Clash of the Titans - East VS West - Bad VS Good - Godzilla VS Mothra
Burch and Vetter VS a questionably-leadable melty Ice Falls on the way to the summit of Mount Whitney. Pretty much the same difference.
Mike flew in from South Dakota. I had a couple/three days to kill and he'd never hauled a heavy pack up the highest peak in the lower 48.
Drove up Friday morning, got that permit like a good boy should, made great use of the newish restrooms at the ranger station in Lone Pine. Whitney looked lovely and the weather looked even better as we taxed the hamster under the hood of my rental Hyundai - putt putt putt up the switchbacks to certain victory/death at the Whitney Portal. Once there, we realized we still had to climb over 6,000 feet...victory would have to wait.
We headed up the old trail to the North Fork turnoff. Temps were pleasant and sweating was accomplished. The cold water of the creek and apparent lack of an inherent aversion to physical danger made the ledges a breeze.
We reached camp and spotty snow at LBSL pretty darn early. There were a few groups there already, so we picked a spot up high on the hill to make ourselves feel superior. Dead tree climbing and tasty Trader Joes noodles were the order of the evening. No tent was used - we were feeling dangerous.
Alarm went off at 4 am - we packed up and headed over melted trail to the patchy slope above LBSL. It's amazing how quickly the rocks and dirt below are revealing themselves this season. At the base of the left-side falls, we tossed on our ice gear and Mike lead the first pitch with little incident. He chose the steepest part he could find to make it a challenge. I'm glad he was leading. It should be noted that the ice melts quickly around the screws. This is a nice way of saying don't be an idiot and lead it any later this season.
We traversed west towards the second pitch that goes up that lovely little chute. You can see our path here. 2nd pitch was not as steep but the screws didn't feel any nicer - lots of hollow noises, rotten ice, etc.
We rested for a moment, ate a little and applied the ole sunscreen, then packed it up and trotted off towards Iceberg Lake. Walking on snow the majority of the way, the sun baked us from both angles. Thanks large burning mass in the sky! There were several folks about when we crested the slope below the lake. A campsite was chosen, tent was erected and water derived from snow before we headed up the chute around 2:40 pm. Snow was in great condition as we powered up the snow with much less weight on our backs. After passing climbers in all stages of exhaustion and delight coming down and going up, we arrived at the notch to enjoy those views of Russell, Sill, etc.
The final 400 was a hooking dream - we split up my axes and made great uses of the cracks and corners to pull ourselves to the summit. The way was made over mostly rock, but it there was some snow and even ice in the middle to be found. Crampons stayed in the pack on the ascent.
We ran into Southbay-Mark on the summit around 5:45 pm. He had an Uber Bivy, dueling thermometers, and plans to spend the night up top. After some yappin' and obligatory pictures / phone calls, we headed back towards camp a couple thousand feet below.
I hadn't been drinking enough agua, and I think I was a little dehydrated as we descended. Long story short I left some of my lunch on the final 400 - last time I got sick at altitude I was with the same Mike on Mt. Rainier. Coincidence? Crampons were on for the descent as the snow was much firmer, and Mike grabbed some great night-shots as I sweated to the oldies in my overkill-sleeping bag.
We woke up lazily the next morning, packed it up for mixed conditions on the way down...a little crampons, a little glissade, a little chat with the ranger about dead bodies. The usual. Pizza Factory served us lunch.
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