Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Onion Valley to Whitney non-hike

A friend and I planned on hiking from Onion Valley to Mt Whitney over the course of this past week. We both live in the mid-West so acclimatization and conditioning are very important for us. I've made several high altitude backpacking trips so I know from experience what my body can and can't take. This was my friend's first high altitude trip. He failed to heed my advice regarding conditioning for this trip and showed up overweight and out of shape. We spent one night at the Onion Valley campground to help acclimate. Last Saturday morning we started up the trail to Kearsarge Pass. It took us 4 hours to go 3/4 mile because my friend had to stop and sit down about every 30 yards. At 3/4 mile we stopped for about 1.5 hours until he felt he could move again. At this time he was still feeling dizzy, nauseous, and winded. I told him that there was no way I was going to let him go any higher. He needed to stay at our current location or go back to the Onion Valley campground. He wasn't comfortable staying at Little Pothole Lake and didn't want to split up and meet me at the portal a week later so we both returned to the campground and spent another night there. He declared that there was no way he could do this for a week so we returned home a week early having only hiked 1.5 miles total. Since I live in the mid-West chances to get out in the mountains don't come my way very often. It's usually quite costly for me to organize a trip out West. This was quite a waste of planning, effort, training, and money on my part. It's back to hiking solo or with experienced backpackers only for me from here on out. Life is too short to waste opportunities like this. That being said, I still feel that I made the right decision to take him to lower altitude even though I wish I was hiking down the Whitney Trail to the portal today as originally planned.

That is a serious bummer. I have been on a few trips where someone was not up to the task. On all but one, the person responsible for bringing the non-performer had to escort them on their alternate route out so I was able to continue. On my most recent trip I had to change my plans considerably but was still able to salvage a week in the mountains. But to fly all the way out for that....

I would have insisted on meeting at Portal at the end of the week. With so much invested in the trip, I would not have wanted to leave it for another year. I treasure what little opportunity I have for trips like that, and I will not let other people's mistakes keep me from doing them if there is any way to safely take care of them and still have my time on the trail.

Symptoms at altitude are altitude sickness until proven otherwise.

Please take the following comments as constructively offered, Harvey


Even a fat, out of shape slug could do 3/4 miles in 4 hrs. Your friend had AMS. This can happen no matter what shape, size, condition a person is. Some are just genetically or otherwise prone to it.

Yes, it is a bummer and in 17 trips to the Sierras I have had to alter/change/stop/quit usually because others had AMS. I'm usually immune but have had it myself at 10,000 ft (and stopped) and at 19,000 ft elsewhere (and stopped 2 days). I have also evacuated very ill AMS/HAPE/HACE victims. Before placing all the blame on the patient, I'd suggest a little homework on AMS.

Here's an excerpt:

Anyone who goes to altitude can get AMS. It is primarily related to individual physiology (genetics) and the rate of ascent; there is no significant effect of age, gender, physical fitness, or previous altitude experience. Some people acclimatize quickly, and can ascend rapidly; others acclimatize slowly and have trouble staying well even on a slow ascent. There are factors that we don't understand; the same person may get AMS on one trip and not another despite an identical ascent itinerary. Unfortunately, no way has been found to predict who is likely to get sick at altitude.

It is remarkable how many people mistakenly believe that a headache at altitude is "normal"; it is not. Denial is also common - be willing to admit that you have altitude illness, that's the first step to staying out of trouble.

It is OK to get altitude illness, it can happen to anyone. It is not OK to die from it. With the information in this tutorial, you should be able to avoid the severe, life-threatening forms of altitude illness.

Full tutorial at:
http://www.ismmed.org/np_altitude_tutorial.htm

M_van, you did the right thing turning him around. Too bad you couldn't have sent him packing, and made your hike solo.

Where are you in Michigan? (Just curious. I'll be in Berrien Springs and Ann Arbor in 3-4 weeks.)

Harvey, you're absolutely correct about my friend having AMS and that it can affect anyone regardless of size/shape. I was, and still am, irritated that he did nothing to improve his physical condition prior to our trip though. I realized he had AMS which is why I would not allow him to go any higher and gave him the option of staying at that altitude or going down to a lower altitude.

I keep a file of AMS articles and will add the information you provided to my file. I'll never claim to know it all though and I'm always looking for more information and advice regarding all aspects of backpacking. Thank you for the information.

Steve C. - I live outside Grand Rapids, MI

Fully agree with Harvey's conclusion. AMS was the culprit, and you make an outstanding decision. It is HARD to turn back. It WAS the right thing to do.

It's a shame that you were not able to take advantage of your trip out. I think I'd have stayed at the Hostel and done day hikes suggested by Doug on a daily basis, dropped your friend off at lower places to spend time, and had him get acquainted with Lone Pine bookstores.

If you've not already done so, Bill Brysons' book: A Walk in the Woods, describes something similar to what you experienced. It will, at least, convert the feelings of disappointment into a smile, as you will be able to relate. Maybe you can share a "Lil Debbie" with your friend.....