Route Climbed: 4x4 road Date Climbed: Aug. 06 2005
My brother (who donated his kidney to me) and myself started at 5:25am from the Barcroft gate. The sunrise was epic. We passed the Barcroft facility at 6:40am. We stayed together until we reached the switchbacks at the base of the mountain. My brother quickly pulled ahead of me and reached the summit exactly three hours after we started. I reached the summit 25 minutes later at 8:50am. I began feeling symptoms of altitude sickness so I signed the register and descended. My brother felt fine the whole way and we arrived back at the gate at noon. I would recommend this hike for the great views. BE SURE TO ACULAMATE BEFORE GOING!!
Route Climbed: trail from barcroft Date Climbed: August 4, 2005
After missing the opportunity last summer (due to a sinus/inner ear infection), climbed to the summit this summer. Left Barcroft gate at 3 am, hit the summit around 8:30. It was spectacular hiking under the stars, then watching the sun rise across the Great Basin as I approached the mountain. Ran out of "gas" about 3.5 miles before I got back to my car... dragged my sorry b**t in a little after noon.
To echo some other comments... the road to Barcroft is very difficult for low clearance cars. My Corolla was not happy. The forest service really understates the suitability of the road for "passenger cars." Would recommend high clearance whenever possible!
Camped at Grandview which makes it a 21 mile drive to the gate. The road beyond the Schulman grove is pretty washboarded for most of the remaining 16 miles and makes one want to be using a rental vehicle instead of mine. Saw a guy just a bit beyond the Schulman grove checking his tires for the drive into Barcroft. What made it interesting was that he was driving a low slung passenger car with those new narrow tires they sell to lower the profile of the car. When I asked him if he knew what lay ahead he let me know that his car had all wheel drive. I wonder what the tow truck bill will be for that guy. Anyway, it is a nice hike and I had a nice day to enjoy the mountain pretty much all to my self. Saw only one other hiker all day. Beautiful mountains and those bristlecone trees are outstanding.
Great hike to the summit. The views were beautiful, though the clouds were rolling in. Thunder began as soon as we reached the summit; I only stayed for about 5 minutes before heading down. No ill effects of the altitude, save for shortness of breath. There were only two other people on the trail (a couple from Switzerland) until we were almost back down to the Barcroft facility. Big fat marmots everywhere.
Route Climbed: Main Trail Date Climbed: July 2nd, 2005
Did this hike with my best friend. We spend two days at 8000 ft in Mammoth, then drove up to the parking lot. This wasn't enough acclimatizing, so the hike kicked out butts. We left Mammoth around 7am, took around 3 hours to make it to the parking lot. Our hike was 8 hours car to car and we were the last ones of the summit. I'd recommend this climb, but acclimatize in the parking lot first, leave earlier and be in better shape.
Route Climbed: White Mountain Road (4x4 track) Date Climbed: June 19, 2005
I did this hike with my husband a couple of weeks ago. Great hike with fabulous views of the Sierras. We were not able to drive all the way to the Barcroft gate due to snow on the road, so we ended up doing a 22 mile slog (roundtrip). It was pretty cold and very windy. We were exhausted by the time we got back to the car, but we had a great time.
Took advantage of the fact that I was working at the White Mountain Research Station and shaved 4 miles and a thousand feet off the round trip. It's a straightforward walk-up with no technical challenges at all. A real treat is to do it under a full moon as the elevation and lack of trees make for a tremendous amount of light when the moon is out. Another helpful tidbit... one weekend each year around Labor Day, the research station has an open house where they let you drive to the Barcroft Station at 12,500 feet. That allows you to shave off the 4 miles and 1000 feet on the trip. The only downside is it's very crowded that day and ranks low on the solitude front.
Route Climbed: South Face Date Climbed: June 27, 2004
This was my last training hike before going to Africa to climb Mt Kilimanjaro. Turned back early in the hike, due to extreme dizziness/vertigo (this turned out to be a sinus infection, which was causing an inner ear/balance problem... did manage to get it cleared up before I went to Kili). I enjoyed this area, especially the Ancient Bristlecone Pine forests, and will go back next summer to finish the climb!
Route Climbed: Road Date Climbed: September 18, 2004
My first 14er! Happy with my performance at altitude. There was a really cute research student with a group at the summit hut (they drove up in a 4runner). I let her put me on a pulse ox, my o2 sat was only 74%!
