Hello All,

My name is Eli, and I am interested in attempting the Badwater to Whitney MR Duathlon this year. I am posting this with the hope of determining if late April is a reasonable time to attempt this route, as I do not have a reservation. If I can acquire a reservation through the unreserved selection I may do so, but I generally want to avoid trying to select a date so far out for a route in which conditions and weather matter. I would prefer to ascend Whitney using the Mountaineer’s Route for the following reasons:

1. I love snow climbs, and if I had to pick any way to ascend Whitney alone, it would be that route.
2. 132 mi of cycling in Death Valley in the summer is not ideal, to put it mildly.

I am putting in considerable effort to make sure I am fit enough to attempt such a challenge among others planned, and if needed I will responsibly decide to postpone this attempt until Spring 2022. I will also be conducting significant research into the route itself and the execution of the cycling, as well as likely enlisting the help of one of my friends to stay “on-call” in the desert to assist in the event of heat complications.

To provide a little background information about me in the interest of demonstrating why I think this is a responsible challenge for myself: I am a Colorado 14er Finisher, with several couloir snow climbs under my belt to bolster that resume. I know that the standard list of Colorado 14ers are not as technically challenging as those of California, but I have also soloed up to 5.4-5.6 alpine routes - one of which was included as part of a 26 hr, 30 mi, 17k vert multi-peak day-trip from the car. I have completed several very large days (30+ mi, 10k+ vert) in the Colorado mountains, including a 24 hr, 32 mi, 19k 12-peak circuit that had never been completed before. I have also bike-packed across a majority of Washington state.

In a typical snow year in Colorado, I look to complete snow climbs in late April – early June depending on the aspect of the climb itself and of course conditions. How does this compare to the best windows for Whitney? Given that the MR is a western aspect, will late April be too early and I should look more seriously into reserving a permit for mid to late May?

Thanks!