Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board WPSMB Group MR Climb 4/20/2012, Third Edition?

Had a great time with Doc Brian.

Double duece.

Post hole festival this afternoon.

JQP is staying on the summit!

I was only unofficially involved in this. Here are some photos:


Alpinglow on Wotans Throne and Mirror Lake.



The Organizer heading for Trail Camp.



Climbers heading up the bowl to Trial Crest.



Climbers heading up the bowl to Trial Crest.



Looking down to Iceberg Lake.



Mark's thermometer.



The Final 400' of the Mountaineer's Route.



Looking down the canyon from about the level of Trailside Meadow.



A rather fat Marmot.



The Slabs Alternate towards Lone Pine Lake.


[img]http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/photos/i-DwXXtTv/0/XL/i-DwXXtTv-XL.jpg[/img]
And most importantly, the Whitney Portal Store is ready for the summer season to begin!

The two unofficial participants wisely chose the left side of the mountain. It could not have been a nicer day, although that led to some colorful language on the way out (not really, I understand that that is part of the game when winter comes to an end).


The rest of the photos: http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/Whats-New-1/Mt-Whitney-April-21-2012/22568943_M8BdN5#!i=1806460370&k=s9zt9zb

Thanks for the pictures Richard...
Congrats on just another weekend, keep er going...

mark

So Mark, Doug and I had a conversation about many things on Saturday afternoon, one of them being "how can it be 22 when I'm on the summit for lunch with only a long sleeve shirt on?" I think the answer may be that I'm getting a false reading from the rock the thermometer is sitting on...

Hi Richard,

This winter you hiked Mt.Whitney every week.
Could you please share what boots have you used (including last time)?

So then I will bring its twin up this weekend and see what readings I get, off the rock...Hope things go as plan...

mark

20 with Hi-Tec Altitude (Has Hi-Tec's version of Gore-Tex.)
2 with Adidas Terrex Conrax CP (Insulated mountain racing boot that is crampon compatible.)

Heat index with the reflected solar energy heading up the snowfield to Trail Crest at noon on Saturday felt like 80+ F. Then a few puffy clouds rolled in and the snow approaching the summit crusted up around 4:00. Thermo in the box read 60F (lots of retained heat).

About 8:00 sundown cloud dropped down and frosted pack and bivy with rime. Then it started getting cold. I guess around 10F for a low. Thermo in box read 22F at 730 am after some solar warming and breeze from below.

Lights from Central Valley kept a glow over Great Western Divide all night. I thought farmers were supposed to blow out the candle early and go to bed.

Glad I spent night on summit and though very slow I feel good about making Outpost to summit with a full pack.

5th Whitney summit via 5th approach direction and I've still avoided the "99 switchbacks".

Scientific test concluded. Question: Does riding ski chairlifts up mountains prepare one for climbing mountains on foot? Sample size: one. Result: No.

Congratulations for two things:
- The only person to participate in all of the events
- Making the summit

The heat off of the snow on Saturday was amazing. Hope you got down early enough to avoid the postholing.

Congrats to you Jim on summit and overniting, thats got to be a great meditation..

mark

Thank you Richard,

Both these boots do not look like insulated winter boots.
Were they adequate for winter conditions?
What was a better option - Hi-Tec Altitude or Adidas Terrex Conrax CP?

Does this mean that you do not believe that you need plastic boots for winter Mt.Whitney?

I have a recollection that I saw a yellow (plastic?) pair of boots on one of your photos.
Am I correct that they were worn by one of youyr partner?

Think you are referring to Bob Pickering who climbed with Richard

Very glad to have my snowshoes between Trail and Outpost camps. Wish I had stashed them a bit higher.

The Adidas are waterproof (as far as that goes in slushy conditions) and insulated. As far as I know, the Hi-Tecs are not insulated.

For a day-climb, either boot works for me. In winter, you don't usually have to worry about much snowmelt on your boots. In Spring, it becomes a problem that can be solved by wearing plastics. I usually just put on a VBL sock and some wool to keep my feet somewhat comfortable. (Sounds completely backwards, but the only solution I know of for keeping your feet dry in Spring is plastic (or some waterproof double boot). The best any Gore-Tex boot has done for me is about 7 hours before snowmelt started leaking thru.)

I wouldn't do an overnight with either of these boots. Probably would use my Nuptse.

I just really like the Hi-Tec Altitude boots. I've been using them almost exclusively for about 5 years now. Climbed Whitney too many times and have done the Mexico Volcanoes with them the last 3 years.

You can't get the Adidas model anymore. The Terrex line is completely different now.

Yes, BP likes his plastics.