Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board I DID IT!

What an amazing mountain Whitney is and what a great experience! I've read posts on this website for a long time and can finally add a little note to say I made it too!
I hiked with my boyfriend and did a 2 day trip--to Trail Camp, then to the summit and back down. It was my highest peak to date. I didn't adjust to altitude well though and wasn't sure if I'd make it. We camped at the Portal Sun (Jun 24), hiked to Trail Camp Mon (25th), and summitted Tues (26th), but I felt awful (headache, nausea, dizziness). And, while I'm posting this to celebrate my excitement of climbing this peak, I'm also worried about future trips to high elevations. I am considering a trip to Kili or Orizaba next year, but if I'm having issues at this elevation, is it possible to think that I can climb these higher peaks? I've read articles and whatnot about AMS, but obviously there can be a fine line--how do you know where that is since we're all so different and symptoms can vary so much? I'm fairly young (28) and in good shape, but obviously altitude took its toll on me. Now, I'm trying to figure out how to deal with this in the future without looking into taking Diamox (I've read the other thread regarding some of your opinions on that). I don't necessarily disagree with it, but I would rather not take it if I can adjust on my own. The problem is, I'm not sure I can...
Anyway, thanks to so many of you for the information and photos that helped us plan this climb. What a remarkable trip it was!
Regards,
Jen

You can do a search on "acclimatization" and find many threads on it on this site, from basic to complex explanations. A short answer is you are going to have to plan a longer acclimatization period. Two days isn't enough. A conservative acclimatization schedule is one day for every 1000 ft. of elevation gain over, I believe, 8000 ft. There are others on this board who may have a more definitive answer.

I would not be too down on the various meds to combat the various forms of altitude sickness. Herbs like Ginko Biloba have been shown to have some efficacy. Just remember; better to take the meds and come back alive.

Speaking of which, the symptoms you experienced are usually a sign it is time to stop heading up and head down immediately.

Congrats, Jen! Whitney is a beautiful mountain!!! I understand your concern about AMS but bottom line, it is all about acclimatizing. I just got back from Kili; summited on my 50th b-day. I highly recommend this mountain; it was an amazing experience. I did the Lemosho/Machame route and took 7 days. I did not take Diamox. I experienced AMS on the third night as I was camping at 15,000 feet and didn't sleep a wink. The next day, I did not feel symptoms of AMS but I was physically exhausted. I didn't experience AMS the rest of the trip even on summit day but I had acclimated on Whitney the week before I left for Kili. I recommend you climb mountains (say 12,000 footers) or stay at altitude right before climbing any mountain over 14,000 feet. It will make all the difference. And take your time at altitude (my nickname is "The Tortoise")! Good luck to you!!!

MC

ExPro is right, some of us need more time to adjust to the higher elevations. The last two years I have come down a week early and stayed at Mammoth and done lots of short hikes above 10,000 to get adjusted. Also on the climbs slow and steady helps with the adjustment.

Congrats! I wouldn't worry too much about your ability to acclimatize limiting you on future trips. Like the others said, one night at the portal isn't enough for a lot of us. In the future you could come up earlier and try to get a night in at Horseshoe (10,000ish') which could help.

Aside from the AMS, how was the hike? I am coming up in a few weeks to do the same trip, overnight at Trail Crest, and I have got some first timers with me. I am trying to come up with an estimate of our time, and although there are a million trail reports on here, one more example to throw in couldn't hurt.

Congrats again.

Congratulations! Great job to you both.

The list of recommendations for acclimatizing is endless, and yes, you'll find a ton of info here and across the web. I would say one of the more important things to remember is that altitude affects everyone differently, and affects the same person differently every time you head up. For example, I had not felt poorly on the Whitney Trail the other times I had come up, including a one-day ascent of the MR in May. But when I headed up in June, I felt mildly nauseus once I got to trail crest.

Your best bet is to try out many different hikes of many different elevations, and find the combo that seems to work best for you. For me, that meant pushing both mileage and elevation gain so my body knew what was coming; but the top elevation didn't matter quite so much for me (the highest I got before Whitney last year was Chocolate Peak at 11,700ft).

Another piece to remember is your nutrition and hydration for the higher elevations. I carry a lot of water at all times, both because I drink a lot, but again, I've found that keeping really hydrated helps manage any altitude issues. Once I got to the summit in June, the rest coupled with drinking more water and eating made the nausea disappear immediately.

Again, congratulations. Sounds like you've fallen in love with Whitney just like I did!

-Laura

Jen

Echoing Laura, hydrating is key. I take small sips of water every 10 minutes or so as I get up in altitude. This may not work well for some but it definitely contributes to me not getting AMS.

MC

I finished almost 7 litres of water on the way up and took Gingko Biloba for 4 days prior to the hike. Did not have any issue with AMS, but am not sure 100% those two helped me with AMS.

