Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Almost...

Knowing that weather was coming through I check the webcams (Friday). As I was just getting started Sat morning I saw that "I see stars" post (my thought at the time was it must not have snowed much). As the sun started to rise out west and the views from the cams came into view I started to get an idea why you were traveling so slow.

I checked your track throughout the day wondering at first, confused during the afternoon, then concern in the evening because you should have down by then (my thought was that YOU were helping someone off the mountain).

Sunday morning, the first thing I did was check the board to see if you posted anything, nothing! I kept thinking "That's Richard, he could team up with Kurt and do Everest with dental floss and a family sized bag of Cheetos!".

Knowing now that it was YOU that was in trouble should be a lesson for everyone. Once you enter the wilderness, you enter the unknown, no matter how you think you know it.

Your post should be filed on TOP of the "Read This First"!
Very happy that you are safe to climb again!

So, I'm sitting here shaking my head at myself as I look at the few photos that I took on Saturday that are anywhere near worth looking at.

It was past 11:45am as I passed Trail Crest and I wasn't at the summit until around 3:35pm. I can't believe that I managed to read the time stamp on the photo as sometime around 2:00pm.

Leaving the relative safety of the Smithsonian Hut (especially with all of the cold weather gear I had with me) at that late hour doesn't border on Idiotic, it IS.

I had about 90 minutes of "daylight" for what took nearly 4 hours up. What was I thinking? Obviously, I wasn't.

http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/Whats-New-1/Mt-Whitney-November-17-2012/26641923_9Mtf9c#!i=2228156961&k=Hb37PkL

i think you should look into better down and/or shell, gloves and also bivy gear. what kind of down/jacket/gloves do you have anyway? i ask because i've never done it myself and don't know of any other friends climbing into that type of conditions with your setup. if expectations are high for bivying, then that's the gear i would have with me. if you head into similar conditions in the future, would your gear setup be the same? weight is always and issue and that might or might not contribute to your speed. there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear.

i somewhat understand the psychology behind seeking out wild adventures and achieving a goal. sometimes we are sorry but most of the time we are not. we will do it again and the next time the adventure and/or objective will be wilder. let's be honest.

With this story and the great photographer you are, you should publish a coffee table book. You would sell at least one copy because I'd buy it!!

Richard I just cant fathom being out there at night looking for the hut knowing its supposed to be over there and not finding it, that's scary and your bivy site the uncontrollable shaking and if you say its the coldest you have ever been is just amazing.. I myself dont know if I could have lasted all night but will power to live plays alot into it..yesterday at work I kept going over your report in my mind and its stuff that you read about in books not happening to a friend...

Amazing..

Congrats on 52 weekends of hiking Mt. Whitney

mark

Here's an personal e-mail I sent out yesterday. There have been many similar to this.

I've been apologizing a lot over the past few days...

I know it was tougher for everybody else... I was cold, but other than thinking I'm an IDIOT for not sticking with my initial instinct to stay at the Hut, it was all "matter of fact." I'm pretty sure I would have been chuckling about how easy the "unplanned bivy" in the Hut would have been with all the cold weather clothes I had with me. Maybe this was a good reminder that my instinct has kept me safe for all these years, and I shouldn't "second-guess" it.

I finally had a conversation with my wife last night... lost phone, her not picking up and no voicemail set up... my brother was actually the go-between who told her I was OK... she was crying. I feel terrible putting her and everybody else thru this.

The legs are returning to normal faster than I expected. The fingers aren't, but I'm pretty sure the numbness will go away in a while.

You enjoy the holiday too. Thanks and sorry for causing you pain.

Richard.

You're more than welcome to believe that I'm pretending here too.

As far as gear, this wasn't me heading up in Old Navy to make fun of some who feel the need to wear $5K of Arc'teryx (in summer) up the trail without having ever done even a 10 hour hike in their life.

I may have had too much of it, but none of it was inadequate... EMS Techwick base layers, First Ascent, GoLite, Marmot, some 15K shell that I picked up in Mammoth when someone gave me a gift certificate. The excess weight of the jackets probably didn't exceed 4-5 pounds. The first pair of gloves that were damp by Trail Crest were OR. I believe my down mitts are Gordini.

