99 Problems or 97 Switchbacks

Post #5 in the series...
 Little did we know, this would be the last photo of all four of us. As we made our way onto the 97 switchbacks, Kevin fell behind. He shouted for us to keep going. Later, we would learn he began vomiting on the trail (doesn't that sound like fun?!?!). Thanks to the kindness of strangers, he was helped back down to Trail Camp, given food and drink and a warm sleeping bag to rest until he felt well enough to continue his journey ALONE back to the Whitney Portal. He would not arrive there until 4:00pm! Again, he had to do this ALONE! Kevin's adventure had come to the end. He may have been the lucky one!

 A switchback, as defined in the dictionary is: a highway, as in a mountainous area, having many hairpin curves.These Mt. Whitney switchbacks are up a narrow granite buttress. It is unrelenting in its climb to the crest, gaining 1620 feet in 2.2 miles. What made our climb even more difficult was the fact that it was covered in most areas by ice from the previous night's storm! Kim led the way as I followed her, trying to step exactly where she had just stepped. She did everything possible to step on dirt & gravel, rather than ice. She didn't always succeed, slipping and sliding at times! Eric brought up the rear of our group, constantly calling out instructions on pole placement and stepping carefully. He was our biggest cheerleader ever! More about Eric later.
The switchbacks were the place where I first began to cry ~ sob really. I was more scared than I had even been in my life! I was climbing a slippery mountain just feet from falling thousands of feet. What part of this sounds fun?!?! I am not a daredevil. I don't bungee jump, climb out of airplanes or hang glide. I am fit and strong, but this made me feel scared and weak. Remember my knee problem? By now, it had become much worse and each step up made me wince in pain. There is a lot of stepping up when you are on a mountain. My knee let me know how unhappy it was to be there! 

A few words about Eric. I really didn't know him very well before the climb. He is the brother-in-law of Kevin and also of my dear friend, JoEllen (married to one of Jo's many sisters). Eric had done the climb before. Without his knowledge, we never would have made it. It wasn't just what he knew about the mountain, it was his unrelenting cheerfulness that kept us going. "You guys are doing great!" "Ladies, you are making fantastic time!" "We can do this!" "We are awesome!" "What a beautiful day!" He deemed himself the official, "Blow Smoke Up Your A** Leader". I would tell him later, he had a master's degree in blowing smoke! There is something about a person that can maintain a positive attitude under extremely negative conditions that either irritates the shit out of you, or keeps you from going stir crazy in these  terrible conditions. He handled our fears, our tears and our doubts with style and grace. Kim and I cannot thank him enough for this! Eric or DJ Rockslide (mountain name), we owe you one!!

Biggsuzi