Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Bragging at 70

I know that a lot of older people than me have summited Whitney but thought I would brag a little anyway. Yesterday 9-6-07 was my 70th Birthday and two friends joined me for a day hike on Whitney. We left the Portal at 2:30 am, summited at 9:10 am (ascent time of 6:40), stayed on top about 20 minutes and were back at the Portal at 3:10 pm (descent time of 5:40) Total time of 12:40. The weather was perfect, a little cool in the morning, bright sun and no wind on the top. I know this is not a really fast time but not too bad for a GeezerJock.

As a side light I would like to mention that my first summit of Whitney was as a Boy Scout in Troop 88 in Bellflower, Ca in 1949. That is a time span of 58 years between my first summit and my most recent. I was wondering if anyone out there has a bigger time span. I hope everyone out there has a great day and thanks for all the good info on this board

Dude, you rock.

BFT

PS. Hope to see you up there on your 90th BDay.

Congrats, OldRnr!

I am curious: Are you still running for exercise? If so, how much?

OLDRNR

You have earned more than "bragging rights"!!! Very inspiring! You made great time (for any age). Fifty eight years is one heck of a span between summits. Very cool!

MC

You passed me on the switchbacks. I started at 1 am, summited at 12 noon. Summiting in 7 hours is a great job for anyone.

My first summit was at age 50 . . . I can only hope to be able to do the same when I'm 70. Congrats! You rock!

OLDRNR

I was there yesterday, took me 8 hours to get just to the junction and I'm "younger." You must have been the speeding flash that went past me! Congratulations! I did see a man coming up from the trailhead with a huge grin to match his backpack. He was 90!! Never too old!

OLDRNR,

My first and only summit was at the age of 18. I hope to get up there next summer (2008) to establish my 30 year gap between summits (1978).

I hope I can do what you ("some guy", etc.) are doing 20 years from now.

Congratulations!

I climbed Whitney with my father and younger brother when I was 9 years old in 1955. I just did the High Sierra Trail this August with my 4th time to the top. My time span is only 52 years but you've given me motivation to try again when I'm 70, 9 more years.....whew!!

OLDRNR you definitely deserve our congratulations.

OldRnr,

You have every right to brag about it. Congrats, bro!

My first time on top was July 26, 2007. I don't think I can wait another 50+ years to go back.

Congratulations! I summitted last month, also at age 70, but you made it a lot faster than me. It took me over 17 hours RT and I was absolutely beat. My first summit of Whitney was in 1967 or 68, at the end of a JMT through hike. I did it a second time 8 years ago as a one-day hike on the MMWT. I tried and didn't make it a year ago and doing it this year was mainly so my final attempt wouldn't be a failure. I do figure I'm done with Whitney now, though, or maybe it's done with me. (However, I'm headed up to the Sierras tomorrow to do several moderate day hikes.)

This summer I spent 10 days hiking in the French and Spanish Pyrenees and that was a great experience. They are the most beautiful mountains I have ever been in. I was with a group (Walking Softly) of 16 people with excellent leaders. Each day we had a choice of an easy (generally 3-4 miles) or hard (up to 10 miles with significant altitude gain) option. The hard options were very do-able for someone who's used to southern California trails.

Maybe we'll meet on a trail some day. That would be nice.

SteveC: Yes I am still running, just not the 60 miles/wk I used to. For the past couple of years I have been doing about 35 miles/week. This summer I did 6 or 7 hikes over Mt Baldy(I live in Orange county) with my longest outing about 6 hours. I really needed to throw in a couple of 8 hour hikes. I got really tired the last coule of hours on thurs. Thanks for the inquiry. For your info I have been a Ultra Runner for about 20 years and have completed about 160 Ultra's.

Gary,
Is that you?
Scott

Where i come from we say "if you can brag without lying it aint braggin' just tellin the truth"
Great job !!! Just another great example that age doesn't determine what one can accomplish.You inspire me.

OLDRUNR - It's not bragging when you can do it. Nice job closer. And Happy Birthday. I think you are ready for Kili.

OLDRNR - Great job!

58 years? Dang. That makes my 35 years between ascents look like I may as well start all over again. Congrats on the great hike. I hope to still be doing Whitney when I am closer to your age. That is not that far off in the future.