Mount Whitney: East Face - August 2013

On the first weekend in August I returned to Mt. Whitney to climb the classic East Face route with my cousin, Tristan Mayfield, making this trip a proper "Team Mayfield Adventure!"

It all happened like this...

Act 1 (The Plan)

In the short, cold days of early 2013, my friend Chris D. and I decided that we wanted to climb Mt. Whitney again, a follow up to our stellar trip from the summer of 2012. We staked out what we thought would be a good weekend, the first one in August, and Chris managed to snag a pair of permits by manning the computer and attacking the NPS online reservation system the moment they became available. With the permits secure, we noted the dates in our calendars and settled into the six month wait, and by "we noted" what I really mean to say is that "I noted the dates." In the spring Chris got married and distracted (maybe not in that order), and in his youthful exuberance he booked a Hawaiian honeymoon that completely overlapped the scheduled permit dates. Chris didn't realize his mistake until mid-June when I asked him if he was excited our upcoming Whitney trip. Needless to say, Chris was disappointed, and he reluctantly informed me that he would not be able to go to Whitney, effectively deciding that he would rather spend ten days in Hawaii with his new bride than a couple of nights sleeping on the ground in the Whitney zone with me. (I know, crazy right?!)

Act 2 (The New Partner)

So I found myself with a pair of permits for Mt. Whitney's Lone Pine North Fork trail but without a climbing partner (an ingredient that Emily assured me was an essential part of making the trip happen). After making a few calls I was able to find someone to sign on. My cousin, Tristan, committed to skip a couple days of classes, make the 9 hour drive down to southern California, and then climb Whitney's East Face with me. This was no small thing, Tristan, while an accomplished runner with plenty of experience hiking and backpacking had relatively little climbing experience. The majority of his climbing experience had been in the gym, and he had only started outdoor sport climbing a few months prior to receiving my invite to climb Whitney. Successfully summiting Mt. Whitney via the East Face would represent an impressive list of firsts for Tristan. It would be his first 14,000 ft peak (and the tallest in the contiguous US no less), first alpine climb, first multi-pitch trad climb, first simul-climb, and first of the 50 Classics (see Roper and Steck).

Tristan looking GQ at the falls below the Ledges.

Act 3 (The Good Stuff)

Thursday - August 1

Tristan drove through the day to arrive at our place in Highland by early evening. After introducing him to the kid and making small talk about the drive, etc. (it had been a couple years since we had seen each other), we jetted off to Trader Joes to pick up some last minute food stuffs. I was happy to introduce Tristan to a number of my climbing trip staples such as madras lentils, stroop waffles (thanks Chris!), and TJ's infamous Powerberry trail mix. Back at home, we dragged Tristan's gear into the house and started going through our pre-trip check list. We sorted and distributed the team gear and reviewed all the personal gear as well while reminding ourselves that "light is right." (I've found it's easier to carry a lighter pack than it is to fully commit to a steady training regimen.) After re-packing all the stuff and reviewing the trip plan, we sat down to watch the climbing film classic "Touching the Void." Because what better way to psych someone up for a climbing trip (and their first alpine climb) then by watching a dude on a mountain fracture his leg, fall into a crevasse, and then suffer debilitating dehydration and hypothermia while dragging his broken body across glaciers, snow fields, and talus. Man, that movie is the best.

Friday - August 2

After work on Friday, Tristan and I loaded up the car and started the drive to the Whitney Portal. The traffic wasn't bad and we made good time, getting to the town of Lone Pine in just a little over three hours. Right outside of Lone Pine, we made a quick stop to grab our permits from the after hours kiosk at the Inter-Agency Visitor's Center. We then continued up the road and arrived at the Portal with just enough sunlight left to find a spot for our tent in the backpacker's campground. The place was pretty crowed, but that camp ground has always been good to me. After getting everything set up and our food stashed away in the bear boxes next to the parking lot, we didn't have a lot to do, so we hit the sack early and were both asleep before 10:00 PM.

Tristan packing up at the car.

Saturday - August 3

Tristan at the trail head.

We slept in a bit on Saturday - knowing that we didn't have too much to do that day made me a little lazy. But when we did get up, we were all systems go. We quickly broke camp and helped ourselves to a hearty breakfast with muffins, bananas, and yogurt. (Tristan ate approximately twice as much as I did.) We started up the trail some time around mid-morning (like I said, feeling a little lazy).

We stopped at the hanging scale to weigh our packs; mine came in at 35 lbs, and I was very pleased. Tristan's was only slightly heavier at 40 bls. We made good time up the trail and quickly reached the turnoff for the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek. We continued up past the Ebersbacher Ledges and Lower Boy Scout Lake without incident, but got a bit off trail on the way up to Upper Boy Scout Lake. We ended up traversing up too high and totally missed all the slabs and instead found ourselves trying to navigate through forests of manzanita. We eventually stumbled back onto the trail near the section that cuts away from UBSL and heads southwest towards the tarn lakes next to Pinnacle Ridge.