Congratulations on your summit!

My friend RJ Secor, author of "The High Sierra, Peaks, Passes, and Trails", writes in the book his method of dealing with severe headaches at altitude: he comments that it is very hard to tell the difference between a headache from dehydration, and from AMS...and dehydration is very common.

"~When I get such a headache, I sit down and start to drink a liter of water. By the time I finish that liter, if I don't feel better, I drink a second liter, while descending.~"

Hello and Congrats. Just a note on Diamox. Its a diuretic. It makes you pee. It is not used for Dizziness or nausea. I believe the only time you should consider taking it is before you have symptoms of pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs), or cerebral edema (fluid/swelling in the brain). These are late symtoms of AMS and the only way to relieve such fatal symptoms is to head back down. So, you need to listen to your body and treat AMS before you get to this point. Late symptoms of AMS can happen to the fittest and most prepared of climbers. Like everyone else have said, taking the time to acclimate is the best way to avoid AMS along with hydration and nutrition. The dizziness is your brain telling you its not getting enough oxygen. If the dizziness doesn't go away with rest, then its time to head back down.

I've takened Diamox on Kili after camping out at 16500 ft and waking to a pounding headache and Oxygen satuation of 67%. Normal is above 92%. I felt extemely sluggish and short of breath while sitting. I knew I had drank a few liters of water the day before and had not urinated much, but did not appear dehydrated. So, I took 250mg of Diamox out of desperation, since I didn't want to head back down. Within the hour and on the hour I was urinating. By the time I reached 18000 ft. I was feeling great. No headache and able to recover my breath quickly. At 18000 ft. my tent mate had the sever headache, nauseated, couldn't eat, felt extemely fatigued and oxygen saturation of 70%. Took Diamox knowing she had at least 3 liters of water that day and wasn't urinating. She was up all night running out of our tent to pee. Didn't get any sleep, but felt much better in the morning. So, Diamox does work under the right conditions.

I believe the greatest percentage of people who fail getting to Kili's summit are those taking the shortest route. Something to be said about taking your time and acclimating.

I wish you many more climbs.

NWoody

Jen, welcome to The Club! I am also considering Kilimanjaro in the next few years. I have Nepal Everest Base camp coming up in October and will be using Whitney as a training area. I'd like to bag at least one of the Seven Summits.

I now live at almost 5000' and I think that's why I never get altitude sickness anymore. Moved from So. Cal. abut 1500' elev and always got sick. Now I can go directly to 14,000' on my first hike of the season and suffer no affects, but I was very tired the first 6 mos I moved to 5000'.

I read in an excellent Everest book that the author was told in order to handle the high altitudes better to go to Camp 3 without oxygen and sleep overnight to "shock" the body into making more red blood cells and then come back down. Who knows, maybe your body got shocked during the time you were at 14,000' and made more red blood cells. Possibly you might not have much trouble next time.I know it's helped me to spend as much time at altitude as possible. White mountain is a great place to acclimatize because there's no permit issue and you can drive to significant elevation before you even get out of the car. You can even car camp in the high 1l,000's. The Whites are just as scenic as the Sierra if not more.

For anyone considering Nepal the altitudes in villages you would encounter are equivalent to Whitney as follows:

Lukla airport 9200' = Lone Pine Lake 9960'
Namche Bazaar 11,300' = Traiside Meadows 11,359'
Everest View Hotel 12,400' = Below the cables on switchbacks?
Syangboche/airport 12,200' = 15 minues out of Trail Crest 12,000'
Pangboche 13,030' = High switchbacks above cables?
Pheriche 13,900' = Trail Crest 13,600'
Dingboche 14,400' = 100 verticle feet short of summit 14,495.

I'm OK with these altitudes so far, but everything past Dingboche is serious altitude but not as high as Kili.

P.S. Also check with Kurt Wedburg on his Kilimanjaro treks. His prices are better by far than REI (Sierra Mountaineering Int'l in Bishop.)

Congratulations, and why not. Did you think that standing on Whitneys summit would be so much fun, but it is. Its all in our own backyard too. Just a tank of gas to get there......

Ken, just something off the record. Your friend RJ Secor is a very, very good writer and I think that I have read almost everything thing that he has written. Thats all, just a compliment to your friend or maybe a compliment to you for having him as your friend. One of these days maybe I'll run into some of the people here on this forum somewhere in the back country. Maybe next June 21 when I try to climb Whitney twice on my 50th birthday, both clockwise and counter clockwise.....

Craig, thanks for the nice note. I'll pass it on to RJ. He numbers several posters here as friends: BobR, Kurt, and probably many others.

Ken, in case no one noticed the pearl in your quote from Secor:

"if I don't feel better, I drink a second liter, while descending." Italics mine. Harvey