Hey guys...here are some pics of the Mt Whitney hike last weekend... We did not make it to the top. We needed special gear which most of us did not have. Only 1 person made it and he did have the right gear (in our group). He got back to camp at 11pm!!! ouch! He ended up hiking in the dark as he could not find his flashlight for some reason. Three of us made it up the 99 switchbacks to the point where we could see the top of the switchbacks (still 3 miles to go after that), we felt however that the trail was going to be too icey coming back late in the afternoon and without the proper gear, it would have been a hazardous journey. To give you an idea... we were hiking on 2~3' deep snow (and sinking too often into it) that was only 15~18" wide in some spots. those area's had a drop off that was extremly steep.

Ten of us went in all, 1 made it to the top, 3 of us made it up the 99 switchbacks, the rest turned back at the upper base camp. I personally did really well, was able to cover the 1st 7 miles & 4000' in about 3.5~4.0 hours with minimal breaks. I am curious to see how well I would have done going all the way had there not been snow on the trail. We all needed to have cramp-ons (basiclly deep spikes to grab ice with) that go on the boots and poles to make ita safe trip.

Anyways, enjoy the pics... approx 250 of them

http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...itney093007_1/
http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...Whitney093007/
http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...itneyPortalRd/
http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ma/SonoraPass/

 

Bravo. Absolutely incredible. Looks like you had beautiful weather.

 

weathere was cold but clear... would have been nice to make it to the top though.

I am ready to go back though... I feel good enough to get the right equipment and start over. legs feel great for having gone as far as we did.

 

Where's the next destination?

 

the thought crossed my mind to go try & tackle the Clouds Rest/Halfdome hike before they yank the cables down...

 

Incredible pics dude, looks like a great time.

 

welcome to df...

It is a brutal hike... from the start your climbing & climbing. we left @ 4:30am and you dont really know how steep it is until your coming down... in the light.

 

Some great shots steve. How'd the new boots do?

 

Is Clouds Rest/Half dome Yosemite?

What do you mean by yank the cables down?

 

boots did awesome, the spot on my ankle from the 5 lakes basin hike was agrevated some, I put mole skin on it, then 1 regular pair of socks, and then a 2nd pair of wool ones over them and it was great up until we were on our way down, then it was getting irritated again. I busted out my 2nd set of wools and replace them for the regular ones. I had 2 pair of wools on and it wasnt too bad after that, it was a tight fit but worked ok.

Yup, Yosemite... they drop the cables going up half dome at the end of the year... you may have missed the tread but I did a clouds rest/half dome hike and only made it to the clouds rest part. came down the back side and it was pretty steep which killed my legs so I bailed on the half dome part of it. spent the next 3 weeks working on the legs in the gym and they were awesome on this trip. which as it turns out is steeper than the Clouds rest hike...

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