Whitney 2008

To "bonk" or "hit the wall": In endurance sports, this describes a condition when the athlete suddenly loses energy and fatigue sets in, resulting in a major performance drop. Symptoms include general weakness, fatigue, dizziness and even hallucinations. Symptoms will not be relieved by short periods of rest.

A few of us "bonked" on the mountain and while conditions were less than ideal, everyone made it down safely. We had ten people on the trip, with most of the Hypothermiacs included in the six climbers who successfully summitted the highest peak in the lower 49 states.

We climbed via the Mountaineering Route and wanted the full experience so did the climb over two days with base camp at Upper Boy Scout Lake. A few of us had tried the year before but had been pushed back by weather (low visilbity) in addition to a member of the party developing hypothermia from altitude sickness.

A few of the memorable moments from the trip....
Bathroom break on Apple's campus
Tour of downtown Gilroy looking for Mexican food
Name that tune versus Ben
Hot Pocket!
Arriving at trailhead at 2am; sleep in car/on ground
Unfriendly ranger upset about "road closed" violation
"I'm not the bad guy"
Road crew set to dynamite rock on Tuesday
Extra 3-3.5 mile hike from parking lot; 11am start
Items stored in bear box
Geoff's bird expertise
Two-way radios left behind
Gorgeous views
Creek crossings
Kicking steps and post-holing
Jared's way versus the group's way
Traverse above Lower Boy Scout Lake
Gu, Gu, and more Gu
Slow and steady
Nathan as the "rest step" master
Water excursion to small waterfall before dinner
Long, unrestful night of sleep
Humbled by severe winds at Upper Boy Scout Lake
Nausea, dizziness, headache, cold, extreme fatigue
Advil / ibuprofen / tylenol
Beautiful full moon
Spilled bladder in tent
Tent moved during night by winds
Ear-plugs next time
Initiation to crampons, ice axe, helmet, trekking poles
Below freezing temperatures
Frozen water tubes
Expired freeze dried food and repercussions
Couloir pronunciation (snow gully)
Kodak moments
Dan guiding/helping his brother
Duct taped pants x2
Fallen ice into crotch
Altitude sickness
Multiple cases of bonking
Rock climbing above the Notch; sewing machine legs
Everyone getting above 14K feet; six members of team summiting
Signing the log book next to the hut
Matt as Mr. Speedy up and down
Icy, crusty, bumpy snow conditions descending
Back-country skiing by Jonny and Ben
Jared's "near-fatal" glissade demonstration
Short glissade ride below Iceberg Lake
Double-shot of Gatorade
Flipped over (and ripped) tent; packing of tent during wind storm
Pack-out poop bag
Crampons needed for hike out
Thrown backpacks over cliff or "fallen body" from one viewpoint
Dan carrying two packs
Jared's leadership / route finding
12.5-13hr hike up; 6hr hike down (should have been 4hrs)
Race to beat the 8pm wife call
Headlamps needed as exit trail at 8:30pm
German driver for Matt to retrieve cars
Pizza, salad, and soda afterwards in Lone Pine
Curtis' vacant stare during the meal
Blisters and sun-burned / chapped lips
Geoff's red, blood-shot eyes after driving 7hrs
5:30am arrival back to Bay area
7:30am church meeting
Soreness; especially when descending stairs
Sense of accomplishment for conquering the 14,497 foot peak