Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Dave and Jeff's Excellent Adventure

A little over a year ago my friend Jeff and I started kicking around the idea of climbing a mountain. Why a mountain trip? I have no idea. We are two middle-aged (I'm 45, Jeff is 56) docs from suburban Detroit with no high-altitude or climbing experience whatsoever. However it always looked awesome as we would flip through our copies of National Geographic Adventure magazine each month. Basically we were a couple of armchair adventurers looking for a cool trip. Our first thought - Grand Teton seemed to be technically too challenging and eventually we ended up talking about Whitney. After deciding that the MR seemed the more "exhilarating" way to go, we contacted SMI because we knew there was no way that we could do it on our own. We secured permits early in the year and set about preparing ourselves for this challenge. We took the preparations very seriously and trained as hard as we could given that we live at about 700' elevation. We've both run multiple marathons, work out regularly and did plenty of heavy-pack hilly (for Michigan anyway) hikes through the summer. In addition, we read books about Whitney, searched YouTube for videos and spent a fair bit of time on this board (which was invaluable).

Cutting to the chase, we flew from Detroit to Vegas on 9/11 and drove through Death Valley to Bishop. We were very concerned about the altitude issue and had planned a couple days of acclimatization prior to starting (we brought Diamox but planned to use it only for treatment, not prophylaxis). Saturday 9/12 we hiked Rock Creek which is just ridiculously gorgeous. Sunday 9/13 we spent at Horseshoe Meadow so we felt like we did a reasonable job of breathing thin air before going high on our planned 3 day excursion.

On Monday 9/14 we met our SMI guide, Deb Leyh, for breakfast then she went through our stuff telling us what was needed and what was unnecessary. We overpacked by a fair bit and knew it but we figured better too much than not enough and we counted on Deb to pare us down to the appropriate equipment. Once sorted out we headed up the Portal Road - Deb the mountain lioness and the two city slicker anesthesiologists. We got started on the trail at 9:00 and quickly got to the North Fork. We noted the signs emphasizing that the MR is not for sissies and very soon found out why. A pleasant walk through the woods turned into a pretty strenuous uphill climb. Our first major challenge was the Ledges since we both have a not-insignificant fear of heights (perhaps a good reason to take the trail rather than the MR). Nevertheless, by hugging the sheer granite to our left and studiously avoiding looking down, we were across pretty quickly. We made good time to LBSL where we were completely blown away by the drop-dead beauty that surrounded us. The mountains are so huge and the vistas so magnificent that it was literally disorienting to look around. I found myself losing my balance more than once just from looking up. Wow. We proceeded across the slabs and the first of what eventually felt like infinite boulder fields before arriving at our camp at UBSL. Deb laid out the plan - early dinner, early to bed, up at 3:45 the next morning, moving by 4:45. Trying to fall asleep at 6:30 in a tent on a rock is not easy and as seems to be the case with so many people the night before their summit bids, it turned into a very long night with only little bits of not very refreshing sleep. The highlight though was a sky the likes of which I think is impossible to experience east of the Mississippi. I have never seen so many stars, even in a planetarium. We were unbelievably lucky that the weather was absolutely perfect for the entire trip - sunshine, blue skies, relatively warm and generally light wind.

True to her word, Deb had us heading up by 4:45 by headlamp. How totally cool/scary/exciting. On a much smaller scale it was like a taste of a Himalayan expedition. As first light appeared we were making our way through the massive boulder field of the upper canyon and we were staring at the extremely imposing east face of Whitney. How the hell are we ever going to make it all the way up there? It really did seem impossible. We took a break at Iceberg Lake, donned harnesses and helmets and headed up the Chute. None of the pictures or descriptions do justice to the hard work that's required to slog one's way up through the quicksand-like scree. I forged ahead, eyes fixated on Jeff's feet, trying to find secure footing. With each step on the scree we seemed to slide back a foot or so - it was like being on a stairmaster - lots of work but no forward progress. For the traverses across the granite we were very careful to test each step before bearing full weight for fear of slipping off and taking a nasty fall. Such is the fate of the newbie on the MR. Eventually we gained the Notch where we took a rather cold, windy break.

