BADWATER TO WHITNEY from samantha on Vimeo.
Ryan Tetz and Don Bowie have traded the FKT over the past few years. Tetz did 13h56m16s on October 17, 2017. An interview with Bowie. who set the previous FKT at 14h9m in 2014, is here, and a slick video of Bowie's trip is on Vimeo.
Here's Tetz' GPS track on Strava, and his post on Instagram about the trip.
Tetz posted:
Live from my life - Badwater to Whitney Summit Record/New FKT 13:56:16 I was hesitant to go after this, this year after losing 2 months of training time to knee injury, but I still thought I could do it and I really wanted a good go! I went 47 minutes faster than my first attempt, taking back the record at this moment as the fastest man to go from the lowest to highest points in the lower 48 on my own power! I'm wrecked, couch bound, not functional! #grateful
I started out very strong, but this challenge gradually wears you down layer by layer till you are inevitably so humbled & vulnerable. I didn't know I had it up till even at the end - climbing mostly on rocks off the sides of the Mountaineer's Gully to use my remaining arm and larger leg muscles to forcefully push & pull myself up the mountain one move at a time because my cardio system was already maxed! I sprinted for the finish and have never been so glad to lay down flat splayed on a hard wood floor as the summit box cabin! Not a soul up there, but me - it was a surreal moment of self reflection and a 30 minute attempt to eat half a PB & J sandwich!
Thanks to Benjamin Charles Mitchell for excellent pacing and support on this effort!
I'm DONE with Mt Whitney for a while.... oh so worn out! Such a tough and inspiring challenge ~
Comments
This is the page for previous 2017 effort FYI. Here's a link to the current blog from 2019 and track :
http://ryantetz.com/blog/2020/5/25/lowest-to-highest-badwater-to-whitney
https://www.strava.com/activities/2773078828/overview