[pct-l] Public Notice - Mt. Whitney Expedition

[Hiker97 at aol.com]

Yes, your intrepid hero,  Switchback, is heading back into the jaws of death 
and high  adventure.
 
This expedition 14,500 foot  summit attempt will be on a whole moon night of 
Wednesday, August 9.  The  goal is for the sunrise on top.
 
The expedition has a lot of  similarities to Mt. Everest expeditions.  Base 
camp will be at the 8,300  feet Whitney Portal parking lot.  Just the drive up 
to the parking lot  is treacherous and challenging.  This is like getting to 
the Mt.  Everest base camp at 18,000 feet.  Then Camp Two will be Outpost Camp 
for  acclimation and rest.  This is similar to the Everest's camps in the  
Western Cum.  On Everest mountaineers usually stay at the 26,000 foot South  Col 
before the summit push.  A similar camp will be at 12,000 foot Trail  Camp on 
the Whitney Trail.  I will be leaving this camp before Everest  mountaineers 
leave them camp.  They leave about 3 AM and I will leave  around midnight with 
the full moon.
 
Above this point on both mountains,  you are in the Zone of Death.  On 
Whitney you have to face lightning, trail  rim ice, lack of oxygen, wind, radiation, 
and dehydration.  Yes, it is not  for the faint of heart or hikers who have 
too much rabbit in them.
This will be a lonely dark trek  into the unknown of the stratosphere.
  
I will cashe electrolyte water at Trail Camp and Trail Crest.  This  might 
mean the difference between life and death on the way back down, when most  
deaths happen on Mt. Everest.
 
Thank you for your support and  prayers.
 
Switchback the Trail Pirate and  High Adventurer
PCT Hiker Est. 1970 and Class of  2013
:-)