So I made my first attempt to get up Whitney on 10/2 with a friend Jesse. We camped out at the Portal the night before and got poured on all night. Obviously, that meant the first good snow up high on the trail. We didn't have any snow equipment such as cramp-ons or ice axes, but we did have good winter clothers and layers. Thus, we decided we'd go up and see what happens, and if either of us felt nervous at all, we would turn around, especially as neither of us had a lot of experience hiking in the snow.
We left at 4:30 AM, about a half hour after we had planned. By the way, the toilets at the trailhead are absolutely overflowing and disgusting. Went really fast to start, getting to Lone Pine Lake w/in an hour. I was concerned with weather that afternoon and wanted to push the pace pretty hard. Met the first bit of light after Outpost Camp and saw the fresh snow all over the peaks. Breathtaking.
Hit our first snows before Trail Camp. Talked to several people who were extremely traumatized by camping there the night before who were packing up and heading down rather than try to get to the summit after a night in the storm.
Our first challenge was the switchbacks. They were not as bad as I was thinking. There was one party ahead of us that had broken trail which made it much easier. The ice section on the cables was covered in a good 6 to 8 inches of snow going up. By the top, my friend was clearly struggling. He had only done a few preparation hikes and his pace had slowed dramatically.
We paused for a break at the top of the switchbacks, then down the drop to the Muir trail. This scared the crap out of me because we were slipping and sliding all the way down. Once we got onto the trail to the summit, it was better, but still hairy. Additionally, we were surrounded by 3 separate storms, all of which had lightning associated with them. We pushed ahead, but I could tell my friend was getting nervous, both about the footing and the weather, as we pictured a trip down in a pounding storm like the one we heard about was going to be a nightmare, particularly given our lack of experience.
Finally, about a half mile from the summit, Jesse had enough. It looked as if the storm was approaching, and the footing was getting bad. I was extremely torn, being so close and knowing that, with a move to Boston coming up, that this was my last good chance for a while. I thought about sending him back to the saddle and going for the summit myself, but realized first that it was not the safe thing to do and second that we had agreed that if one got nervous or tired, we would both turn around.
So we waved goodbye to the summit hut and headed back. We passed about 10-15 people going for the summit, some of whom looked absolutely knackered. Going back down the switchbacks was extremely dicey as the people behind us had packed down the snow. Furthermore, much of it had melted and was in the process of re-freezing. I thought of the groups that were an hour to two hours behind us (the ones that summitted after we turned around). I hope they all made it. It was dicey for us and I'm sure worse for them.
Made it down after the long slog back. Much of the snow had melted off the trail on the way back down as the sun had done its job. Made it back to the trailhead by 5, enjoyed a burger and made it back to San Diego by 11.
All in all, I am very disappointed we didn't make it to the top, but glad I honored my agreement w/ my buddy and SUPER glad I wasn't stupid enough (which I almost was) to leave him to go back while I selfishly grabbed the top. I knew given his lack of preparation that getting to the top may not happen, especially after all the snow, but it was so tough to be so close, then turn around. But all in all, even without summitting, the burger was just as good and the beer just as cold.
I will get pics developed today (I know, I need to enter the 21st century and go digital) and post the link once they're up.
<a href="http://bengator.smugmug.com/gallery/1966737/1" target=_new>Pictures are here.</a>
<img src="http://benga...uot;0">
