Whenever I hear about 14er trip, somehow I always managed to put other events aside and prioritize bagging a peak. Tom Heng wanted to do Russell but I suggested to attempt the Whitney Zone Traverse (Carillon, Russell, Whitney and Muir). I must admit, the plan is very ambitious for me, who has been doing mountaineering in less than 2 years.
I already took personal time off of work to train for more speed runs. Upon learning that Russell is a go, I incorporated the plan to my speed run training. I can maybe run faster to Bishop Pass if I acclimated higher, so Russell is a total bonus at all.
The drive to Lone Pine is 7 hours from Sacramento. Friday, I arrived almost midnight in Whitney Portal Trailhead after enduring 7 hour drive. I had little sleep the night before that I had to stop and took 10 minutes nap along US50, just after Echo Summit. It’s the first time I’ve made a stop in the middle of the road just to take a schmooze.
Whitney Portal/Mountaineers Route to Carillon
At the parking lot, I had little sleep. In the middle of my prep before meeting the group, John spottted me. I’ve hiked with John before several times but this would be the first time we would be doing a 14er.
After meeting the group, we proceeded to start the hike. I missed the “North Fork” sign so my bad. We retraced back our step and made a turn to the used trail, called the “Mountaineers’ Route” or MR. This route is definitely not for regular hikers but for the more advanced or super fit individual. We made our way to the Eberbacher Ledges, Lower Boy Scout and Upper Boy Scout to refill our hydropacks. From UBS, it’s a slug uphill. The guys were not interested in traversing the over loose scree. And so do I, but the bouldering/scramble is way harder than we thought. We crossed sections that are actually considered C5. Thanks to my rock climbing training, I overcome without problems.
Our first destination is Mt. Carillon via the Russell/Carillon Saddle. I summitted Carillon last year via the cirque from Lower Boy Scout (the same route of Idaho Alpine Zone). I hope not to make the same mistake by going to a false peak. However the traverse this time made it not possible to spot the top of Carillon. Finally we were able to summit and with a great view of Russell and Tulainyo Lake (highest named Lake in California). The register is disappointing. I guess no one summitted since Bill and I summitted Carillon because the small notebook is the same, Bill and I signed in Oct 2011.
Next Up - Russell (The Highlight of this Expedition)
Whilst waiting for the rest of the group, it was clear that we could not do Russell on the same day. It took us longer to reach the summit compared to when Bill and I did it and a much easier route and trail condition this time. The group decided to bag Russell the next day.
The scrabling to Russell was actually more difficult than I anticipated. It took us more than 2 hours to reach the West summit. Before the assault to the west face, the bouldering is more than just class 3. If anyone would attempt Russell, they better learn how to climb in a rock-climbing gym as the exposure on Russell ridgeline makes everyone have a heart attack. I may be exaggerating it but there’s a good reason why youtube clips of Russell look and sound scary because it is that “scary”. I meant one wrong move in Russell means death or severe injury. Although it is rated Class 3, some sections of the bouldering is actually class 4 and low class 5 (ropes are not really needed).
The group celebrated after reaching the summit. We stopped for less than an hour before descending. This is my second time doing the mountaineers route. I feel that I actually know the Whitney Zone better compared to my last visit.
Run from South Lake to Bishop Pass to Dusy Basin and Back (approx 20 miles)
After summitting Russell, my plan was to do speed runs either in one of the campgrounds in South Lake Rd. I had a reserved spot in Four Jeffrey but for just a night. It is easier for me to just car camped in the parking lot of Bishop Pass TH (elev 10000 ft). By 6AM, I ran from South Lake to Dusy Basin and back. I believe it’s a 20 mile round trip with a cumulative elevation gain of +- 3000 ft. It felt like I had no difficulty running from this altitude. It must be due to that I was in higher altitude the day before and that Russell traverse was way more difficult than doing Bishop Pass.
It was not that easy running the trail though. It took me more than 4 hours of running before I got back to the parking lot. I then unlocked my road bike and tried to pedal. For 6 miles I was pedalling and pedalling. Though it was not an easy road bike ride, I still think that with enough training, I can do the Everest Challenge next year. On Road 168, I saw several cyclists – they must be training for the upcoming cycling event in Bishop.
My Crazy and Unplanned Muir/Whitney Trek
I headed down immediately to Bishop town, so I can make phone calls. I contacted the Lone Pine Rangers office to secure a permit and I got lucky. Had my lunch at the same place as the Russell group had dinner in Hibachi. From there I drove to Whitney Portal, not realizing that I had to pick up the permit first. I took a risk of entering the Whitney Zone without the actual permit. I meant to just kill time but I ended up already in the Upper Boy Scout by almost 4pm. I was a little surprised that I reached this milestone quicker but more likely that I’ve acclimated already.
From Upper Boy Scout, I saw two hikers heading towards Whitney. I followed the two hikers who made way via the Gulley. I hear a lot of "on belay and off belay". The yelling of this kind sound so familiar to me... ahhhh rock climbers. I looked around the east face of Whitney and there they were, several climbers, holding on to dear life, doing multi-pitched aka 5.10A or Bs.
Almost to the top of Whitney, I made a detour and scrambling to Mt. Muir (my priority to bag). The trail to Mt. Muir is not that easy but its not difficult either. The last 30 feet looked sketchy but after attempting Russell, this 30 feet wall aint looking scary. The register is again, like Carillon, did not have enough papers for signing. I only stayed in Muir for 10 minutes.
At first thought I could run down Whitney Main Trail but that I only had about an hour of sunlight left. I had nothing emergency kit/blanket or GTX except my small pack enough carrying a 2 liter water. I opted to go up to Whitney (which was a good thing). I did not expect that at this time of the night, there are campers atop Whitney. My goal was to kill time. Im not liking to traverse down MR at night. I already wore the down jacket but the temp dropped to low 30s in just a matter of few minutes. Even having a 900-fil down jacket, that is not enough to contain the cold. I got really really cold. I chatted with the hikers so I wont feel the cold that bad. By almost 10pm, my headlamp was dead. I did not bring extra battery. Remember I meant for sightseeing, not the actual trip. All I wished at that time was no thunderstorm, luckily it was a clear night though from the White Mountain Range, crazy lightning is visible from Whitney.
I eventually fell asleep next to the Hut. I was shivering and hands got so cold I had to rub each other hands constantly. Finally the sun was up again and I was able to descend back to the parking lot.
Return to Cowtown SAC
The drive back to cowtown Sacramento was the hardest ever. The lack of sleep finally took a toll on me. I was always closing my eyes while descending Whitney Portal Rd. It was a dangerous thing to do. On Hwy 395, I decided to make a stop and sleep. The passing cars though made it impossible to sleep longer as the noise wokes me up.
Reached home safely --- and to conclude, I planned to stay in the High Sierra until Friday though debating it. I learned that I could not be a backpacker. I take a shower 2x a day but the High Sierra trip did not get me to shower although there are shower establishments. Also was not able to brush my teeth regularly and felt yucky. Overall – its not a comfortable feeling, hence cut my trip short and as I mentioned, Im getting insomiac.
Im proud though that the past days, I did Carillon (13500 ft), Russell (14088 ft), Muir (14018 ft) [ solo ] and Whitney (14508 ft) [solo] --- contiguous US highest mountain. And proud that finally I am able to mountain run, above 10000 ft to almost 12000 (Bishop Pass). I am happy that my transition to adventure running has improved dramatically in just few weeks of hard running
No comments:
Post a Comment