16-18 whitney low
TRANSCRIPT
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had eyed Mount Whitney for
years, but my aversion to crowds and
permits had kept me from attempting it
during the summer climbing season. Its
reputation for being a mob magnet for
weekend mountaineers eager to step on
the highest point in the lower 48 is notwithout justication.
Mount Whitney is the most frequently
climbed peak in the Sierra Nevada, if not
the U.S., according to the National Park
Service.
Each year more than 15,000 people
attempt to top out on Whitney, 14,496
feet. Its no easy physical feat to be sure,
but with a 10.5-mile trail from parking lot
to summit, its a non-technical climb thats
within reach of decently conditioned
hikers.
To thin the herd, the Forest Service
employs a quota system from May to
November, limiting the number of people
on the trail to 60 overnight backpackers
and 100 day-hikers. Thats a good thing.
Imagine the trafc jam on the infamous
97 switchbacks without it.
With so many other attractive mountains
in the Sierra within easier reach of mySan Francisco home, Whitney just never
seemed worth the hassle. Until, I learned
about the backcountry skiing potential of
the peak. Overnight I became xated on
some day arcing turns down its steep, lofty
anks.
Window WatchingThroughout the winter of 05, I tracked
conditions in the Eastern Sierra, looking
for a decent weather window. In earlyMarch, it arrived. In classic weekend-
warrior style, I loaded my Suby with
gear and made a bee-line for Lone Pine
well, as much of a bee-line as one can
make exiting the Bay Area on a Friday
afternoon.
Trapped in my car, it
dawned on me that I
had chosen perhaps the
furthest destination in
the state, at least during
winter when the moresoutherly passes over the Sierra are
buried in snow. I couldve driven up to
Mount Rainier in the same amount of
time. With stops for gas and In-N-Out,
it was early the next morning when I
reached snowline on Whitney Portal
Road, about two miles shy of the trailhead
parking lot at 8,360 feet.
Even more ecstatic that the nine-hour
car ride was over was Mingus, my Chow
Chow-Golden Retriever. An ever-ready
mountaineering buddy with a powder
hounds love for snow, Mingus has been
my faithful partner on many backcountry
skiing adventures. He even carries his own
food in pooch panniers.
On The TrailAfter snoozing for a few hours, I geared
up and started skinning up the road in
pitch black. I put a headlamp around
Mingus neck so I could keep track of him
and call him back if he wandered off.
My plan was simple: Go as high as I
could, keeping a close eye on snow andweather conditions, play it safe, and enjoy
the descent. Prior experience had taught
me that so many things can derail a 14er
summit attempt that I was skeptical of
success. Its all a crap shoot when so much
depends on weather and snow conditions.
Soft, Succulent Types NotRecommendedSki ing Whitneys Mount aineers Route in a Day
By Yu Kuwabara
I
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Under a new moon, the darkness was
unchallenged by the points of light above.
Once I cut over to the North Fork of
Lone Pine Creek, where my route diverged
from the standard Mount Whitney Trail,
I habitually checked my GPS to make
sure I was heading in the right direction.
When the sun came up, the alpenglow on
the snow uncovered two tents pitched on
Lower Boy Scout Lake. I dont think there
is a weekend where you wont run into
other climbers on this popular peak.
Fishermans Peak?The rst recorded ascent of Mount
Whitney was claimed by three
shermen on August 18, 1873, justa few weeks before Clarence King, one
of the pioneering mountaineers of the
Sierra, climbed it. In honor of the rst
ascent party, the residents of Owens
Valley wanted to change the name of
the mountain to Fishermans Peak. In
fact, a bill was introduced into the state
legislature to change the name. The
governor vetoed the bill, keeping the
original name Mount Whitney, after the
leader of the California Geological Surveyteam, Josiah Whitney.
Despite being tested by several steep
sections, I was able to skin up all the way
to Iceberg Lake (12,600 feet), where I left
Mingus pannier lled with his food and
water, along with some extra snacks and
water for myself. From here, I put the
skis on my back, crampons on my boots,
and started up the Mountaineers Gully, an
obvious couloir of snow leading up the
right shoulder of Whitney.
