Whitney... Success!

As the sun rose Friday morning and greeted Mt Whitney like old friends do, it seemed the same greeting was exchanged by me (Jacob) and expedition member Sam. I must say, though it was the first time we had come to meet face to face it felt as if we had been climbing together for years. Along for the trip to Lone Pine was Sam's mom, dad, rad hound dog, and friend Karl but it was only Karl, Sam and I who would leave the Lone Pine Ranger Station Wag Bags in hand (if you don't know what a WB is...Google it) and sights set on Whitney's summit.

The weather was epic and spirits were high as we drove up the Whitney portal only to be stopped by a road closed sign. And this is where the following may or may not have happened... we may have driven around the sign and drove as far as the road would let us... we may have picked up three climbers two of which were also planning a Denali climb (theirs being in May) only to drop off the now five passengers and to turn back, head down the road to park on the other side of the road closure and then to make the trek back to Sam and Karl by foot... again that may or may not have happened. That being said Rangers told us it was illegal to drive on the closed road so.... you get the picture.

After weighing our packs at the trail head the climb officially started. With our packs ranging from 57lbs to 67lbs we made our way up the Whitney trail and made the exiting right turn onto the Mountaineers Route. Our climb soon met the snowline where we dawned our boots and made the slog up to Upper Boy Scout Camp where we set up camp.

The long hike on day one gave me and Sam ample time to get to know each other, time to talk and begin to see what makes each other tick. The bond one develops with their climbing partners is an integral  component of making it to the summit and can play a big role in how one climbs on any trip.

Day two we decided to forgo the alpine start  and take advantage of the extra sleep. I tell myself it actually had nothing to do with dreading early morning starts but how we actually wanted to start later as to make it a bit harder of a climb through the soft snow... you know for the workout.

The days climb was amazing every foot higher we climbed we were offered another view of the summit we were aiming for. Its the last 300ft that you realize that your training had paid off, seeing the summit and having all the energy and more to make it to the top  feels so great. Whitney is no Denali but its a taste of how our bodies react when climbing at altitude, it gives you a chance to implement techniques needed on bigger climbs and allows you to such things without the high risk and vulnerability of Denali's learning curve.

Whitney 2011 may or may not have ended as it started. The only difference is this time it was us may have been given a ride down the mountain by the two very climbers we may have picked up two days prior. So remember a little act of kindness may go a long way...

Sun baked and tired and with some Honey Stinger energy it was a bitter sweet farewell when it came time to hit the road and head home, it did however afford me the time to recap all that happened on the trip, the words spoken and time spent with Sam and Karl. These are truly good dudes and the likes of which I would have no problem trusting my life on any future trip.  So as the sun set on Whitney it left us with six weeks till Denali and the pressure is on. Its time to TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN and the next time any of us on the expedition will be seeing each other it will most likely be in Denali and I for one cannot wait!

For More pics head over to https://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.214600411886086.59829.203518472994280&l=955c1b97a3