Marcus Dyson and Andrew Austerfield (Oscar), both English (we didn't release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, that was the Scots), both 44 years old. One of my oldest and closest friends, Andrew lives in LA, I am visiting him and to climb Whitney.
We had day permits for the 24th, so we arrived at the Portal on the 23rd after two nights at Parcher's resort near Bishop where we had acclimated by climbing Cloudripper (13,356ft). I'd had no problems with altitude sickness on that walk, so I was optimistic that I would not have on Whitney.
We awoke at Parchers on the 23rd to heavy rain, so we drove to Whitney to see what the situation was there. By the time we arrived at the Portal, Whitney was mired in cloud, but there was sunshine and blue skies over most of the Owens Valley. We hiked up to Lone Pine Lake, as a yardstick to help us decide when to set out on the morrow. It took us an hour and a half at a gentle strolling pace. I had been churning round the Yorkshire Three Peaks weekly for the last three months in training for Whitney, but my walking buddy, Oscar - once an extremely formidable hiker - had not done any serious walks for many years. We decided to leave at 04:00.
We slept fitfully in the back of my rented GMC Yukon in the Portal car park, disturbed at first by the late returning walkers, then by those who were setting out, mostly on the hour, from midnight. When a car parked alongside ours at 03:18, I got up and we kitted up. We set off at 03:48. Osc left first, while I waited for my GPS to find the satellites. It was having problems, and after a while of waiting, it required a reboot to make it search successfully. I set off eight minutes after Oscar at 03:56, and had caught him up after 15 minutes. he advised me to push ahead, we had walkies to keep in touch and agreed to turn them on "half an hour after Lone Pine Lake". I passed the Lone Pine Lake sign, where a large group of hikers were taking a rest by the signpost, after 59 minutes. 20 minutes above Outpost Camp, I passed a lone hiker who turned out to be the advance scout for the "Lone Pine Sign" gang, who he described as "stragglers". They had left at 03:30, 26 minutes before me. Here the very first strains of dawn were beginning to tinge the sky over the Inyo Mountains with deep red and ink black/blue. We both paused to take photgraphs.
I had packed five litres of water/Accelerade mix in a three and a two litre bladder. Having walked almost half the walk without using much of it, I decided to stash the 2l and my headtorch and the spare batteries I had brought just before reaching Trail Camp. This was around 2hr 20' into the walk. Finding a suitable place - where my gear was safe and I could find it on the way back - and actually doing the stashing took me a few minutes, and I had just finished when the sun started to hit Whitney's peaks, bathing them in a glorious golden light. More photographs!
I passed through Trail Camp at 06:27. At this point, 2hrs and 33 minutes into the walk, I began to believe I could summit in four and a half hours: WAY beyond my expectations. The truth proved somewhat different.
The lower switchbacks were treacherous, the stream that dribbled through them was frozen, coating some of the steps and boulders in wet ice. Halfway up the switchbacks, altitude started to hit me... hard! I still felt strong, and I was not tired, but my muscles were using oxygen that my brain wanted, and it began to let me know. Not a headache, per se... but a warning that if I kept pushing this hard, I would get a headache, and it would be a real humdinger. I could feel my heartbeat pulsing heavily in the back of my head, just above my neck. I was forced to ease off and it was 07:41 before I reached Trail Crest. It had taken me an hour and fourteen minutes from Trail Camp - not a bad time, but not stellar compared with my earlier progress. As I crested the trail, and saw the view over the Sierras, my breath was literally taken from me. I had never seen such a panoramic vista, it was truly awe inspiring. I stopped often on the path along the "back" of the mountain, and by the Windows, to take photographs. I wanted to walk faster here, and while my muscles were game, the threat of headache held me back.
The final ascent was agonising, I was slightly dizzy and very tired. Here I met an older Israeli gentleman who told me that despite living in ithe US for 27 years had still not lost his accent because he was "already old when he came here". I balanced my desire to chat with this interesting and friendly man with my desire to make a good time, and he told me he was walking for his birthday, that day! It was his birthday. I wished him a happy birthday and pushed on.
I reached the summit at 08:57, one minute over five hours, and the fatigue and dizziness fell away instantly, as elation took their place. I waited as a couple took their time writing in the summit log-book, and then lifted the lid to find there was nowhere left to write, so I didn't, letting my GPS route and the photos tell my tale instead.
I radioed Oscar, who told me he had turned back on the Switchbacks, and would see me back at the Portal. I left the summit at 09:20, expecting to be back at the Portal by 13:00, descending usually taking me two thirds of ascent time. The reality was somewhat different. As I descended, every hiker coming up had the same questions... at first, it was "How much longer to the summit?" Then down the Switchbacks, it was "How much longer to Trail Crest?" I felt stupid answering, how fast did they walk? Without getting into an impractical and protracted discussion about when they set off, and then some equally protracted calculations to ascertain their rate of progress, and then more questions about how tired they were feeling, how could I say. Each time I made my best guess, but I started to feel bad when I saw how it affected some of them knowing they were still more than an hour from the peak.
My feet were aching, and I was still fighting the threat of a headache. I also stopped frequently to take the photos that would prove how incredible an experience this had been. Above Lone Pine Lake, just by the "Permits required" sign, I met a walker who asked me how far it was to "The Lake". I asked which lake, and he answered, "The first one, the one I can get to without a permit". I advised him to look over his shoulder, and we walked together back to the Lone Pine Lake path, which he had wandered by and missed as he chatted with other walkers. He was doing what we had done the previous day, using Lone Pine Lake as a test. So he and I shared our experiences of training and fitness, as I helped him decide when to set out the next day. It was 13:30 by the time I reached the Portal, making my round trip time 9hr 34'... not a bad time, I think, but if I had more altitude experience, and better VO2 max, I could have been faster.
Osc and I went to the Portal Store where we didn't see Doug, but instead and possibly even better, an extremely attractive girl asked us if we were hungry. When we said we were "Starving" she offered us a cheeseburger and fries for $8.95. I asked if it was possible to have a bacon-cheeseburger, and she said "That's a dollar more". I told her that no matter what amount she'd have said, the answer would still have been affirmative. Best bacon-cheeseburger ever!
One thing I'd like to say to anyone thinking about hiking Whitney is, "Do it!". It's not as hard as some people say it is. Oscar turned back because his legs were aching after the (very hard) ascent of Cloudripper, after hearing my story of the top section, he is sure he could have made it and I agree. But he still describes the day as "awesome". Even if you are not up to reaching the summit, the place is so beautiful that it is well worth the trip. True, cresting the trail and seeing the view over Hitchcock Lakes intot he Sierras is wonderful, and if you can make it, you absolutely should. But even if you don't this is a trip you'll cherish for the rest of your life.
