Started the hike just before 0600 after a 2 hour and change drive. Prior to this hike we had completed acclimating at around 8000 feet by staying three nights in Mammoth Lakes CA. This would prove to have been an excellent choice. We had done hikes before this up to 12400 & 13400 feet & both were increasingly terrible in terms of the altitude sickness they brought on (headaches). At the summit of Whitney we were well enough to stop for pictures and eat lunch & didnt notice any headaches until on the way down. It was agreed the headaches were extremely mild compared to the ones before.
The website reservenature was utilized to get automated alerts when permit spots became availabe for this hike and others in the eastern sierras, and i was able to secure a spot for this hike about a week in advance. We took the mountaineers route up whitney. We crossed paths with one other person doing another hike. We would be the only people going up this route. This was great as rockfall was a factor between the two of us. This was solved by letting the person going up the chute first lead by quite a bit of distance.
The hike up to iceberg lake was a great deal of route finding. Once at iceberg lake the 2000 feet of vert to the last 400 feet took a great deal of time. At no point did i feel my life was in danger. There was only one move i made which put me at risk of a bad fall but i maintained three points of contact.
Prior to this hike i had read too many trail reports and route descriptions than i would have cared to. This made the risks of not taking the right chute or taking the wrong way up on the last 400 feet (the most dangerous) extremely low.
When we got to the last 400 feet we continued to hug left as we did in the chute as the route description made clear was the safest method for taking the mountaineers route. The last 400 feet was basically bouldering. There was only one move i made that put me at risk during that time where if i fell i would have been injured or dead. The last 400 feet there was still a glacier.
When we summitted Whitney all the route finding and extra effort for being alert and vigilant was no longer needed and we fell in with the crowds of people on the whitney path.
This was an extremely long day, but i feel a sense of fulfillment that i was able to take the route less traveled and exercise the skills needed with confidence to summit. The eastern sierras are beautiful.
Up the chute from iceberg lake
looking down to iceberg from the chute
looking down the chute (i put my phone away in my bag for the last 400 feet to give it the focus i felt it needed)
looking down at iceberg from the summit of whitney seeing where we came from
one of my favorite summit pictures
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