Conquering Mount Whitney is difficult under any circumstances. I was battling excruciating nerve pain in my right shoulder. I’ve never been tortured, but I felt like this pain is what it would be like.
Three months earlier, I was racing my bike down Mammoth Mountain’s Bike Park when I suffered my worst crash. I had to be medavaced off the mountain on a stretcher. I remember the doctor coming into the room and telling me I broke six ribs on the right side of my body, my scapula, and I broke my clavicle.
After three long months of recovery, a friend invited me to hike Whitney with him. I agreed, even though, I was experiencing excruciating nerve pain in my shoulder. When I turned my neck to the left, a nerve would tighten against my collarbone and send a pain through my arm, right below my shoulder, that I can only describe as electrocution. I still pressed on to summit the peak, where I experienced the worst altitude sickness of my life. I was only able to stay at the top for a short time before I made my descent.
Two days later, I was in the operating room for emergency surgery due to a staph infection. The surgeon removed the metal plate, and for the month that followed, I pushed antibiotics through a PICC line in my arm that ran directly to my heart. Since then, I have made a full and healthy recovery. The photos I took during this hike will forever remind me of my perseverance.
View the Whitney Climbers print → vxposure.com/product-page/whitney-climbers
A 22-hour round trip, one four-minute window of light, and a summit at 14,505 feet.