The truth of the matter is that somehow I manage to leave my brain behind...
I obviously made a mis-judgement based on what I saw on Thor via the webcam.
I had no intention to bivy.
I made it up to the summit in 4:40 witout even trying the week before, so I was either having a really bad day, or the conditions were that bad.

Come on Kevin, that comment about no such thing as bad weather is naive.

Hey Richard, WOW, epic ‘summit fever’ adventure for sure.
Ol’ Whitney didn’t want you to get #52 easily, but glad your bag of tricks & experience got you thru OK.
You’re next challenge will be getting off Earlene’s ‘grounded’ list
Cheers,
RickG

ps. congrats on you're year long quest

Richard, you did not leave your brain behind ... it was taken from you.

Cold, windy, heavy conditions, approaching darkness, hypothermia, exhaustion, hypoxia, anxiety, fear ....all these turned a very familiar landscape into a disoriented confusion. Some of the armchair experts will be critical of you, but only your instincts and previous experience pulled you out once you were stuck.

"Dull Brains at High Altitude" has been my favorite mountaineering research area since 1998. I have used the following quote here before... it is not meant to reflect on you personally, but on any of us caught at high altitude (yes 14,000 feet) and bad conditions where the brain may not work right. It happened to the famous author as well.

Mountaineers have often observed a lack of clarity in their mental state at high altitudes; it is difficult for the stupid mind to observe how stupid it is.
George Mallory, Chapters IV-VI, X-XI in
Bruce, CG, [i]The Assault on Mount Everest 1922, page 129

Well Richard I thank GOD you are OK. I know you were joking about Shin but since we were the one's egging you on there would have been allot of guilt on us if something happened to you. Also the loss of a friend would have been gut wrenching! Congratualtions my friend what a accomplishment...Welcome to the frost nip club it sucks that's why my foot on Orizaba was soooo cold! I think you need to retire your the best mountaineer I know, you need to come climb with Shin and I in the warm desert of Josh!!!
Happy Thanksgiving Crazy Uncle!

Yeti

Hi Richard,
Thanks for responding to my earlier questions.
One additional question. You mentioned that you commonly reach the summit in ~ 4.5 hours (or less). Yet, on this climb you had only reached Trail Camp in ~ 4 hours. Could you comment on why the delay? I have zero experience in the snow, but would guess that trail finding is more difficult, certainty of footing would not be good, etc…, but moving at approx. ½ speed seems a lot. After that, you seemed to slow down even further. I have no doubt that the conditions became more challenging as you climbed higher, but I “guess” that trail finding on the switch backs was not too bad so I’m wondering if you were not just having a bad day. Perhaps too soon after Mexico?
One other comment. From my point of view no apologies are needed. I felt your mea culpa post "Almost" was sufficient atonement for your sins:-) Of course you wife may feel differently:-)
John

sure, I was so slow and clumsy coming down Orizaba that Richard got deconditioned.

Seriously, Mexico had nothing to do with this.

Can I make a few suggestions?

- 3 down jackets (2 of them parkas)
- 2 wind/water proof shells
why not ONE jacket, ONE shell and ONE light 0 C down sleeping bag with a BD big wall bivy bag (or equivalent)?

- 4 pairs of gloves would only be necessary for technical multiday trips when the chances of dropping the gloves of shredding them by sharp rock/ice are high. 1 pair of mittens (and perhaps one more light pair) is more than enough for a hike.
- 6 heat packs. How about less heat packs PLUS Jetboil with a small canister?
- 2 headlamps is one too many.

All in all, same weight but much better chances of survival in an unexpected storm on in case of injury.

Incorrect.
They DO FAIL. BE PREPARED.

Have you ever fumbled with bad switch, battery, or bulb on the side of a mountain in the dark, broken set in one hand, spare parts in the other hand, ice ax in the third hand?

The best way to carry spare headlamp parts is a complete set, conveniently located, ready to use.

These days, with smaller batteries, and LEDs, and lighter sets, it makes more even sense.

The nitpicking has begun . We may not hear from Richard again about all this.

Yeah, I'm not sure it has gone there yet, but I kind of worry about that too, given the nature of this type of forum for communication. But I suspect that overall the comments will continue to be tempered and sensitive.

Richard may have had an Icarus moment. If so, he knows it. His report was candid and self-aware. The type of reporting that should be encouraged.