Our camp at Iceberg Lake

We continued to follow the trail to our destination, Iceberg Lake at the base of Mt. Whitney's east face. We arrived at the lake in mid-afternoon and claimed a well established rock hovel for our camp. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent setting up camp, eating dinner, and preparing for the next day's climb - all done in a very relaxed manner. (Funny side note: For whatever reason, Tristan had a difficult time falling asleep inside the tent, but went out like a light when he moved outside to sleep under the stars.)

Sunday - August 4

On Sunday, we woke up shortly before 6:00 AM. Looking ahead at a long day, I was anxious to get moving quickly and to get on the rock as soon as possible. After throwing all our unneeded gear into the tent, we quickly shouldered our packs and headed up the broken blocks and talus that lie at the base of the mountain for our half hour approach to the start of the climb. I was pleased to observe that we were the first ones making our way up that morning, no one was going to be ahead of us slowing us down. Because the East Face and East Buttress routes start near the same place, the area at the start of the technical climbing was already familiar to me. After consulting the topo and route beta, we located the start of the first pitch and started gearing up for the climb. The first pitch is not technically difficult but its steep exposure and lack of large handholds is a pretty great wake up for the sleepy climber! I especially enjoyed the short chimney at the end of the pitch that added a little variety to the traverse.

Tristan manning the belay at the start of the climb.

Tristan getting ready to follow up the first pitch.

After that introductory warm up, Tristan and I made our way up to the Washboard pitches while simul-climbing the easy, low angle rock below the talus field where pitch 4 starts (according to SuperTopo). We linked pitches 4 and 5, a dumb decision that I made hoping to keep things moving fast. Linking the pitches created (obviously) horrible rope drag, and I found myself pulling the rope down and across with all my body weight in an effort to just get close enough to the alcove that we wouldn't have to set up another intermediate belay. The Fresh Air Traverse was awesome! After the flake, improbable looking rock yielded perfect holds in the just the right places to keep the pitch at its 5.5 rating while the 1,000+ feet of exposure below my heels kept me focused the entire time. Pitch 7 gave us another great chimney with lots of options for stemming, jamming, and crimping - just fun climbing! Climbing the Grand Staircase went quickly with just a handful of challenging moves until I reached the top and found myself pulling a series of tricky moves in a slightly overhung chimney - tons of fun!

Near the top of the climb with Pinnacle Ridge, Lone Pine Peak, and the Owens Vally below.

At the start of pitch 10 the topo offers a couple different options to the top of Mt. Whitney; with an idea of the general direction of the summit, I headed up a maze of house-sized boulders climbing cracks, dihedrals, and ramps as each came across my path. This was by far my favorite part of the climb. The detailed route description and topo tucked away, I followed whichever path looked best to me; choosing my own lines and following the flow of the rock, time slipped away and I entered into a head space of pulling, jamming, stepping, and looking that repeated over and over again. I was in "the zone" and it was awesome! But before long, I looked up and could see more sky than rock, we were just a few yards from the end. I brought Tristan up, and in a few minutes, we were topping out on Mt. Whitney's summit blocks. It was a strange transition from the quite solitude of the East Face to the circus-like crowd hanging out at the top, groups that had gained the summit by hiking up the Mt. Whitney Trail. Tristan and I were excited to reach our first objective ahead of schedule, and we took a few minutes at the top to snap a few pictures, grab a snack, and in my case, to call up Emily!

Summit photo!

After the break, we made our way down past the Summit Hut and to the start of our descent, the Mountaineers Route. We made great time coming down and were back at our camp next to the lake by early afternoon. We took the opportunity to grab some more water and then broke camp and headed down the trail.

Looking back at the mountain

This time we were more careful to stay on the trail but still managed to find ourselves slightly off the beaten path when we followed a well established trail to a tarn that then terminated in a dead end. However, we quickly re-discovered the trail and didn't vary from it's course again. My memories of the hike back (as they are for most trips) are distinct, but seem compressed because, in my mind the walk back to the car is always hastened by that singular goal. I guess I should really put more effort into trying to appreciate my surroundings and the whole "trip experience" but I don't. With the major objective complete, I just want to get back to the car and go home, which is exactly what we did. I was really happy to get back to the parking lot before dark, a first for me at the Whitney Portal! Back at the car, Tristan and I threw our packs in the trunk, and we headed down the hill to Lone Pine. After grabbing a quick bite to eat in town and a quickly settled misunderstanding with a law man, we drove the rest of the way back to Highland without incident. Trip concluded!