We took an excursion to Mt. Whitney to put CrossFit into the crucible of the “real world” fitness. The goal: climb East Buttress (5.8) of Mt. Whitney car-to-car.

One hour into the effort after a 0517 start.

Hour two at about 11,500ft, the East Buttress route in on the right hand skyline.

On the way up the last section of the approach, Iceberg Lake in the background.

On the route, pitch one.

Pitch two, another party can be seen below.

Looking down to the top of pitch 3.

At the top of pitch 11, a few hundred feet from the summit.

Summit! …it’s not over until you’re down…

…at the bottom of the Mountaineers Route, the final crux.

On the way back to the car. CrossFit wins again! 14hr32min later.