Chad Crain, David Faulhaber, David Limbach, & Andy Krakowski
Chad Crain, David Faulhaber, David Limbach, & Andy Krakowski
On July 26, 1998, we set out on what we knew would be a tough day of climbing Mt. Whitney. Starting from our motel in Lone Pine (Elevation 4,000ft.) at 5:00am, we first had to drive 13 miles to the trailhead at the Whitney Portal (Elevation 8,200ft.). From there the 11 mile trail would take us up over 6,000 feet to the summit.
We budgeted 14 hours for the round trip and were only off by 10 minutes. The hike in was over 7.5 hours 6:00am -> 1:40pm, while the return trip was a half hour shorter 2:00pm -> 8:10pm. While guide books recommend that you spend a day or so at the trailhead getting acclimated to the altitude, our schedule did not allow for this. In one day we ascended over 10,000 feet up to the summit and back down again: 4,000 feet in the car and 6,000 feet on foot.
All of us experienced altitude sickness in one form or another. While common affects on all of us were dizziness, tunnel vision, headaches, and weakness, we all felt that we still had remaining strength but could not fully tap into it. By Andy's estimation, our heart rates were over 140 beats per minute for most of the day.
Big thanks to David Faulhaber for organizing the trip, making a video of the day, and carrying extra supplies for everyone.
| The 'Before Shot' of the hikers at 5:15am. |
| The hike started at the Whitney Portal in the dawn light at 6:00am. |
| Shot of Andy standing in meadow about one third the way up. |
| Dave really enjoys getting back to nature |
| The climb from 12,000 to 14,000 ft is on 98 switchbacks. |
| Dave at the pass at 14,000ft. |
| Shot of Andy at 14,000ft. at the top of the 98 switchbacks. |
| Andy trying to remember how to write his name in the summit guest book. |
| Chad looking over the world from the summit. |
| With the heavy snows this last year, large portions of the trail were still covered. |
| On our descent we avoided some of the 98 switchbacks by cutting straight across the mountain. |
| View of Mt. Whitney in the distance from our motel (pointer added). |