MR x 3 in 23 hours

From snarky comment to real-life achievement! Proud of you!

However, as ever, no pix = didn't happen.

GET UP OFF THAT!

My legs hurt just thinking about just ONE!

Congratulations on a remarkable achievement...

Shortest trip report ever. That said,

WAY 2 GO!

Next Challenge: 3 X Main Mt Whitney Trail Round Trips

My legs hurt just thinking about just ONE!

(Do I hear an echo?)




Heck, I can do it!




In my dreams!

I wonder if he signed the summit register. That would be cool to see.

Congratulations!

Sierragator provided a little more detail on the other board:




Here are sierragator's (Jim's) pictures that he sent me. Click on the image to see the full-size picture.

001: summit register


004: summit register


009: summit register


010: celebration

Finishing in an orange shirt, I see...

Wow. Just wow.

HJ

Anchor Steam, huh?

Possibly the most-deserved beer in the history of Western Civilization.

Some fun with arithmetic:

Sierragator's gain was 3 * (14,505' - 7,851') = 19,962'.

That is damn near 4 vertical miles!

Everest base camp 17,598' + 19,962 = 8,500 feet higher than Everest.

4 Half Domes. 36 Washington Monuments. 16 Empire State Buildings. And the obligatory sea-level to the top of Britton Hill, the highest point in Florida at 345', going on 60 times.

Finally, 2 and a half times the Badwater to Portal race gain!

I am highly, HIGHLY impressed sir. Big congrats, and it's awesome that you look so lively and happy at the end.

Jimbo, take note - likely the only time you'll ever hear this from me:

GO GATORS!!!

Damn, that hurt.

Seriously, an outstanding effort - especially after the involuntary layoff you had from hiking/climbing earlier this summer. I think it's really amusing that the first known Whitney triple is accomplished by a Florida flatlander transplant, and not someone who grew up prowling the Sierra.

Big congrats, my friend!

Heckuva Hat Trick! Holy Cow!

Brent N

Thanks all! Looking at the webcam today and seeing the clouds building up that way yesterday I definitely caught a break on the weather. Things fell into place and I was fortunate enough to be able to do this.

MR x3 in 23 hours
Ascents: 3:30, 4:00, 4:30
Descents: 2:45, 3:00. 4:00 (longer due to darkness)
Half hour food and hydration breaks between laps. It also helped to put on fresh socks, get a fresh shirt, and fresh sweatband at the TH.

Now that it is out of the way I doubt I'll do another triple.

Rather than launching at midnight, I opted to get a good night's sleep and start at 4:40 am. I wanted to set a good pace without going so fast that I would flame out and not be able to finish.
No beet juice, but I did consume a package of poptarts (shout out to Sean) on the way down on laps one and two. I drank mostly water, some chocolate milk(shout out to Laura) after lap two, some gatorade. A package of shot bloks on each lap seemed to help. Ruth made me some turkey wraps for the breaks between laps. Fresh grapes and an apple at each break too.

Lap 2 saw clouds building up and I expected claps of thunder that never came. The clouds did chill the afternoon heat though. A few tiny hailstones on top.

The last lap was an amazing experience. Contrary to what I anticipated I felt stronger on lap 3 than on lap 2, at least for the first few hours. The night sky up there was amazing, no moon, stars galore,urban glow on the horizons, lightning over in Nevada, and music on my ipod...it was just me and Toomangoyah (aka Whitney).
...and at the end an ice cold beer at 3:40 in the morning!

I'm curious when did you start the triple? I was on trail Monday 20th @ 2am till 5:30 pm and signed log at summit around 11:30. Did you like run or just haul ass hike it? What kind of shoes did you use? Pack, weight, water etc

He was on the Mountaineer's Route for his laps.

Really?? So not the main trail?? What's the mountaineer route like? I thought it was like rock climbing??

Here are some short videos of the parts of the Mountaineers Route, Kim. Sections not on the video are just hiking.

Mountaineers Route videos:
    North Fork to Upper Boy Scout Lake
    Upper Boy Scout to the Notch
    Mountaineers Route, Final 400 chute

And more info here:   Mountaineers Route info

Congrats! Would you be able to post for us a map of the route you took?

The MR looks fairly hard to follow. I'm not sure I could find my way without someone who knows the way. It looks as though helmets and ropes are not needed, right?

RF: If you study the info provided in those links, the pictures, maps, etc, then you can probably find your way. It's always easier to go with someone, but not mandatory.

If you go with a guide service, they will supply ropes and helmets. But most (or at least many) non-guided people just hike the route.

Cautionary note: please make sure you are either very familiar with the NF/MR or are with someone who is. I've been up the north fork drainage over 70 times and up the MR close to 50 times; three of those at night. That includes ascents in all four seasons. I would not have attempted this without that kind of familiarity with it. That being said I developed a deeper appreciation for Whitney via this experience that is hard to put into words.