Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Good Luck and Safe Climbing Kurt Wedberg

Thanks for the link, MC! Interesting (and cool) that the first and last torch bearers were Tibetan women. Looks like they had weather close in around them, would have loved to see the view with the torch there.

-L

When I climbed in the Alps, and praised the Europeans for their beautiful mountains, virtually all of them would correct me, telling me we have great mountains here in the good o' USA. And they are right. The Sierras are grand, but there are many other beautiful ranges outside of California. In fact, here in North Carolina (the most mountainous state on the east coast (with over 2,700 peaks--Maine has 2,400 and Virginia 1,800), and with the highest mountain east of the Mississippi, Mt. Mitchell at 6,684 ft.), now that I've been here for about five years, I am impressed with a lot of the beautiful peaks in the Appalachians, and there is even some good rock climbing out here.

This all said, I do miss the Sierras! (By the way, California is second to Colorado in named peaks. Colorado has over 6,800 compared to California's 5,600. But only California has Mount Whitney in the lower 48, and I do love Whitney!)