Ascent time of 2h41m58s is also an FKT. Here are Patricia's comment from Instagram & Strava:
It took me 4h 16m to get up and down this hunk of rock today, allowing me to snag the Fastest Known Time on the Mountaineers Route on Mount Whitney (previously held by Charity Dubberly in 5h 10m). My ascent time was 2 hr 42m (previously held by Tina Lewis in 2hr 57m). .
This red line has captivated me all summer long, and ascending it quickly meant more to me than any race ever has. Setting off from a trailhead with nothing but a pair of shoes, some gummy bears and water to climb the highest peak in the continental US is a pretty liberating feeling. It put some serious sadness and self doubt at bay. But, of course, the highs and lows of the mountains only help train us to handle the highs and lows of life, and this trip was no different.
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“When I stood on the greatest summit I’ve ever achieved, success vaporized. As many before, I learned that the moment we think we have attained the goal, we lose it. Success is empty. The sum of all our luck, judgments, lessons learned and heeded, elevation gained and lost, our fitness and skill—is zero.
When I climb, I know I will have to descend...When I run uphill, my legs first grow weaker, then stronger, and eventually weaker again. The sum is zero, and so the goals become the plot lines to our lives.” Steve House’s Beyond the Mountain .
Here’s to never ending goals and to more mountain summits, lest the plot line of life go flat. .
Super happy with this effort! It could definitely be done faster, I was kind of erring on the side of caution because I ate shit pretty hard a couple of times and knew I had a good buffer time wise. I’m just happy to raise the bar a little higher for another mountain crusher!
"Safer may not always be faster, but death is definitely not faster."
“Part of the hope in doing the Mountaineer’s Route was to make objectives like this less intimidating for women to tackle. I wanted to help set the bar for more women to explore in the mountains, be it on ‘standard routes’ or on far less standard routes.”
“I can’t wait for someone else to throw down a fast time that just blows my socks off!”