Well, I got to experience it first hand on the 4th. I tried to sleep at the Cottonwood Lakes area on the 3rd to acclimate. I didn't get a wink's worth of sleep so I headed over to the Portal, and arrived at 2 AM. There was only one person there that I saw. This gentleman also happened to have met those three rescued Nebraskans as they were heading up Whitney, and he was going down.
I headed up the trail ahead of him as I knew he would catch up. I just started hiking mid last year and knew he was in better shape. The gentleman caught up to me as we neared the switchbacks. When I was at the visitor's center the previous day, a ranger told me the trail was totally doable and that I would probably not even need crampons. He said 100 mile/hour winds had blown a good deal of the snow away. Good thing I brought the crampons. Conditions were identical to Burchey's pictures on the 4th. If I was by myself, I would have turned around. I made the decision to attempt the summit with this funny and friendly Marine by my side.
Last Thursday was by far the most terrifying and grueling hiking experience I've had yet. I made it to the summit though. On the way there, we met a 53 year old gentleman who literally camped right next to the Cables! He told us he had recently climbed Mt. Hood and Ranier. He did Whitney without crampons or Microspikes! I couldn't believe that all he had was an ice axe. Without the crampons, I was slipping and sliding all over the place. Amazing.
Anyhow, I'd have pictures but I put my camera down on the trail on my way back from the summit, about 30-45 minutes from Trail Crest. I forgot to pick it back up. I met two guys going for the summit in the evening. I promised to reimburse them if they found and sent me the camera. I was too tired to go back for it. I hope they made it back alright because everything from the Cables on up was pretty dicey in the daytime for me. I can't imagine going back in the dark.
By the time we made it back to the Portal, I was partly hallucinating and literally ready to pass out...literally. I almost keeled over more times than I can count. So, I'm sure all the mountaineering gurus won't have a problem with Whitney with the weather the way it was last week. HOWEVER, for any newbie like me who is considering the trek...don't!!!
Seriously, it was a great experience, but I'm lucky to be alive. I had reached Whitney's summit once on Labor Day, but it was a totally different experience in the snow. Back in September, when I got below 12,000, I felt like a million bucks with AMS gone. The rest of my body was fine. After 20+ hours of hiking this past Thursday, my body was ready to fall apart.
Also, if anyone board reader finds a camera in a black pouch with a 1 GB memory card on the backside of Whitney, please let me know!!! Also, I was too tired and dazed to think straight last Thursday and didn't get a chance to write down your info, but if you read this board Jeff, I owe you a pizza for all the help and encouragement to get me to the summit and back in one piece!!!
