After two days of climbing a six thousand foot vertical route, we reached the 14,496 foot summit at 1:30 PM.  I was elated to say the least.  It was the hardest physical undertaking I had ever done, and I had made it to the top.  Mount Whitney is the tallest peak in the lower 48 states.  We spent about an hour on the summit in all the layers we brought.  After a few pictures, resting, eating and making phone calls, we still had hours to go descending, so as always, Scott said, "we better get moving"...  Oh, and that huge tear in my pant leg, for some reason (altitude?) I was not wearing my gaiters and my nylon pants would catch on the crampons once in a while.  Fortunately, the spikes never made contact with my legs and I still have my favorite pair of REI shorts with no zip-off legs. 

 

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