Adventures of Pblaze {Mt. Whitney Hike}

[pblaze725]

After a 4 1/2 hour drive to Lone Pine, CA. the elevation is around 8,000 ft. The views are awesome.



We set up camp at the Whitney Portal and settled in for the night. We all came from sea level and need to get acclimated to the higher elevation.


Day 1



After a cup of coffee and last minute pack adjustments we started the trail.
I carved my walking stick when I was 16 yrs old. It was a little tree with a vine growing around it. I pulled the vine out and sanded it down and I've had it for decades now.
It is a little short but that will prove to be an advantage on the steeper inclines.




I'm leading a group of 5 friends. Here we are weighing in our packs. The lightest pack was 33lbs, the heaviest was 49lbs. Mine was 39lbs.
On my previous trip in 2010 my pack weighed in at 48lbs.




A look ahead to see where were heading.

 

[pblaze725]

Day 1 Cont.

The views just keep getting better. We were all out of breath all the time.




There were water crossings...





Somewhere around 10,000 ft. you can see the timber line.




Ice and snow make it's first appearance.





Looking back at Lone pine lake.

 

[pblaze725]

Outpost Camp

We made it about 3 mile in to the Outpost camp.
I slept under a rock.




Using a pump with a filter we refilled out water supply.



It was still early in the day and we regained our energy pretty quick so we climbed around on the boulders for a little bit.
Mike decided he wanted to scale a cliff.





We made a rule that nobody goes alone so Willy went up with him. I decided to conserve my energy.






The view from our camp.

 

[pblaze725]

Day 1 Cont. Icy Waterfall

A few hours later I decided to check out this waterfall not too far from camp.




The photos don't do it justice. It was a beautiful thing to see.






Looking down into the hole. There's about 15' of snow down there at the bottom.




There was blue ice in the falls. I think this may have been the first time I have ever seen blue ice.




My buddy Art taking it all in



ICY WATERFALL VIDEO

[youtube]O-fUEQBxVtQ[/youtube]


That would end day 1. Time to hit the sack and get ready for tomorrow...

 

[bubba blazer]

Great pics! I did it in '07 and had a blast (counted the switchbacks to pass the time). Looks like you're dealing with a lot more snow than we did. Keep the updates coming...

 

[warrpath4x4]

very cool

 

[pblaze725]

Day 2 Mt Whitney hijke

Great pics! I did it in '07 and had a blast (counted the switchbacks to pass the time). Looks like you're dealing with a lot more snow than we did. Keep the updates coming...

Thanks, I tried in 2010 and made it to trail camp but didn't go up to the summit. There was a lot more snow then than there was this year.

There was a storm a week before I went that dropped 2' of snow.

very cool

Thanks.

Day 2


We started day 2 strong, everybody was eager to get on the trail early.




Passing Mirror Lake. I heard the fish were biting here.




We expected to see more snow at this point, last time I was here this entire area was covered.




A look ahead.




CK5 hat around the world pic: Trail Side Meadow

 

[pblaze725]

Day 2 Cont. Mt Whitney hike

Making our way up the trail between rocks and snow.




This little section of the trail is sketchier than it looks.






This looks like a good spot to set up camp. You can see the chute in the background and 99 switchbacks to the left.






The trail goes over the top and around these peaks in the back.







A room with a view.

 

[pblaze725]

Day 2 Cont. Mt Whitney hike

Here's a few pics taken around the camp.










This is my buddy Charlie. He sold me my JIMMY a looooong time ago.












Up to this point everyone we asked said no one has made it to the top this weekend.



Some people were trying the switchbacks but nobody could get thru the top.



A few people tried the chute and made it to the top but didn't get to the summit because it was too harry on the backside.




Finally a guy came down and gave the thumbs up that he made it to the summit. This opened up the gates for several people to follow for the rest of the day.




One person at a time would go up and over for the rest of the day.





There was this one guy we ran into earlier in the day. He was wearing New balance sneakers, short tennis socks, shorts and a t shirt. This guy ran up the switchbacks passing all the folks wearing crampons and not making it to the top.
We waited for this guy to come down but we didn't see him...