John Muir, who was a remarkably t
mountaineer in addition to being a poetic
naturalist, rst climbed Mount Whitney
from the east via the Mountaineers Route,
on October 21, 1873, two months after
the rst ascent. His take: Well-seasoned
limbs will enjoy the climb of 9,000 feet
required for this direct route, but soft,
succulent people should go the mule way.
Climbing the GullyI dont know about succulent, but Idenitely dont consider myself soft. I was
ready to put my well-seasoned limbs to
the test. Having kicked steps for endless
hours on Shasta, Hood, Rainier and other
mountains in the Sierra and the Cascades,
I found my rhythm quickly, assisted by
The White Stripes egging me on via my
girlfriends iPod, which I managed to
discreetly borrow for this affair.
From Iceberg Lake, the MountaineersGully appeared deceivingly short, but
it took several hours to climb. Once
you reach the top of the gully and are
thoroughly exhausted, you are just a few
hundred feet from the summit.
But take a minute or two here and really
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think about continuing on: thesketchiest section of the entire
climb lies ahead. The difculties
involve a few easy fourth-class
moves. But with telemark
boots and crampons, as I
was wearing, the challenge is
greater and the consequences
severe. A slip here would result in a 0-60
slide off a 100-plus foot cliff.
As you enter the John Muir Wilderness onyour way to the peak, the Inyo National
Forest put up a sign a few years ago in
big red letters, PEOPLE DIE HERE.
Think of that sign on this section if you
are feeling the altitude, weary from fatigue,
or the weather is deteriorating. A few
days after my summit, a solo climber fell
to his death when heavy weather moved
in and he slid down the gully and off the
precipice above the Mountaineers Route.
Since Mingus is still an amateur
mountaineer (soft and succulent?), I left
him near the top of the gully in safety,
where he was more than willing to bunk
down for a quick snooze.
Going truly solo for the last couple
hundred feet, I was greeted at the summit
of Mount Whitney by the summit hut
(built in 1909 by the Smithsonian Institute,
after the rst recorded death on Whitney
in 1904), and the highest toilet in the
lower 48. The day turned out perfect,
winds were minimal, even at the summit.
After snapping a few summit pics and
squeezing some Gu down, I started back
down.
The PayoffThe difference between mountaineering
and ski mountaineering comes at the
summit, where the fun starts for theskiers, while its usually the long slog home
for the pure mountaineers. Sure, I have
to carry more gear and hike in clunky ski
boots, but its all worth it when I carving
buttery turns past the glissaders. After the
long ascent, you strap on your skis, and in
a
little
over an hour of skiing, you
can nd yourself next to your car, looking
up at the mountain you were just standingon top of far in the distance, with a snow-
cooled beer in hand.
The Mountaineers Route was rst skied
by the late photographer Galen Rowell in
1974. A game but admittedly poor skier,
Rowell used extra short skis to pick his
way down the steeps. I had my normal-
sized skis and found the gully in good
skiing condition, stable but soft. Making
short tele turns down the gully, I quickly
reached the gear I left at Iceberg Lake. Idiscovered crows had started devouring
Mingus food. After waiting for Mingus
to eat what was left, I packed his gear in
my bag he would be hard-pressed to
keep up with me on the way down and
harvested beautiful late-winter corn snow
for the majority of the descent.
After a quick nap, I pigged out in Bishop,
soaked in some hot springs and called
it an early night at Twin Lakes, nearBridgeport. For an encore, the next day
I planned to attempt Matterhorn Peak
to top off another ne weekend in the
Sierra, sans summer crowds.
Editors Note: For a detailed
description of skiing Mount
Whitneys Mountaineers Route, see
the book 50 Classic Backcountry Ski and
Snowboard Descents in California (The
Mountaineers, $17.95) by Paul Richins Jr.
When not being the ultimate we ekend warrior,
Yu Kuwabara puts his Masters degrees in
Environmental Engineering and Public Health
from UC Berkeley to work for the California
Department of Health Services.
_ . . : :
ASJ