#Hiking with @pema.travels・・・“I went on an adventure! A few days ago I was perusing the Recreation.gov website (as I usually do on Mondays), and I saw that there were 3 permits open for Mt Whitney. As the tallest peak in the continuous United States, it’s extremely popular and notorious for its elusive permits via the lottery system.
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Having wanted to climb Mt Whitney since my first overnight hike with @wildbonde, @wcebron, and @wknight35 (in which I showed up as unprepared possible), I booked the permits no questions asked.
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About 20 minutes later I learned that there was heavy snow on the summit, the switchbacks were closed, and the only route up from the main trail would be “the chute.” Something requiring an ice axe, crampons, and mild mountaineering experience, all of which I had none.
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With a little bit of blind faith, a lot of YouTube tutorials, and a very long trip to REI under my belt, I somehow felt prepared to tackle the 22 mile, 12,200 ft up and down the mountain in a single day.
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Surprisingly, the hike went great. But we weren’t able to summit due to my friend getting altitude sickness.
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As much as I wanted to tell him he’d be fine and to meet me at the bottom.. well, he really wouldn’t let me go up alone. (And seeing as he wasn’t covered by @triptimeinsurance, I would’ve felt guilty if he got hurt on his way down) 🤪
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I found out half an hour later when he slipped and fell down a glacier that it was probably a good idea.
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You don’t want to learn how to self arrest on extremely slushy snow on extremely steep grades. And you definitely don’t want to use your hiking poles instead of an ice axe to glissade! Your poles will break. Your body possibly too.
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Anyway, thank you @triptimeinsurance for covering this adventure!! I love knowing you have my back when I set out for my trips, big and small. 🙂
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And here are a collection of iPhone photos from that day. No Sony as I didn’t think I should distract myself with photos when I couldn’t even remember what my life-essential gear was called 😅 Hope you enjoy!”
