I moved to the Eastside 10 years ago in 2010 and fell in love with the mountains, simple lifestyle, and hearty community. It's the cliche - the small town with a big back yard became my launching point to increasingly bigger adventures.
Living here looking up at the foot of the highest mountains in the country is unlike anywhere else I've ever been - a seemingly infinite inspiring play ground.
I've always been inspired by the impossible and exploring my own physical limits - often through sure stubborn mindedness to keep just taking one more step and see what's next.
When I was 9 years old we had a school bike-a-thon that had a camp stove as the top prize and I wanted my Dad to take me backpacking for the first time that summer, so I decided I would win somehow vs the big kids. I steadily rode my road bike non-stop until my best friends' moms eventually had to pull me off at dusk for 112.5 miles (second place was a 7th or 8th grader with 70 miles). That's when we realized there was something a little different about me maybe, but that's it now - the same little spark behind these bigger ultra endurance adventures I've explored. Going in for something big & uncertain and committing not to come out until it is done no matter what! That's what's most inspiring to me now.
I've applied this approach to go after bigger and bigger records in the Sierra as I've gotten to know the mountains further. Inyo County happens to have both the lowest and highest points in the continental USA - Badwater in Death Valley to Mt Whitney summit is the ultimate logical challenge - the fastest to go from the lowest to highest points in the US only human powered. If you bike and climb, I'd like to inspire you - you can do it in under 24 hours and maybe you can do it faster too?!
It's become my pursuit of perfection - the unreachable perfect race as I hit my prime years now - use it or lose it time, what are my actual true limits - can I really get there? What's the best I can do? I love and hate my relationship with the hard physical and mental training building up all-in for these challenges the last 7 years - it's all consuming at times - working as an RN, training almost daily, preparing and tapering perfectly.
The days/week before are nerve wracking. It seems like the cockiest thing in the world to head down to the lowest point in the country and truly believe you'll be on Whitney summit faster than ever before 140 miles and +23,000 vertical feet later in about 13 hours. I carefully taper my training as perfect as possible including a strict 48 hour total fast during the week ahead and a 3-4 day carb load until driving down to Badwater the evening before. I'll start at 3 AM - just enough daylight to hit the summit and descend the technical climbing before darkness in about 13 nonstop hours. It's October - I want it to be cool in Death Valley, but not too cold on the mountain - this is the best compromise.
In the moment, it is unreal - you don't believe it, that you are actually doing this - it seems impossible. Pulling over the last big climbs out of Death Valley at sunrise an hour ahead of world record pace on maybe the toughest effort of a lifetime fighting to hold onto my prime years now at 36 years old? It's disbelief mixed with a desire to quit mentally - Now I'm at 7 hours in rolling into Lone Pine for the last steep climb up the the Mt Whitney trailhead. It's only 5 or 6 more hours you can do it?! You're an hour ahead of the record! Hang in there for me. WE got this! As I pull into the parking lot marking the start of the climb up Whitney after 135 miles biking all out - it's all I can do to get a pair of running shorts and tennis shoes on for the next phase. I down a 250 calorie Ensure protein shake and pack a few GU Energy gels and windbreaker in my pockets. There's no sign of relief yet - I will transition from biking to running/hiking/uphill stumbling in only 5 minutes then I'm on my way! I feel the shuddering, the leg cramps locking up as I straiten my legs again over the steep rock slabs and steps heading directly toward the mountain. All I can think of is keep moving. It doesn't have to be fast - but relentlessly I must keep moving my legs in the only direction they are allowed to go - uphill. My chest burns just trying to breath enough as the altitude continues to increase. I've got it ughh! Just got to hang in one more hour maybe?!
Finally I can see the final steep 2,500 foot chute leading to the summit. It's nearly a straight vertical push from Iceberg lake from here on up loose 3rd and 4th class vertical rock and boulders - I need to do it in an hour or less to best a record pace. My quads are done - floppy heavy feeling muscles now almost forgetting the constant burning aches and pains. I switch to crawling on all fours - my arms are still fresh. If I can pull myself up the hand holds on the steep terrain using my upper body I can go faster. I want to quit right now everything is contemplating mutiny including my mind.
I'm now climbing the last steep rock head wall to the summit. I take a direct vertical crack the overhangs over the route below. Come on now give everything! As I pull over the wall onto the summit plateau I switch to a run - my knees are locking up straight now, but I will my body to move faster. I slap the summit marker and collapse to just breathe. I'm here! I high five my partner never feeling more grateful to share the moment with someone. This might be the hardest physical sporting day in my life. It feels bittersweet to stand on the summit looking down on my 7 year journey now for a 6th time as I catch my breath and my heart stops pounding. I feel like I gave it everything I had. I’ve stayed true to the summit. Badwater to Whitney 13 hours 16 minutes - forty minutes faster than ever before!
I don't know what's next in the uncertain times ahead. I'm inspired to keep attempting new challenges linking the Sierra high peaks on foot or by bicycle and exploring my own limits in search of my perfect race. Last year I linked all the 14 thousand foot peaks in the Sierra on foot in one long hike over 3 days - I'd like to see how fast I could also do a fully supported effort maybe one more time through linking the peaks - in under 2 days and 14 hours if possible. It’s another record that currently hasn't been challenged in 8 years and seems to be an ultimate impossible adventure (held by respected ultra athlete Sean O’Rourke now standing on the summit of this Mt Whitney adventure with me in the photo below). I'm inspired to see others following after my challenges now more and finding their own limits.
Strava link : https://www.strava.com/activities/2773078828/segments/69160595094
FKT Page : https://fastestknowntime.com/fkt/ryan-tetz-badwater-whitney-duathlon-ca-2019-10-07
New short documentary film by Samantha Deleo :
Thanks to support from friends at : PJAMM Cycling, GU Energy, Aerohead Bicycles, Goosefeet Gear, M Drive, POD Sox, Wheelscience