My. Whitney! You go! When my ex had his affair and I was DBing my heart out, part of my GAL was training to climb Whitney. It really helped to take the focus off my marriage problems and by the time the climb arrived we were reconciled and he hiked it with me. It was a great trip and I'm so glad to have the memories. (Even though he relapsed into MLC a few years later and we are now several years divorced).
I used to do practice hikes with a bag of kitty litter in my pack.
