Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board thank you

We are the group of hikers that ran into trouble late Saturday on a planned day hike of the mountaineering route.

The trouble began when we didn't stay together climbing up the chute, and became more serious when one of us broke her ankle at 14,000ft on the main trail just before dark.

We've each learned many lessons from this experience, including (1)Stay together (2)Most experienced climbers climb first and last (3)Each climber must be prepared for class 3-4 rock climbing with exposure on mountaineering route. climbing can be more difficult at high altitude along with the effort required to get there. (4)Have enough to keep warm in case stuck on top of mountain. (5)Accidents are more likely to occur when you are exhausted.

We just want to let everyone know that we all got home safely, and to offer our most heartfelt thanks. Our situation could have turned much worse without the aid of a few special people, both at Whitney portal and on the mountain. We deeply thank you for your help and support. We couldn't have done it without you.

Yvette, Doris, Marilyn, Marion

> The trouble began when we didn't stay together climbing up the chute..

I have less than zero respect for any hiker/climber who forges ahead, leaving others in the group behind. I can never figure out why people do that -- it does not gain them anything, and if others get into trouble, the faster hiker becomes a problem too, because he/she cannot be notified of the change in status.

I am sure there are exceptions -- maybe when everyone in the group is experienced enough to be ok on their on, and similar situations. But generally, it is not a good idea.

When I am inviting people to go on a group hike, I always leave out people who have shown such behavior in the past.

Hi This group of ladies did a model recovery of some flaws in the early part of the trip, went back to help the person with the ankle problem, brought up warm gear to stay on the mountain with the slower climber, got word of the conditions of the injured lady to the proper resource and walked down to trailcamp and onto outpost with limited aid from the rangers that were very impressed by the action of the group and one lady stayed with the injured person until she was flown off the mountain, the other ladies stayed at the portal until the remaining climber walked out. I would give this group high marks on the ability to face a changing event with skill and work through the problems.
Later Sunday night another group just left a person on the mountain, I would not hike with that group no pun intended. Thank you Doug

What I witnessed Marion do that night was truly heroic. She made trip two trips down and up the icey switchbacks in the middle of the night to help her injured friend. But if it wasn't for the night hiker who passed by trail camp in the middle of the night (and was on his way to the summit), things might've turned out tragically different.

Yes, Marion was the heroine of the night. Not only did she come down to get help, but she had the stamina and was brave enough to go back up the mountain multiple times, after a gruelling day of hiking. What I don't understand is what the other two women were doing heading back to Whitney Portal, when that really serves no purpose. They could have been much more useful sticking around.

My friends headed down because I needed to keep our options open to head back down the MR if our 4th person could not make it up the chute. And for those comments about heroic, I can see that you've been fooled by my charm. There are always more details to every situation. Peace.

To be charitable, Steve, I can easily see a faster hiker going ahead to recon the route. Of course, that doesn't help if the person if far, far ahead. I realize that this is an issue of degree.

I think on a trail situation, I've never been one to favor a "nose-to-the-butt" style of lockstep hiking, where the major view that the second hiker gets, is of the person ahead of them. I think that everyone enjoys a trip more, when they hike at their own comfortable pace, and that certainly differs from person to person. However, I think there needs to be a plan of coordination....the person in front stopping every 1/2 hour, or whatever, so that everyone gets back together, on the way up or down.

The most important things in an emergency is
1. don't create more victims
2. don't compound the problem through poor decision-making. Most real epics involve a SERIES of problems/mistakes.

It sounds like this group did an excellent job of dealing with the issues, and avoided the above. Additionally, they were assertive in participating in their own rescue, which probably made SAR's job tremendously easier.

Congrats on doing this well, in a very stressful situation!

I am not saying a group should stay within arm's length at all. And recon implies going ahead, then coming back. I just cannot fathom experienced hikers leaving newbies behind anywhere on the Mountaineer's Route!

Gents, I think we can leave off now about not staying together especially since the originator admitted "lesson learned" right off the bat. Everyone seems to be in violent agreement.

Congrats Gazelle on keeping it together as well as you did. No shame in making a mistake, just in making it twice (as well I know...)

Didn't mean to insult your friends, just wondering why they went down. Don't worry I wasn't "fooled" by your "charm". I was aware of your weaknesses in the trip, but inspite of it you also showed tremendous strength. We can all do better, we are human after all. I am just glad everything turned out all right.

I happened to be at Outpost when the CHP chopper landed Sunday afternoon. Two of the guys in my group went up the trail to help, along with a Park Ranger. I was most impressed with the Ranger's abilities and attitude toward getting this situation resolved to the satisfaction of all. He came by our camp later on and let us know how things turned out. It made us all the more wary of what to do if something like that happened to one of us. Additionally, I talked to the CHP chopper pilot about the situation and what he expects to see when searching for an injured person. He suggested that any bright object, like a mirror or an emergency space blanket, is an ideal way to get attention. Just waving your arms doesn't do it.
We encountered another rescue by the same Ranger Monday night at Trail Camp. Apparently, a hiker trying to get up the switchbacks at night lost his lighting and was stuck at the cables. He woke up the camp yelling for help. I think it highlights how some people take too much for granted on this trail. What starts out as an "easy" hike can change quickly on that mountain.