The final 400' was nothing short of terrifying. We had no idea that it would involve literally climbing up what to us was a sheer vertical cliff. I was under the obviously mistaken impression that it was kind of like the Chute but a bit steeper thus requiring a rope. The exposure was fearsome for a couple of city boys. We followed Deb's every instruction to the letter and carefully avoided looking down. Before we knew it we were on top. We made our way to the hut, signed the register and took the requisite pictures. Deb appropriately had us on a strict schedule so after 17 minutes on the summit, it was time for the downclimb. To make a rather long story short we went extremely slowly, tried not to soil ourselves and ultimately made it back to our camp at UBSL, completely (and I mean completely) shredded, almost 12 hours to the minute after we left.

The next morning we hiked out, once again trying to quell our sewing machine legs across the Ledges. It's a pretty strenuous descent so we were extremely happy to make it to the parking lot intact. Huge props to Deb for realizing what she was dealing with and managing our time perfectly. We were thrilled to make it to the summit but even more happy to complete this adventure without injury. We definitely were in over our heads but I suppose if we were really as inept as we felt, Deb would have turned us around sometime before the top. We got in the car and without showering went straight back to Vegas where we spent a luxurious 24 hours at the Mirage before flying back home.

I had three goals for this trip: 1) Come home intact, 2) Bag the peak, 3) Have fun. I can say with great satisfaction that I accomplished all three. I've realized after the fact that newbies taking on the MR is akin to a first year law student arguing a case before the Supreme Court. This mountain and this route are serious business and not to be trifled with. Clearly we would have been better off doing a walk-up fourteener first and/or doing some third class stuff at lower elevation to get comfortable with being on rock and dealing with exposure. Nevertheless, what an awesome trip! It's in the books, our names are in the register and they can't take it away from us. I'm almost (almost) looking forward to going back to work so I can regale everyone with my tall tales of adventure. Jeff and I are pretty sure this was a one-off deal. Our mountain-jones has been satisfied and we're thinking we're not doing anything like this again. Still, never say never....

Dave

Congrats on the summit and, more importantly, the return trip! The MR is not to be underestimated. A beautiful hike. We were there about a week before you and got caught in the hail/snow/T-storm on our summit day. We were in the main chute and made the wise decision to turn around. Our camp at UBSL never looked so good.

Almost forgot (Jeff on the left, me on the right):
http://picasaweb.google.com/jeff.wilner/MtWhitney909?feat=email#5382800862534594786

Nice trip report and nice pictures. Congratulations on doing the MR to the summit. Having done the main trail to the top in early August I found your MR report to be fascinating.

Excellent report and pictures!Sounds like the trip of a lifetime. I hope you guys are now hopelessly hooked!

Congratulations on your accomplishment. Now go tell your friends in Michigan what mountains are *really* like.

Yeah 50lb, we heard about your nasty weather from Deb. Her trip with us was her third time up the MR in ten days! I can't even imagine attempting Whitney in lousy weather. We were barely able to stay upright on dry rock. No doubt bailing was the right call for you. It's a tougher situation though when you live 2,000 miles away, have taken a week off work and can't easily get back. I'm really glad the weather cooperated for us.

G_J, I'm not so sure about "hopelessly hooked" but Jeff and I agreed it was without question the greatest personal accomplishment of our lives. I will insist that it be mentioned at my funeral which is likely to be farther in the future if I stay away from scary mountains. Still, while Michigan is beautiful (don't laugh, it really is), nothing I've ever seen here can touch the overwhelming, jaw-dropping gorgeousness of the Sierras. It's really a special place and I would definitely like to come back some day. I have to find some use for all the mountain gear I now own.

Hey, you paradocs! Congrats! I've stood at the Notch at 14,000 feet and watched other groups arrive and look up in bug-eyed horror at the last 400 feet! I think they thought like you, that it would be some kind of walk-up. They were freaked out and turned around to head back down. It is good you had Deb to help you up the last 400 feet. Yes, a hearty congratulations for a great accomplishment!

Great job and nice TR.

Come on now... you are hooked!

I bet you could now do the middle Teton (w/guide); or try a late spring traverse of the Grand Canyon (a blast!) Or maybe a winter ascent of Mt. Hood, or Mt. Shasta!

Big time congrats on the MR, City Slickers. Great job accomplishing your three goals! Really enjoyed your TR... good read. And you are right... never say never.

