Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Almost there

Dusty Dog and I set out for an epic adventure, hoping to summit Whitney and Russell in one long weekend. Unfortunately, These Mountains decided to hand us our rear ends on a platter.

We set our early Fri. morning hoping to make it to Iceberg Lake in order to attack Russell on Sat. We followed faint tracks through the canyon which seemed to disappear at LBSL. From here we broke trail up towards Iceberg until a small snow storm hit us. We set up camp at 12,100 ft where I realized that the fast assent had taken a toll on Brian. He wanted to go to sleep immediately, but I convinced him to stay awake until I had melted snow and made dinner. We hardly slept a wink with the wind blowing so when it calmed down in the morning we decided to sleep in. We set out for iceberg and decided to go for Whitney first. Brian was still feeling ill but he dug deep and managed to keep up. We arrived at the notch at about three o'clock (our previous turn around time) and by then Brian had had it. I decided to solo the rest and made a left for the summit. The chute was mixed ice and rock, very exposed, and allowed for no mistakes. After about 100-150ft I decided to turn around and descend (the down climb was tougher than the climb up). Without a partner and a belay it just wasn't worth it.
The next day we were both beat and decided to tuck tail and head home. The tip of Brian's big toe has a black spot and a blister. He says it still feels asleep. Does anyone know if it could be frostbite?

Here are the pictures

http://photos.yahoo.com/gallasch@sbcglobal.net

WWRD

Nice pictures. Even though you didn't make it to the top commendations are in order. Cold weather, a sick mate, lots of snow and you made it to within a few hundred feet of the summit.Good job. You did more than most of us can claim.

One concern though, was your partner sick enough to where you should have descended sooner than you did? Did you by chance check his chest for gurgling or check his blood pressure while you were up high on the mountain? Altitude sickness shows up in more ways than just lethargy and headache.

Otherwise, good job.

If his boots fit properly and he wasn't banging his toes against the front of the boot, I'd bet that it's a mild case of frostbite. Many years ago, I had similar symtoms on my fingers when my gloves froze. I thought I had somehow bruised my fingers while climbing, but since I couldn't remember hitting them on anything during the climb, it finally dawned on me that it had to be frostbite. If it doesn't clear up in a few days, I'd recommend a visit to a doctor.

He didn't show any signs of breathing problems, only sick stomach, pounding headache, and slight dizziness. He was also shivering something awful which was another reason I wanted to get down (borderline hyperthmic?). I'm unfamiliar with checking blood pressure?

for some reason the web site hosting my pics is on the fritz. Maybe it will be in order tom. Sorry...

Checking the heart rate would tell you what his blood is doing inside his body. If it was a case of edema, either pulmonary or cerebral, the viscosity, or thickning of the blood would cause heart rate to be way above normal because the heart is having to pump harder. If his heart rate while at rest off the mountain is in the 60's compared to the 120's at rest on the mountain that's a good sign of edema. Just some FYI.

Although this is just what I remember from anatomy and phsysiology and a few courses in avalanche and mountaineering. I'm sure DR. Bob R could clarify a little more.

Good report, excellent pictures, and great job getting so high on the mountain!

How long did it take you to get from where you parked your car to your camp at ~12.1K? Would you say that the North Fork is suitable for dragging sleds right now?

A partner and I are planning to attempt the MR in 2 weeks, conditions permitting.

Uncontrollable shivering is a sure sign of advanced hypothermia. If the victim stops shivering, the situation is desperate. Make sure the victim is wearing warm, dry clothing, get them into a dry sleeping bag (get in with them if necessary) and pump them full of hot liquids to elevate the core body temperature.

The black spot may well be frostbite. Your partner should get it checked out. Untreated frostbite can lead to gangrene.

My understanding is that a HAPE victim will always breath with a gurgling sound, and usually cough up blood.

Other than the elevated resting heart rate and a splitting headache (described as "spikes being driven into the temples"), are there any other sure signs of HACE?

