Warm up hike through 4000 yr old Bristle Cone Pines in the White Mountain area
Wildflowers in the bristlecone pine forest
Talus slope and a gnarled specimen of bristle cone pine
Fire and snow in the Sierras: from Highway 395 between Big Pine and Lone Pine
Mahim, Krishna and Saumya (L to R): Whitney Portal at 2:00 am, and 8300 ft. The summit, at 14,497 ft via the Mountaineer's Route, is the goal
Negotiating the Ebersbacher ledges at night had it's advantges, since we could not make out how sheer the drop offs were. Here is Krishna after scrambling up past the “lone pine” tree.
Those reflectors are a blinder. Kanishka on the ledges, Saumya trying to peep into the canyon below
Taking a breather at a “cairns”, a marker indicating that we were on the right track, a little before Lower Boy Scout Lake
First light on the Mountaineer's Route
The sun breaks over the Panamints bordering Death Valley, making breakfast at Upper Boy Scout Lake a cheerful affair.
We reach UBSL. It is beautiful, but we are hopelessly offtrack. Some 15-20 mins later, thanks to Scaruffi and Doug Sr, we regain the route
Scrambilng up the saddle past UBSL: while not the most attractive pose Krishna can strike for a photo, it gives you an idea of what the MR involves
Almost up to the ridge - from here on it was relatively easy for about 45 mins to the waterfall below Iceberg Lake
Looking back at the drainage of the North Fork of the Lone Pine Creek - we have crossed the treeline
Looking back at the drainage of the North Fork of the Lone Pine Creek. You can see the huge granite slabs above Lower Boy Scout Lake, and the treacherous screeslopes
Thor's Peak and Pinnacle ridge, from the MR. On the other side of this ridge is Mirror Lake, on the Main Trail (See Mt Whitney, 2004)
Keeler Needle and Mt Whitney (right) return into view. The basin below the ridge in front of us is not Iceberg Lake, as we were wishfully thinkng
Marmot sun bathing on the Mountaineer's Route
On the scramble to Iceberg Lake
Glaciers leading to the Moraine basin below the needles
Looking back at the final rock scramble to Iceberg Lake - this was tough going thanks to loose gravel and rocks
The final challenge comes into view: the famous gully leading up to the notch at 14000 ft (move downward on the right of the summit to get to the “Notch”)
Iceberg Lake flanked by sheercliffs. It is 8:20 am and we are quite pleased with ourselves.
Our route is up the chute (the sliver of snow on the left), over the rocks, and then into the broader snow filled gully on the right to the notch. At the notch, we turn left and head up the north face to the summit
Collecting drinking water from the icy lake required smashing the sheet of ice, and dunking our water bottles into the freezing water below
We brace ourselves for the climb ahead: armed with headgear, our first goal is the notch. It is 9:00 am.
Soon after we start the scramble, the clouds start to roll in
Making our way up the chute - staying out of it rather than in it proved easier
Very quickly, things were looking ominous.
Looking up the chute as we make our way up - the notch does not seem any closer after 20 minutes of hard work
The route brings us to the gully, which is still covered by several feet of snow. The deep blue color of Iceberg Lake starts to make its appearance.
Iceberg Lake from the chute
Mahim and Krishna working their way up the rocks
Working our way up the snow on a 40+ degree incline
Saumya and the clouds making their way up the snow
The end is in sight ! (Not before we lost Saumya for a short while).
At the notch! At 14000 ft, we pause for a breather, and share concerns about the weather
How much further? For some sill y reason, we were under the impression it's a simple scramble from here to the summit.
From the notch, looking west into Sequioa National Park
Krishna at the notch, examining the 10 ft of sheer wall that we needed to overcome next.
Saumya arrives at the notch
The beginning of the final ascent along the north face - it starts with a bang, where you have to haul yourself up about 10 ft of vertical rock face
Krishna shows us the way
Horizontal rocks were few and far between, and when encountered, were exploited for quick rests
More near-vertical rocks to climb. This is where we decided that we were certainly NOT taking this route on the way down the mountain.
Almost at the summit, looking down at the route we came up
Mahim takes a breather. Every 20 ft, you get reminded that this would have been peanuts at sea level.
Mahim and Saumya on the last stretch
The summit in view! The highest toilet in the lower 48 states, and the summit hut, for the second time in as many years
From the summit
A little dishevelled, but here we were: in 4 miles we had climbed 6200 ft in about 12 hours. We were greeted by falling hail, which made up literally sprint across the summit and head down the mountain via the main trail
No time for setting the timer and taking a group photo... “let's get out of here”, Hollywood style.
Leaving the summit in haste - no time to pose!
View from the main trail, towards Sequoia. This is familiar territory for all three of us, from last year.
We reach trail crest, the junction of the John Muir and Whitney trails, and take a much needed first break since the notch
Our first human contact since the notch - everyone had skedaddled from the peak soon after noon. This lone German had come up the main trail and was turning back at this point
From the switchbacks, looking into the trail camp area
The sun continued to play hide and seek for much of the descent
The “other” chute - the fast way down to Trail Camp if you know how to glissade safely
We made fast progress down the switchbacks, and through Trail Camp.
From Trail Meadow, looking down at Mirror Lake, flanked by Thor's Peak and Pinnacle ridge (we were on the other side of this ridge earlier in the day)
Fresh pines on the slabs near Mirror Lake
Krishna with Dave and Mark, both of whom we met up with at Trail Camp
Mainak and NP bringing up the rear of the backpackers group who had ascended a day earlier, by the main trail.
We made good time down to Bighorn meadow - this year, the waterfalls and streams were spectacular, due to the high snowfall and summer melt
Light begins to fade as we cross the logs a little before Lone Pine lake
Many meetings at the trailhead: 11 out of the 12 who made it to the top (Manohar had left early). Standing L to R: Kanishka, Shoubhik, Rashmi, Mainak, Dave, Mark, NP, Saumya, Krishna (Sitting L to R) Mayank and Mahim