Thanks everybody. If anything we are more jacked now than when we came off the mountain. You have to understand that for a couple of suburban middle-aged guys from Michigan this was epic (in a good way). Nobody in our peer group can fathom this climb. While it may be commonplace in California or Colorado to do stuff like this, around here it's unheard of. We returned the conquering heroes and we've been getting major props from everyone. We are bona fide rock stars at work. Considering the untold number of things that can sabotage a summit bid (weather, AMS, GI distress, getting gripped anywhere along the route, twisted ankle, etc., etc.) we were beyond lucky for this to go off without a hitch. As the terror of last week fades we're actually starting to talk about Kilimanjaro, although as a walk-up, albeit a high one, it may not give us the same sense of accomplishment. Any other suggestions for cool mountain adventures (perhaps with a bit less risk of death) would be welcome. In the meantime, Jeff and I will continue to tell each other how awesome we are.

Congrats on your trip. I echo your props to Deb. I was on a big city mountaineers trip with her a couple years ago. It was a winter ascent of the MR. She and the other guides were great. I also ran into her on Denali that year. Very nice person!

You might consider a guided ascent of Rainier (glaciers), or a guided ascent of the west face of shasta (no glaciers). The glaciers on Ranier are awesome...a very different feel from the moonscape of whitney in the summer.

I second the vote for Rainier. Stay in the US and have a completely different 14'er experience.

The Rainier climb sounds extremely cool. I'm really starting to think about doing it which is remarkable considering we wanted nothing more than to get off Whitney alive a mere 11 days ago. Any opinion on how the two climbs compare in terms of difficulty? I realize they are two completely different mountains but if we can do the MR can we do Rainier?

Dave

A climber/guide, named Dan Mazur, offers a one week Glacier School on Rainer with a summit bid at the end of the course. It's with summitclimb.com. Here is the link. The GS is free!!! Dan's way of giving back to the mountaineering community. He does require insurance. You can sign up for Level 1 or 2 (recommend 1 unless you get some mountaineering skills under your belt this winter). I'm signed up for June 26 to July 3, 2010. I had to postpone last July's GS for a trip to Costa Rica.

MC

Dr. Mongoose,
My opinion is that if you did the Whitney MR, then you can do Rainier.
The chance of success will be less with Rainier because you will not have as high a chance of climbable weather.
I did the MR with my son(early June) and Rainier via Disappointment Cleaver with the guide service RMI(4th of July) within 3 weeks of each other in 2007 and would report these differences:
MR dry from bottom to top, Rainier on snow or ice from the parking lot.
MR start at 8,360' for about 6,000' total elevation gain. Rainier start at 5,400 for about 9,000 elevation gain.
MR class 1 (trail hiking), class 2 (off trail, no hands) and class 3 (hands necessary). Rainier class 1/2 - no need for using hands.
MR - few technical skills necessary, Rainier - need to learn ice ax, crampon and roped travel techniques.
MR I felt comfortable without a guide, Rainier a guide was necessary for training, route finding and snow condition evaluation.
MR - I climbed to UBSL day one, left the next morning in the daylight, summitted and made it to the Portal for a Hamburger. Rainier, climbed 5,000 to Muir Camp day one - couldn't believe how cold and windy it was there, got up at 1:00 AM, started climbin at 2:30 AM, summitted at 8:00 AM, arrived at the parking lot around 5:00 PM.

The climb we did with RMI was a 3 day program. On day one we spent the entire day learning and practicing the necessary ice ax, crampon and rope travel skills. Days 2 and 3 were the climb. All you need to do is show up in excellent physical condition and if the weather cooperates they will take you to the top!

Both experiences were off the charts satifying and amazing.

PS-I was 53 at the time & there was one summitter in the Rainier group in his mid 60's.

Don't bet on it. My frequent climbing partner did Kili a year ago (winter 2007) and said it is not to be missed (although the couple that summited a few min before him was not so lucky... the older [father] died in his daughters arms on the summit).

Maybe a different type of "sense of accomplishment" but definitely a sense of accomplishment. One of the most gratifying experiences of my life. The altitude alone is incredible. But it's about the journey... Beautiful rain forest with Colobus monkeys hopping from tree to tree, the moorland terrain with it's amazing floral, the "moonscape" with it's intriguing lava formations, the highlight... hiking past spectacular glaciers and if you're able to summit... icing on the cake. I recommend the months of June, July or August (Tanzania's winter). Snow, at the top, is better than scree. And of course, it's nice to summit with a full moon.

MC