 

[pblaze725]

Day 3 Summit Day

Dawn day 3 just before sunrise...

 

[bubba blazer]

sounds like you'll make the summit. when we did it, there were a lot of hikers turning around saying the winds were too much to even stand up. when we got up to the stone "cabin" the next day, the winds disappeared so our group was like one of the last ones on the summit that day.

I've heard the turn back rate at whitney was higher than mt. hood due to the weather swings. It took my friend 3 attempts to summit and when he finally made it, it was unintentional. His group originally wanted to do a day trip to one of the lakes but the ranger station said a permit opened up from a cancellation and so they decided to go for it.

Freaky thing is I think everyone's seen that "runner" and he's always heading toward the summit...& wearing the same thing...hmmm...

 

[pblaze725]

Day 3 Summit Day

Morning of day 3 we waited for the sun to rise and downed some coffee. We planned to hit the trail as early as possible so the snow would be hard packed.









This is the bottom of the chute. It's about a mile long and goes up about 1,000 ft.





Approaching the top of the chute. The guy in front of me slipped and fell. He slid back about 100ft and was sliding fast. He finally dug his ice axe in and stopped. It looked like he sh!t his pants. I took his position and carried on.









I made it to the trail crest at 13,600ft. I should have put my gloves on for the last part of the climb. My left hand was freezing and I had a hard time warming it up.










That's me. I know if I made it up this far there's nothing stopping me from reaching the summit.

 

[pblaze725]

Day 3 Summit Day The chute

Sorry these are a little out of order. Here's more pics of the chute climb.




Passing the switchbacks you can see the trail is covered in snow and ice.









Looking back the way we came.







A distant shot of the bottom of the chute.






The first view of the peaks we are heading for.






Top of the chute after the guy fell to my right. This will prove to be the hardest part of the hike.

 

[pblaze725]

Day 3 Summit Day, backside trail

We all 6 made it up the crest.We took a few minutes and removed our crampons and caught our breath and started around the back side.





We ran into the crazy guy with the New balance kicks, shorts and minimal gear. He spent the night at the summit hut on 5-24-2014. He got altitude sickness and froze his butt off but he survived.





The trail on the backside was narrow and icy.






1.3 mile to go to the summit...








Overlooking guitar lake.

 

[pblaze725]

Day 3 Summit Day, backside trail

More pics of the views from the back side.















This part was even sketchier than it looks.












Looking back at guitar lake.

 

[pblaze725]

Day 3 Summit Day, backside trail

More pics of the backside.

Awesome views.






Little gaps remind you of exactly how high up you are.





Our first glance of the hut at the summit.





My trusty stick and ice axe at a snowy overhang.






Sorry about the crappy views.

 

[pblaze725]

Day 3 The Summit

Eventually there were no more mountains to look up at.







The trail started to level off.






The hut. There were a lot of people up there, most of them were from San Diego like me.






I made it! 14,496.811 ft.






My best bud Art and I taking it in.

 

[pblaze725]

Day 3 The Summit

Some of the gang were lagging behind. I kept a steady slow pace and took plenty of breaks.





Erected in 1909. They don't build 'em like this anymore.





Another crappy view from the top.






This is my gang. From left to right respectively. Willy, Matt, Charlie, Art, Me, And Mike.






Looking down at Arch pass on the John Muir trail.




Summit video

 

[pblaze725]

In memory of Travis

This is my friend Travis Riggins. In 2010 I tried to summit the mountain but didn't make it. Travis while fighting diabetes charged up the trail only to stop and take insulin shots.
While I turned back at trail camp because my ice crampons were broken Travis continued on to the summit.









The night before his best friends wedding, in which he was the best man, Travis passed away in his sleep camping with friends. His last words to me were "You should have went to the top with us"









His words haunted me for years. I decided I had to go back. I made a mini memorial for him and it was my motivation to get to the top.










I left it on the window header in the hut.







This was a very emotional part of the hike for me.

In memory of Travis Riggins video

 

[bubba blazer]

That was a great photo/tribute to your friend and congrats on summiting. Was the "easy" button still up there next to the login book?