MT WHITNEY, OUR BIGGEST ADVENTURE YET!

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Somewhere along the desolate confines of Nebraska I-80, your mind begins to travel.  It's allowed to travel great expanses between the excitement of Iowa and Eastern Colorado (sarcasm should be noted).  You start to wonder, what river would be the best to white water raft?  Which Nat'l Park would we like to spend the most time in?  So on and so on.  And it was here, along the stretch of isolation (maybe near Kearny) where the idea was born.  Let's climb a major peak on our western tour.  It's on both of our lists of things to do before we die, why not do it now?

The obvious summit we would climb is Mt Rainier.   Being well recognized, accompanied with time to condition for the attempt, made it the obvious  choice.  Problem, the guy we talked to outside of Gunnison (the one that told us of Ouray CO) warned of substantial cost involved for making a run at Rainier's top.  We later confirmed his warning via our laptop friend; $800/person.  Plan B does not involve active employment, thus, Rainier will have to wait.  Time to send Anne on a wild goose chase to see what the tallest peak is in the contiguous US.  Colorado must have the highest, right?  With 54 peaks over 14K, Colorado doesn't take the cake.  Nor does Washington,  Wyoming, Idaho, or Montana.  Standing at 14,494 feet, Mt Whitney (located in The Golden State) is the winner.  Next question, do we have to be related to Sir Edmund Hillary or his sherpa to climb it?  No you don't, but you do need a hiking permit reserved several months in advance to make the run.  They only allow a limited amount of permits for hiking in the area.  Well, our luck took a turn for the better on July 7.

July 6: we went into the Ranger's visitor center to inquire on climbing the beast.  Before Anne could even ask about the hundreds of bears that were going to attack her in the Sierra Nevadas, the young Ranger asked if we had a permit.  No.  He asked how much time we had.  Ha!   This is a commodity we do have.  He suggested stopping back in the upcoming mornings to see if anyone canceled, allowing us to step in their spot.

July 7: pull into the Ranger station again.  A different  Ranger was at the post and our spirits started to fade as she looked like she didn't want to deal with a couple of flat landers.  We uttered, "any cancelations for Whitney?"  "Yep.  A group of six just canceled.  Do you want to take their spot?"  I wanted to say to her, does the pope wear a funny hat?  I held my composure and we were on our way.

Mt Whitney Portal is a little above 8K feet and marks the beginning of your ascent.  Day one consists of packing the backpacks with the needed items:  tents, sleeping bags, clothing, bear canisters, pooping kits.  You know, every day things.  We would then hike to base camp at 12k feet.  Base camp was 6 miles towards the summit, and the 35 pound packs didn't carry themselves.  After four hours of sweat and thin air, we made base camp.  We were exhausted.  We spent the night at 12k, along with others that would make the attempt in the morning, getting acclimated to the conditions. 

The following morning required an extra hike.  A hike to the bathroom.  The bathroom is different for everyone.  Some have many boulders, some have many trees, some have neither.  Mine had a perimeter of boulders to cover my bare ass (I have a tough time going in a public restroom, much less a situation like this).  This was the toughest part so far, but mission accomplished.  Time to make our ascent.

The climb from base camp to summit is 5 miles long and includes a section called 99 switchbacks.  Part of the switchbacks include a cable section to prevent you from an accelerated cartwheel  fall.  (See photos of the rangers clearing the snow and ice)  After 3 hours of sucking thin air, we made it.  14,494 feet.  The only problem, we had 11 miles left of hiking to get back to the portal.  We spent a half hour at the top and then started the decent.  We turned our feet into bloody stumps by the time we hit bottom, but we made it.  A feeling of achievement for me, a feeling of relief for Anne.  And just think, no bears attacked us!  Kilamanjaro, you're next.                   

bkh