Hikin_Jim wrote: ↑Looked a tad nippy on top.
Way to go guys. A Whitney winter ascent is an accomplishment. 60+ pound packs is pretty good too.
Holy cow, it was the coldest I have ever experienced in the notch (at the top of the couloir, at the bottom of the "final 400 feet"). It was high and windy and mostly in shadow. But the right clothing made it not such a big deal (I bought that down jacket nearly two years ago and this trip was my first opportunity to use it. As you can see, we actually climbed the final 400 in our down jackets). Personally, only my hands and my feet were ever very cold.
And being able to hump that pack up to 12,000 feet gave me a real sense of accomplishment. Thanks to the pacing established by Kurt, it wasn't nearly as difficult as I would have expected.
As Fritz said, hiring a guide service is highly recommended for something like this. The climb is pretty standard fare all the way up to the final 400 feet, when it suddenly becomes very dicey indeed. But with the guide service's emphasis on safety, I think the most dangerous part of the entire adventure was dodging the rocks on the road up to the Portal. I'm not kidding. That drive was nerve-racking.
The packs were heavy due to a misunderstanding. After conversations with one of the other climbers, the guy who sort of set it up, we didn't realize how much "communal gear" each climber was obliged to carry. So I, at least, arrived at Lone Pine with more clothing and other gear than I would have had if I knew the whole story ahead of time. So for those who are considering this themselves: pack light (eg, one of everything, instead of two or three) because you will have to carry your share of the food, kitchen stuff, fuel and shelter. That's not a big deal, of course, it's what we are all used to doing. But in this case we didn't realize how it was going to be until we got there. I could have done better, and will, should I do this again.
We were incredibly lucky with the weather. Snow conditions could not have been better, and we had sunny skies and relatively still air for the entire climb (it only got windy late at night and at the top). The clouds started moving in as we broke camp on Sunday and snow flurries appeared. For most of our final day's descent Mt Whitney was obscured by clouds. The folks going up this week with SMI will not be experiencing the nice weather we had.
It was my first meeting with Kurt Wedberg. I was impressed by his casual professionalism. It's great having someone like him right in our backyard, as it were. He guides climbs all over the world, too. April and Zach proved to be experienced, knowledgeable and incredibly patient.
The only aspect of the climb I didn't really care for was being short-roped on summit day. It wouldn't be strictly necessary on a non-guided climb, but I understand why it had to be done in this case. The guides simply could not take any chances with the safety of their clients.
I know using a guide service is not for everyone, but they sure do provide great peace of mind. Don't ever believe they actually haul your ass up the mountain for you; they don't, you have to do it yourself. But you are left free to concentrate on the effort and not worry about routes and logistics. SMI is the first guide service I have ever used and after this single experience I would recommend them to anyone.
Pictures tell the story as well 