Crag,

The steep terrain (not to mention the bushwhacking that is still required) leading up to LBSL, the first few hundred feet above LBSL, the first few hundred feet above UBSL and the last steep section to Iceberg Lake would make it extremely difficult to drag a sled up. One thing that I've done in the past when I knew that I wanted to stay up for a longer period of time is to do dumps of gear, treating the climb as a full-scale expedition.

Everyone,
Thank you for your concern. WWRD are a little inexperienced in Winter conditions. We are both in very good shape, which can get us(me) into trouble with altitude and cold combined.
I felt exhausted when I reached the notch and I believe most of it was from AMS. Once I choked down a sandwich and the rest of my water I stopped shivering and felt much better. Except I still had a headache. No chest gurgling at any time.
By this time WWRD was on his way up the final gully. I felt I could make it, once I felt better, but it would take me at least an hour to ascend. Since it was 3:30, I was really worried about having to rappel back down in the dark if the climb took longer.
It took WWRD one hour to just go up and down the 100 feet of the gully that he did try.
I would rather try it another day than risk it.
I think I am going to go to the doctor tomorrow to have my toe looked at. It is purple and numb on the end. Maybe frost bite, maybe from banging my toe on the end of my boot? I think my boots fit right, but my toes were so cold, I couldn't tell if my feet were hitting the end of my boots.
Regards,
DustysDawg - A whipped dog at this point

dustysdawg What kind of boots were you wearing and how cold do you think it was? Good luck with the toes.

MountainDan
I was wearing a pair of Solomon boots that are similar to their ProTrek 5. They are not heavy duty and are definitely not for winter. But, my feet have never been this cold before and I have been out in the winter in cold environments. They keep my feet very dry.
The temp on Friday afternoon was about 15F but a storm was rolling in and the wind was blowing pretty hard all night. It got a lot colder. On Saturday, we did not measure the temp until about 6pm and it was 9F. That is when my feet were the coldest. Saturday day was sunny but cold. In the gully going up to the notch there is no sun and it was pretty cold.

Dustysdawg
I guess it's time for some plastic boots if your going to be out in that kind of weather. Hope everything works out.
I will be going up the MR in a few weeks hopefully we'll have more success. Good luck next time

Crag,
I just wanted to confirm Richard's thoughts on using sleds. Since you've seen the pictures you'll notice several steep section where it would be very difficult to control a sled.

We were there Sat/Sun. Only went to LBSL, so most of my photos are in the gully (if you want to see the steepness). <a href="http://community.webshots.com/album/118696990zunGGl"> Lower Boy Scout Lake Backpack<a/>

WWRD,

Nice pictures!

If you are soloing (or no rope), it is not important how you get to the top but how you get down safely.

Hey WWRD I can,t pull up your pics. is it me or on your end. It says the page can'nt be displayed, been like that for 3 days now, would like to see them. Thanks Jim

Icejock,
The link just worked for me. Check it out. I don't know why sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.
We need to find a better place to store pictures.

Snow Nymph,
We saw your truck up at the parking area on the portal road on Sunday. Your license plate says it all.

I know it's redundant, but these are just great pictures, WWRD & Snow Nymph. Thanks. Snow Nymph, your new camera has amazing definition. I swear on the full image version of the "Whitney from Lone Pine Campground" shot it seems you can pick out the E-ledges, and maybe even the famous pine...probably my winter Whitney longing influencing my imagination.

DD, Yep, <a href="http://community.webshots.com/photo/52550081/61989731cyXdko"> its me! </a>

I just switched from a 4.0 to a 5.0 megapixel. What a difference! Now I just have to learn how to use the "white balance" so the snow in the shade isn't so blue.

Looking forward to going higher on the trail next time!
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<a href="http://www.snow-nymph.com"> Snow Nymph Website </a>

When you find out, please let us all know. I was going to comment that it seems like everyon's pictures get that "ugly blue tint" when there's a lot of shadow and snow in the picture. I've definitely noticed it in mine. I've been playing around with flters (unfortunately, my camera doesn't support filters) and the SCN (scene) selection on my Sony, but I still haven't found the answer.