It's been 11 years since I've attempted Mt. Whitney. It was only my training hill for Mt. Kilimanjaro, so getting to the summit of Whitney was not the goal. The goal was to see if I got altitude sickness. When I was young, I always got headaches around 12,000 ft, so I was concerned that I might be physically fit enough to climb Kilimanjaro, but not be able to make it beyond 12,000 ft. due to altitude sickness.
During our attempt to climb Mt. Whitney my dad and I got onto the mountaineers trail by accident. Though we made it to High Camp eventually, we missed the climbing window to get to the summit and back, so we couldn't even try to summit Whitney. However, I had dragged an ice ax and crampons all the way up that mountain twice, so I was going to use them. I left my dad engrossed in a conversation with another group and headed up the snow-covered trail above High Camp as far as I could go.
Soon it became obvious that with each step my head was in more and more pain. I was suffering from cerebral edema. With this realization, I about faced and raced down the mountain passed my dad with only the mention, "I've got cerebral edema. I've got to get lower fast!" Dad grabbed our things and caught up to me at 11,000 ft where I was suddenly fine and could stop for a rest.
Due to my Whitney test, I always take Diamox now when climbing high mountains. I was successful in climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Shasta, but I hungered to be successful on Mt. Whitney, the only mountain that I've ever had to turn back on before reaching the summit.
Now I've won the lottery for climbing Mt. Whitney on June 8th. I've got three spots, so my son will be joining me. Unfortunately, my dad's heart is more delicate now, and he won't be joining us. My daughter is trying to graduate from nursing school, get her first nursing job, and plan a July wedding, so she can't take on any more challenges and join us.
Most people in the world don't realize this, but climbing a high mountain with the opposite sex is an aphrodisiac. I fell in love with the man with whom I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. The man who climbed Mt. Shasta with me fell in love with me. My absolute fantasy would be to finally find my husband that G_d has somewhere out there for me and have that man take the third spot and this time have both of us fall in love with each other while climbing Mt. Whitney and get engaged at the top! The only problem is I have to find my husband to be before April 30th when I have to claim my climbing spots!
So, if you have been reading my blog incessantly, have a college degree in science or engineering, love the snow and the beach, don't lie to yourself or others, love learning and adventure, love G_d, are totally in love with me, and want to climb Mt. Whitney with my son and me, please let me know. No guts, no glory!
P.S. To my blog readers: If you want to support a struggling math/engineering teacher and author, please buy my first book, "The Romance of Kilimanjaro," soon to be followed by my second book at: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=9781613464960 Thank You!
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