Route Climbed: The Road (South Face) Date Climbed: June 10, 2004
The drive through the Bristlecone Pine Forest was quite an experience; we drove up as the sun was going down, and the Bristlecone Pines were quite a sight. The hike wasn't terribly exciting, but there are nice views if it's clear and it's a great way to spend time at 14,000 feet. Next time, I'm bringing my mountain bike!
A comfortable ascent, especially after a long wedding weekend in LA. There was a Japanese family near the summit with two sons aged no more than 10 and 12. Way to get them started early! Spent the night before in the State Park primitive campground on the way in - good place to acclimatize.
Walked solo to the summit in April using the main route. 54 miles round trip (4 days) since the road was closed. I was surprised when I heard dogs as I got near the research station. There were 2 guys staying through the winter, observing the dogs at altitude, and offered me a beer on my way down. Awesome!
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I've got two thrwarted attempts on the West Ridge also. Need to get back there...
Brian Kalet - Aug 8, 2005 6:03 pm
Route Climbed: South Face Date Climbed: August 6, 2005Threatened by thunderstorms but only got a few raindrops.
transplanthiker - Aug 7, 2005 7:28 pm
Route Climbed: 4x4 road Date Climbed: Aug. 06 2005My brother (who donated his kidney to me) and myself started at 5:25am from the Barcroft gate. The sunrise was epic. We passed the Barcroft facility at 6:40am. We stayed together until we reached the switchbacks at the base of the mountain. My brother quickly pulled ahead of me and reached the summit exactly three hours after we started. I reached the summit 25 minutes later at 8:50am. I began feeling symptoms of altitude sickness so I signed the register and descended. My brother felt fine the whole way and we arrived back at the gate at noon. I would recommend this hike for the great views. BE SURE TO ACULAMATE BEFORE GOING!!
k2link - Aug 5, 2005 10:00 pm
Route Climbed: trail from barcroft Date Climbed: August 4, 2005After missing the opportunity last summer (due to a sinus/inner ear infection), climbed to the summit this summer. Left Barcroft gate at 3 am, hit the summit around 8:30. It was spectacular hiking under the stars, then watching the sun rise across the Great Basin as I approached the mountain. Ran out of "gas" about 3.5 miles before I got back to my car... dragged my sorry b**t in a little after noon.
To echo some other comments... the road to Barcroft is very difficult for low clearance cars. My Corolla was not happy. The forest service really understates the suitability of the road for "passenger cars." Would recommend high clearance whenever possible!
Dean - Aug 2, 2005 9:18 pm
Route Climbed: 4x4 road Date Climbed: Aug 1, 2005Camped at Grandview which makes it a 21 mile drive to the gate. The road beyond the Schulman grove is pretty washboarded for most of the remaining 16 miles and makes one want to be using a rental vehicle instead of mine. Saw a guy just a bit beyond the Schulman grove checking his tires for the drive into Barcroft. What made it interesting was that he was driving a low slung passenger car with those new narrow tires they sell to lower the profile of the car. When I asked him if he knew what lay ahead he let me know that his car had all wheel drive. I wonder what the tow truck bill will be for that guy. Anyway, it is a nice hike and I had a nice day to enjoy the mountain pretty much all to my self. Saw only one other hiker all day. Beautiful mountains and those bristlecone trees are outstanding.
Rob - Jul 31, 2005 9:21 pm
Route Climbed: Road Date Climbed: July 31, 2005Walked up the 4wd road.
thomascanty - Jul 19, 2005 4:49 am
Route Climbed: The road Date Climbed: July 9, 2005My second time to the summit, I did this with a group of friends after camping at Grandview for a couple days.
tonyo - Jul 16, 2005 10:35 am
Route Climbed: road Date Climbed: July 15, 2005Great hike to the summit. The views were beautiful, though the clouds were rolling in. Thunder began as soon as we reached the summit; I only stayed for about 5 minutes before heading down. No ill effects of the altitude, save for shortness of breath. There were only two other people on the trail (a couple from Switzerland) until we were almost back down to the Barcroft facility. Big fat marmots everywhere.
tallboy21 - Jul 6, 2005 1:17 am
Route Climbed: Main Trail Date Climbed: July 2nd, 2005Did this hike with my best friend. We spend two days at 8000 ft in Mammoth, then drove up to the parking lot. This wasn't enough acclimatizing, so the hike kicked out butts. We left Mammoth around 7am, took around 3 hours to make it to the parking lot. Our hike was 8 hours car to car and we were the last ones of the summit. I'd recommend this climb, but acclimatize in the parking lot first, leave earlier and be in better shape.
