I summited Whitney on tues 8/5 for the first time! holy crap that was a long day! 14 and 1/2 hrs. and time well spent! The thing I was most surprised at was the plentitude of water, lakes, streams, waterfalls and still some snow. I was also surprised to see the amount of work that went into building the trail, theres alot of stone walkways and steps. I found my most valuable piece of equipment to be my Suunto watch the altimeter being the best feature, though my camelbak, long johns, fleece, camera, and a percocet at the end were all instrumental to my success as well. The portal store is extremly convienient, has some great souvieners at resonable prices and the food is good but for all the hype on the burger I expected a bit more, but some of the best fries I've ever had.
Well worth the time and effort to stand, or collaspe, at the summit