyone! Pick up a few pieces on the way down if you can manage. I did.
2) Snow: As of yesterday there was a small patch just before Trail Crest. You have to climb up about 10 feet, across about 10 feet (on the top of the snow patch), and then down a slippery 6 feet or so. Also another patch of snow as you start the final summit approach, same layout: climb up 6 feet, then across about 20 feet. That one is slippery on the way down, I saw a few people slide and almost crack their heads on a rock. Should be smaller patches by next weekend, but still, caution is required, especially when you're weak and tired on the way down.
3) Weather: Clear as a bell until 9 AM at which point a few puffy white cumulus clouds started to gather at the crest (and a lot of clouds west over the Great Western Divide). I didn't stay long on the summit because the clouds were getting thick, tall and grey (a few small snowflakes even fell briefly). It was quite cold on the summit. By the time I got down to Trail Camp the crest was pretty socked in. No lightning or thunder when I was up there though.
4) In need of repair: You know, there is this patch of trail that I think needs a little repair work in case the trail crew is interested smile . It always bugs me, and I heard other people complaining about it too. It is just past Trail Crest, right as you start to head down towards the JMT. Looks like there was a little rockfall, and people have tromped all around the rocks, leaving a slippery eroded piece of trail.

OBSERVATIONS
1) Solo: Going solo gave me my best ascent time by two hours because I was able to keep my own pace and not stop for others. It made sense to do it because I was very familiar with the climb and there were a lot of other people around. I would not have gone solo if it were my first time.
2) Diamox: It works wonders for me. I know some people don't like the side effects (tingling toes/fingers, carbonated beverages tasting bad) and some folks like to go natural, but with Diamox I was able to do this climb without any altitude illness symptoms after only 1 day/night at the Portal.
3) Preparedness: I was impressed by the folks up on the mountain on Sunday. Usually I see 15-20 people up there who make me shake my head and cross my fingers hoping they'll come down safely. But the crowd yesterday was smart, strong, prepared and cautious overall. Perhaps this board and Doug's great book and other educational resources are helping! It could have been that I was up there earlier than usual, or perhaps I was just lucky to have great folks around me on the trail yesterday.
4) Food: I always eat less than I think I will, so I end up carrying too much. I ate 1 Larabar (cashew cookie), 1 Snickers bar, cheese + crackers, 1 fruit leather and some Jolly Ranchers.
4) Study: I saw Ken at the trailhead, and gave him all my vital stats (and learned I had 95% blood oxygen level and 102 pulse coming of the mountain). Make sure to stop by and help them out with the Acute Mountain Sickness study. I look forward to hearing the results!

Here is a link to the photos from the trip: http://www.cristinlindsay.com/whitney_2006/