Maegan - Jun 28, 2005 9:15 pm
Route Climbed: White Mountain Road (4x4 track) Date Climbed: June 19, 2005I did this hike with my husband a couple of weeks ago. Great hike with fabulous views of the Sierras. We were not able to drive all the way to the Barcroft gate due to snow on the road, so we ended up doing a 22 mile slog (roundtrip). It was pretty cold and very windy. We were exhausted by the time we got back to the car, but we had a great time.
iluka - May 20, 2005 1:17 am
Route Climbed: West Ridge Date Climbed: July 1997Took advantage of the fact that I was working at the White Mountain Research Station and shaved 4 miles and a thousand feet off the round trip. It's a straightforward walk-up with no technical challenges at all. A real treat is to do it under a full moon as the elevation and lack of trees make for a tremendous amount of light when the moon is out. Another helpful tidbit... one weekend each year around Labor Day, the research station has an open house where they let you drive to the Barcroft Station at 12,500 feet. That allows you to shave off the 4 miles and 1000 feet on the trip. The only downside is it's very crowded that day and ranks low on the solitude front.
ChuckO - May 11, 2005 12:13 pm
Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: July 4th, 2002Cold the night before. Pleasant walk.
k2link - Apr 11, 2005 2:21 pm
Route Climbed: South Face Date Climbed: June 27, 2004This was my last training hike before going to Africa to climb Mt Kilimanjaro. Turned back early in the hike, due to extreme dizziness/vertigo (this turned out to be a sinus infection, which was causing an inner ear/balance problem... did manage to get it cleared up before I went to Kili). I enjoyed this area, especially the Ancient Bristlecone Pine forests, and will go back next summer to finish the climb!
puma_patrick - Mar 9, 2005 12:15 pm
Route Climbed: Barcroft Station Date Climbed: May 28, 2003We rode the bikes this time. It took just 2:30 to summit.
It looks pretty stupid pushing bikes the last 500 feet of elevation. But a great ride out!
This is our second time on the Mountain
PJC
ExploreABitMore - Mar 4, 2005 10:28 pm
Route Climbed: White Mountain Road Date Climbed: 7/11/04Perfect day - spectacular views of the High Sierra .. also saw a real nice sunrise on the way up.
balajisv - Feb 25, 2005 2:23 am
Route Climbed: South Face (class 1) Date Climbed: Jul 18 2004The drive to the trailhead really rocks (your vehicle :) Great views of the Sierra and esp. the Palisades etc.
Rick Kuykendall - Dec 10, 2004 8:45 pm
Route Climbed: Road Date Climbed: September 18, 2004My first 14er! Happy with my performance at altitude. There was a really cute research student with a group at the summit hut (they drove up in a 4runner). I let her put me on a pulse ox, my o2 sat was only 74%!
bricewilson - Dec 8, 2004 6:54 pm
Route Climbed: The Road (South Face) Date Climbed: June 10, 2004The drive through the Bristlecone Pine Forest was quite an experience; we drove up as the sun was going down, and the Bristlecone Pines were quite a sight. The hike wasn't terribly exciting, but there are nice views if it's clear and it's a great way to spend time at 14,000 feet. Next time, I'm bringing my mountain bike!
MickeMorn - Dec 4, 2004 10:19 am
Route Climbed: South Trail Date Climbed: Sep 2002A comfortable ascent, especially after a long wedding weekend in LA. There was a Japanese family near the summit with two sons aged no more than 10 and 12. Way to get them started early! Spent the night before in the State Park primitive campground on the way in - good place to acclimatize.
HeyItsBen - Nov 10, 2004 3:51 pm
Route Climbed: Normal Date Climbed: April 2004Walked solo to the summit in April using the main route. 54 miles round trip (4 days) since the road was closed. I was surprised when I heard dogs as I got near the research station. There were 2 guys staying through the winter, observing the dogs at altitude, and offered me a beer on my way down. Awesome!
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I've got two thrwarted attempts on the West Ridge also. Need to get back there...
GlennG - Nov 1, 2004 1:27 pm
Route Climbed: The road Date Climbed: August 18th, 2004Ran into a whole herd of bighorn, and a couple crazy looking researchers from the UC research facility. Jogged the whole way out to escape the hail.