We just got back from 3-day camping tripin Mt. Whitney. On July 8, my hu*****and and 15-years old son left portal camp ground at 1:50am, reached the summit at 2:00pm, and came back to camp at 10:45pm. The switch-back was just open. But there were snow on it. They carried micro-pikers, but didn't use them. The hiking poles were enough. Normally 140 passes are issued per day, but only ~20 showed up on trail on that day.It was a tough hike. They were pretty much beaten though they didn't have the hard condition as you had.
You are very strong. Thank you for the story and beatiful pictures!