Rock Creek/Whitney Portal 6/29-7/1/07

Friday night Dave O., Ken, and I left LA around 9:30pm and camped in Inyokern at about midnight. We got up early Saturday morning to reach the Lone Pine permit station when it opened at 8:30am. Amazingly, Ken drew #1, so we ended up getting our first choice permit for the Rock Creek drainage! Our plan was to climb the North Arete of Bear Creek Spire, but Ken had been sick all week, and it was Dave's first time at 11,000 feet. We camped at gem lake, and hiked up the talus approach near the climb. It was very impressive, and I'm psyched to return for the north arete. The hike in was gorgeous, so it was a great training hike.


Instead of bear creek spire, we climbed 2 pitches of 5.8 at Whitney portal. It was amazing that we were the only climbers in the area! The views were gorgeous and the climbing was super fun. :)

For more photos, check out the picasa album:

Rock Creek 6/29-7/1/07