No doubt, there are situations that call out for group criticism. As when someone does something monumentally stupid, arrogant, or risky, and seems to lack any awareness of the fact. Or when an incident occurs and someone involved expressly invites feedback (e.g., Laura's MR post last year).

This situation does not seem to me to fall into either of those categories. Though it is good fodder for a healthy discussion about risk and preparation generally, which seems to be what is occurring.

Congratulations Richard. You set an ambitious goal and accomplished it, even though the last trip was brutal - I'm sure you learned from it and because you tell the tales so clearly we learn too.

Thanks and congratulations. What's up for 2013?

Richard:

I'm glad you made it out OK. That's all that really matters. Many people wouldn't have made it in that situation.

Thanks for telling your story and being man enough to admit that you made mistakes. We can all learn from this without freezing our fingers. We all make mistakes. Learning from them and not repeating them is what really matters.

Congratulations on 52 in a row! I'm thinking about Whitney in December, the only month I haven't done it, if conditions are good. Let me know if you get the urge to go next month. I'll understand if you don't.

There has been discussion about equipment, and I want to make a couple of comments. I have never started a hike planning on a bivy. I bring clothes (often a little extra) and maybe a cheap disposable bivy sack. If I were planning on a bivy, I would bring a sleeping bag (not tons of extra clothes) and possibly a "real" bivy sack. My feet get cold easily, so I bring plastic boots when you could get by with light hikers.

I second Harvey's comment on headlamps. I always carry a headlamp when I go hiking. If I expect to need one, I carry two. I don't want to be stuck an hour from the car in cold, deteriorating weather with no shelter because I can't see to change the batteries in my only headlamp. And, yes, headlamp switches can fail.

As I said before, I'm glad you're OK.

for the others on the board, Richard and I have hiked together before and have a lot of mutual friends.

the bad weather comment is tongue in cheek used mostly by Alaskans. thought you would make the connection since there were a couple up there.

not sure what your intentions are for posting your report but if you want an honest observation then i'll give you one. your selection of gear and climbing strategy are not conventional. however, having said that, conventional doesn't work all the time. i have climbed with people that make unconventional work but i tend to not climb with them often.

a waterproof down parka like a Feather Friend Icefall will be adequate for the most extreme weather in the lower 48. make an investment? it is like spending $1k on a pair of high altitude boots. yes it is expensive but if you break it down at $100/per toe, it doesn't sound too bad. 5lbs of extra jackets can be exchanged for sleeping and bivy bag. but i think my post doesn't really matter because you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

if you post this to another climbing forum, like Summitpost or Supertopo, you will get much more harsh comments.

i'm just bored sitting here in Kathmandu waiting for my India visa and my toes to defrost which is why you see a lot of posts from me.

keep doing your thing and see you on the trails.

cheers!

I am afraid you are totally missing the main point. Re-read my post and one made by Kevin. As far as headlamp breaking: of course they break ... with certain probability. The point is that for this specific c2c winter HIKE, Jetboil/bivy gear may be far more useful than an extra lamp:)

When it comes down to it, you accomplished something nobody else has ever done before and you survived something that many, if not most, would not have survived.

An impressive feat with an important lesson for those of us who are willing to listen.

Congratulations on the 52 week run......and making it down.

Hi About time to recall the " you are 10 1/2 miles up the trail" storm moving in, you fall and break something below the waist, no phone, no PLB ,no one around and it is very cold and night is falling. It is now you and your game how it plays out , Start with the head works and get down choice A . choice B ? no one has ever told me it could happen to me? C. I know I will wait for help to come someday....looks like a lot of choices huh! Hint look at how you got to this point and your control of events that must take place for you to survive.

Some may decide that the cost is to high and plan a trip less challenging and that would be a very proud experience making the call based on knowledge rather than blindly following the herd.

Gear is what you buy . The day shit happens it is what you have.... the store is closed so forget it! Deal with what you have and the options that follow . Have you ever read even on that summit post place Yup just going to climb up and fall ? Get caught in a whiteout, drive off a cliff on the way to a climb?What you do read is each person has her/his "stuff" may not be your "dream stuff" but when the time comes......


Don't worry about Richard he is down. What can YOU glean from the event that may save your life someday should be the focus.

Thanks Doug