Dave Cohen and guide Deb Leyh adjust their climbing harnesses. The
climbing route goes up the right side of the mountain above the notch.
Our first major challenge was the
Ebersbacher Ledges — a series of nar-
row, slippery granite ledges featuring
a horrifying 100-foot drop a mere 12
inches from the cliff wall. This was a
definite challenge since we both have a
significant fear of heights. Nevertheless,
by hugging the sheer granite to our left
and studiously avoiding looking down,
we made it across safely. We made good
time along the breathtakingly beautiful
route and made our camp at 11,300 feet.
Eventually, we reached the "Notch:'
where we took a brief cold and windy
break.
The final 400 feet to the summit was
nothing short of terrifying. We had
no idea that it would involve literally
climbing up a towering vertical cliff.
The exposure was fearsome for a couple
of city boys, so we were very thankful
to be on a belay line. We followed Deb's
instructions to the letter and again
carefully avoided looking down.
Looking Up
Deb laid out the plan: early dinner,
early to bed, summit bid to begin by
4:45 a.m. Trying to fall asleep at 6:30
p.m. in a tent on a rock is not easy; it
turned into a very long night with only
little bits of fitful sleep.
True to her word, Deb had us head-
ing up before dawn by headlamps.
As first light appeared, we were
making our way through the massive
boulder field of the upper canyon and
soon were staring at the extremely
imposing east face of Mt. Whitney.
Reaching the summit seemed like an
impossible task.
We took a break by Iceberg Lake
at 12,200 feet, donned harnesses and
helmets and headed up the "Chute
None of the pictures or descriptions
we had read did justice to the hard
work that is required to slog one's way
up through the quicksand-like scree
(loose rocks).
With each step, we seemed to slide
back a foot or so — lots of work, but
little forward progress. For the tra-
verses across the granite, we were very
careful to test each step before bearing
full weight for fear of slipping and tak-
ing a hard fall.
At The Summit
Soon we were on top, where we signed
the summit register and took the
requisite pictures. Deb had us on a
strict schedule, so after 17 minutes
on the summit it was time for the
down-climb. We went very slowly and
ultimately made it back to our camp
completely exhausted, exactly 12 hours
after we left.
The next morning, we hiked out. It
was a strenuous descent so we were
extremely happy to return to the trail-
head in one piece. We were thrilled to
make it to the summit and successful-
ly complete the adventure of a lifetime.
We had three goals for this trip:
1) come home intact, 2) bag the peak,
and 3) have fun. We can say with great
satisfaction that we accomplished all
three.
This mountain and this route are
serious business and not to be trifled
with. Nevertheless, it was an awesome
trip. It is in the books and our names
are in the register for eternity. Jeff and
I are almost certain we are not doing
anything like this again. Still, never say
never ...
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Jeff Wilner co-authored this story.
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Video: http://bit.ly/9N511C (case-sensitive)
E-mail: djco@comcast.net; JeftWilner@gmail.com
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