Thursday, after 11 hours of climbing, we had covered 12 miles and ascended over 4000 feet. During the previous two days we spent time on the lower part of Mount Whitney, becoming familiar with the terrain and getting adjusted to the elevation. More important, we keep current with the blogs of climbers on the mountain and talked with them to get the latest conditions. Conditions were changing by the hour as snow melt created flowing stream at lower elevations and snow caving at higher elevations. We learned to jump from rock to rock to cross these flash streams, and managed to stay dry.

Above Outpost camp (10,400 feet) the terrain became mostly snow covered and the elevation rise was steep. Winds of 35+ mph forced us to break out our outer shells to keep protected, occasionally making balancing on the steep open areas a challenge. But the biggest danger came as we watched descending climbers punch through the snow crest up to their thighs. The terrain at this point was open snow fields. The trails were buried under several feet of snow, and climbers were making their own paths. We carefully selected the part of the field that seemed most stable and placed our steps slowly. The last mile up the Trail Camp (12,000 feet) was slow, difficult, and exhausting. We rested at Trail Camp and enjoyed an amazing view in all directions. I'll post more about the details of the climb over the next few days.

Best wishes to climbers on Mount Whitney over the next few weeks, the rapid snow melt is continually changing the characteristics of the mountain and making conditions even more dangerous.

And many thanks to all those checking in our our safety on the day of the climb.