Just wanted to provide a quick trip report. After taking a year off to have a baby, I'm back on the mountain. My best friend, Rina and I took a 7:45AM flight from SFO to LAX on 7/3, drove from LA to Lone Pine, picked up our permits, stuffed ourselves, tucked ourselves in at 6PM and woke up at 12:30AM on 7/4 to get started on quite possibly the most epic day ever. After packing and driving up to the portal, we started on the trail at 2AM. For whatever reason (great music on the iPod, daily 1-hour Stairmaster training on the highest level for the past 3 months or just pure delirium) I was on fire. Rina had some sickness as soon as we started but she was a trooper. Conditions were fabulous. We were nervous about not having any equipment but we didn't need it. We made it to Trail Camp by 6AM and it was slow-going until the summit, which we made by 8:50AM. After snapping pics and feeling like we were going to vomit, we raced back down the mountain. We had a 7PM flight to catch so we were pretty quick about things. We made it back down the mountain by 2PM, got to LAX by 5:30PM with plenty of time to fill the gas tank in Inglewood (the scariest part of the entire trip), drop off the rental, tidy ourselves in the car rental bathroom and hop on the shuttle to the airport. We even had about a half hour to kill before our flight so we visited PinkBerry and ate a bag of mixed nuts. The airport was empty--it being July 4th and all--and so were the highways. I made it home in time to celebrate the Fireworks with my baby. And my husband even had a feast waiting for me! All in all, an awesome day, no?
Now for the details...
The weather was gorgeous. For the past six years (except last year, of course), I've religiously climbed Whitney on July 4th. The conditions are always perfect. There's snow on the mountains, which makes them rather majestic but it's melting so it's not in the way and the waterfalls and creeks are running fast and powerful. The temperatures are tolerable before the sun comes out and once it does, it heats up the mountain. It feels great when you're summiting with the sun on your face. And for me, it makes the AMS a little more tolerable when the sun is warming me up.
The cables were manageable but you do have to be careful. The option to glissade is still there, which we saw a few people doing. I definitely would have done it if I had an ice axe because those switchbacks are boring as all hell. As for other patches of snow, I prefer when the sun is out to make it slushy because it gives you a little more traction. For me, they're much more dangerous in the early hours when they're icy and you're more prone to slipping.
I didn't have any run-ins with falling through snow (I know there's a technical term here I'm missing) but I could see that it would be a problem real soon as the snow melts more.
I only brought about 2.5L of water in my CamelBak and I ran out so I'd definitely bring more. On the way down, I refilled at Trailside Meadow without tablets or a filter and I'm still alive. We'll see how long that lasts.
I only ate like 4 nectarines, half a pack of figs and some of Rina's granola. In the future, I'll definitely bring some salty snacks because I was craving something salty. Like I was ready to ask anyone I saw for some nuts...anything with some salt. It was pretty funny.
I've been on Whitney in July, August, September and October and July 4th is ALWAYS my favorite time. I'm hesitant to say this because it's my little secret--there are fewer people (generally), there's less people on the roads and in the airports, the weather is great and nothing says, "Happy Independence Day" like climbing a big ol' mountain.
Happy 4th and Happy Climbing!
