Dawn alpenglow on the pinnacles of Mount Whitney from the 99 switchbacks, a hiker on the talus trail below.

First Fire

99 Switchbacks, Mount Whitney, California

We left Trail Camp between 3:30 and 4, and by five the headlamps were off and the needles caught fire. This is the entire argument for summiting Whitney from Trail Camp instead of the car: when the first light lands, you are standing at 13,000 feet inside it. Shot moving, handheld at 17mm, because on a climb like this the tripod stays strapped — you take the fifteen best minutes as they come.

Nikon Z 7_2 · 17-35mm f/2.8D · 17mm · f/3.5 · 1/160 · ISO 160

June 30, 2025

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More from 99 Switchbacks, Mount Whitney, California

Sunrise over Owens Valley from the icy cables section of the Mount Whitney Trail, hikers crossing old snow.

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Pink wildflowers blooming beside a whitewater cascade among granite boulders on the Mount Whitney Trail.Backpackers relaxing beside tents among granite boulders at Trail Camp below Mount Whitney in the evening.A hiker stands among boulders at dusk facing the moonlit east face of Mount Whitney from Trail Camp.Black and white photo of hikers among summit boulders beside the stone Smithsonian hut on Mount Whitney.Wildflowers above the Hitchcock Lakes with Guitar Lake in the distance, from the west slope of Mount Whitney.