ttesterman, it was a great trip. Mostly all sun all the way until I reached the summit, where the clouds finally cought up with me.
Trailslug, yes, I had the top all for myself. I did not see a single person since the 96 switchbacks and then again not until trailcamp. Reminds me of my trip along the Franconia ridge (in NH) two weeks before which is usually very crowded and I was all by myself there as well.
Audiograce, it took me 17 hours. I am not sure how much the snow affected me as I never been here before. I also spend the night before at Lone Pine coming from Los Angeles, so I did not really have much acclimitazion. This meant that they way up took much much longer. Especially the last switch backs. I had to stop all the time and take deep breaths and make sure I was fine. Then I used sneakers all the way to trail crest. There I finally switched to my boots
WhitWalker, I used my more than 4 year old Olympus 2000. Has served me very well through winter, rain and whatever weather I have come across. Very happy with it. Still looking for a good replacement.
