My 59 year old wife made the summit today----car-to-car in 20 hours. Our son became quite ill at 12,000 feet (base of the chute) and broke a crampon too, so he stopped and watched his mother ascend the chute and then he turned around. Her boots worked fine (Lowa Renegade GTX). We bought them the day before which was a little crazy, but per the gal at REI they are designed to require little or no break-in. I am glad we went with the Lowa's instead of the trail shoe she was planning to wear. She did not get any blisters, but liberally applied moleskin before she started. She did not use the Hillsounds, but rented crampons instead. If anyone is interested in the rest of her gear: she wore silk long-johns with Columbia hiking pants and a merino wool base layer upper and then a Mammut Lemah Hoodie. She also had a down jacket (650 fill) and then a rain/wind shell on top (as needed). She said she was plenty warm. She also had warm gloves and a knit beanie and gaiters. She ate peanut butter/jelly sandwiches, apples, nuts and various snack bars. I think she carried 64 ounces of water from the bottom of the chute to the summit.

FYI: they started hiking at 12:30 a.m. (this morning, just after mid-night on the 13th) She summited at 12:30 p.m. and made it back to the car around 8:30 p.m. She is exhausted.

She trained hard for this hike. I am very proud of her.

Smokin Joe

P.S. Will report more details on trail conditions in the morning.

Last edited by Smokin Joe; 06/13/17 11:06 PM.