A few pics from my summit of Mount Whitney, California

Great series and what an accomplishment; congratulations, well done.

Great series and congrats on reaching the summit!

Thanks!

great set of shots

Did you use your 5DII for the shots? If so, how did you carry it? I've been looking for years for a good way to carry an SLR backpacking. Have never found a good solution so have resorted to taking a G11 on my latest treks.

I used one of these:
http://www.clikelite.c​om/shop/telephoto-slr-chestpack/

I wore this under my backpack. I think I'm going to modify the backpack so that I can just snap it onto the straps and supports of the backpack instead of having two harnesses. This is the best solution I've found so far. For Whitney I left my tripod and my other lenses, etc at home. I had the 5DII, 24-105IS, extra batteries (don't know why I brought two), flash cards. The chest pack was 6-7 pounds on top of my pack weight with this gear in it.

-K

I was going to say that it's great to have the camera in front, since you don't want to be stopping every 5 minutes to get the camera out of the backpack. I lengthened the neck strap so the entire weight of the camera was carried by the chest pack. I could then whip the camera out, snap a few pics and deposit it right back in. The only major downside really is that you can't see your feet very easily, but for me this did not prove to be a significant problem. I highly recommend hiking with trekking poles which can help in the event that you do stumble.

-K

I was hoping for a miracle solution but it sounds like you do what I have done in the past. One problem that I've had with attaching the camera to the actual backpack (both framed and internal) is that it significantly shifts the weight to your shoulders and neck and drags you (at least me) down. These packs are so well engineered today with most of the weight that manufacturers think will be added is geared towards the sides and top, not the front or the back. THe G11 is not a bad camera............the small sensor however just doesn't quite match up a slr. I've even resorted to taking a Rebel T2i with a 24-105.........a good compromise but it still needs the front loaded camera setup.

Sierra Trekker - I did the JMT last month, I carried my dslr with two lenses (16-80 & 55-200). I carried them in a Thinktank digital holster 20 top loader. The back of the holster has a velcro flap and it has 2 d rings on the sides at the top. I open the velcro flap and slide the flap between my stomach and the back of the backpack belt buckle (the flap is long enough to reconnect below the belt buckle). I bought 2 Thinktank camera support adjustable straps and made the straps longer. I connect the straps to the holsters d rings and the d rings that are on my backpack shoulder straps. This helps to balance the camera load. I can still see my feet while walking and it is easy to access my camera. You need to remove the holster to access the backpack belt buckle to remove your backpack. It worked great for me.

Thanks Doorknob..........soun​ds like that might work. I really like Thinktank products. Have an Airport Antidote that I used or an African trip and worked great. Must have been a wonderful trek on the JMT last month. The Sierra is just geat this year...........plenty of water with the late snowpack.

Really like number three. What a moment, tent and summit!

I like that one too, though it's not Whitney (which is still 5 miles away from Trail Camp where this was taken).

I really like the second to the last..........really shows the geology and gives a good feel for the high country.