High Sierra Topix

fishmonger wrote:

Hobbes wrote: it seemed everyone was a 20 something. No 'weirdos' either; everyone had proper boots, crampons, ice axe, provisions, water, etc.

Something strange must be going on, I can sense it.

A disturbance in the force?

Excellent photo of the chute.

Here's Lauren traversing the exposed section between Trail crest and the MMWT/JMT junction:



She's with her bf to my right in the summit photo posted up-thread. Her boyfriend is the one who quipped about millennials being addicted to SM. It's pretty cool seeing the youngsters get out there and "doing it right": boots, crampons, axe on uphill (arrest) side, proper warm weather gear, etc. And, they were day hikers; Andy & I were bushed from our short 8 mile jaunt. 21 miles + 6k gain/loss in alpine conditions is pretty impressive.

Many thanks to Hobbes for leading the way up the spring route to Whitney last weekend. Bluebird skies on Friday and most of Saturday made for a great trip up!

Clear skies all the way to Whitney from Lone Pine:



Outpost Camp:



Hobbes approaching Mirror Lake:



Mirror Lake:



Shorts in the snow:



Late afternoon on the winter/spring route:



I went minimalist and cowboy camped at Trail Camp:



Hobbes opted for more deluxe accommodations:



This is a zoomed view of the Chute on Saturday morning (those tiny dots are people at the base of the chute):



This guy had a coat and two ice axes. . . and nothing else?



The Chute:



Getting much steeper near the top:





Hobbes is the second person below in this one:



Trail Crest:



Trail conditions on the west side:









Frozen Guitar Lake:



It got cloudy and cold in the afternoon and we chased the shadows down the chute, hoping to stay off the hardening snow in the shade. By the time we finally made it back to camp we were exhausted but satisfied. It was a great day.

We met Lauren and Jordan on the summit and had some fun teaching them about how to carry their ice axes without getting hurt. Jordan posted on FB, " I’ll be sure to spread the ice axe knowledge far and wide!". Here they are on the way down:



Clouds approaching:



This was the 8th time for Hobbes and my 4th time on the summit:

We have been lucky the last few years with weather conditions in the Spring. It was a beautiful day to summit on Saturday. Someone posted on FB that by Sunday the heavy 40 mph winds at Trail Camp shredded their tent and sent it flying a few hundred yards down the mountain

Beautiful photos as usual, bro. For the B curious, Honey Badger earns his name every day on the trail. We got behind a few hikers coming down the exposed section between Crest & JMT junction, so what does he do? Goes around on the edge. Of course, those were still the only boot prints on the way back. It's funny how the kids knew exactly what I meant when I said "HB does what he wants".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg

BTW, even polar bears get cold when the conditions change. Brrr. That being said, I'm toying with UL 5/30 - it would take a major dump to change conditions requiring more gear. It's (sort of) worth it for base camping, but hiking makes it a major drag.

It's great to pass the mantle of "I'm not being a dick" to Jordan. Once seen, it cannot be unseen. An ice pick pointed at C7 to execute some kind of Spock like death blow upon the slightest stumble condemns one to constant mothering.

Still, the goofball who insisted on having his axe hoisted in the carabiner loop for a "quick draw" will forever elicit derision whenever the story is told.

PS Should we tell some wag bag stories?

I wanted to post a conclusion to this trip report by mentioning that a hiker who fell on the mountaineers route is shown in some of the pictures that were posted on this thread. His family & friends have been in contact with Andy and myself for further information about our interaction and any additional photos.

Apparently, Andy was the last person who spoke to him at the summit before he returned solo. It looks like he mistakenly made a wrong turn and descended down the steep north side towards the mountaineers route rather than catch the compressed snow tracks back to the main trail. I know both Andy and myself made a very conscious effort to mark the point in which we made our turn while we were ascending the last stretch over boulders, snow and gravel.

Condolences to his family and friends who may happen to read this trip report to recount some of the hiker's last moments.

I wanted to post a conclusion to this trip report by mentioning that a hiker who fell on the mountaineers route is shown in some of the pictures that were posted on this thread. His family & friends have been in contact with Andy and myself for further information about our interaction and any additional photos.

Heard about this thru a contact at Inyo SAR, but neither Inyo or SEKI has made any official statement, which is not their usual MO.

PS There is another recent incident that will be combined with this incident, which is what caused the delay in SEKI's report.

Great trip report.
The news of the two deaths is very sad, disturbing, and sobering.