Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Question on youngest age to take someone up

Last summer my nephew, age 11.5, thought I was God in that I had climbed Mount Whitney a month earlier. All he could talk about was me.

Well, this year he will be 12.5 and I have an extra pass.

Here is my question, I don't want to be God-like to him, just guide-like, but I fear that at age 12.5 the altitude adjustment might do more damage than good.

I can talk to you a long time about what the kid's been through, but to put it in a short answer, a crazy man's attack when he was 1 year old put out one of his eyes. He's never shown any adjustment problems since, even depth perception, and even camping out at 7600 feet he makes friends with everyone and swims in the river and all that, so I'm not worried about the lower elevations, but I am worried about physical damage to his lungs going up so high. He lives every day at 450 feet elev in SoCal.

What do you think about taking a kid this age up there, even with a week's acclimation in the Mammoth area.

No Diamox, the kid's free of drugs and I intend to teach him not to depend on such stuff keep him that way, no matter what. His parents are drug addicted and he swears off the stuff. He's a smart kid but I don't know if he's ready.

Any experiences you can offer on taking kids up there is greatly appreciated. I'll combine what you folks say about it with other sources I might find before I actually ask my sister if she'd allow it.

Thanks

I took my three kids up Whitney when they were 9 and 12. The 9-year-olds were twin girls. All had a great time and no breathing problems. It is important to be sure you follow the basics--appropriate clothing, footwear, sleeping gear, plenty of water, good food and enough snacks to keep them happy and help get them up. My son and girls are now grown. They love Whitney and blister the trail... Enjoy your trip! Many 12-year-olds do Whitney.

I took my 12 year old son up Whitney and he had a great time. Some good food and snacks, plus Kool-aide or Gatorade to drink in his camelback helped. Acclimitization will avoid altitude problems - a week in Mammoth with some hiking to higher elevations is a great idea.

When my son was 7 1/2 years old (when I was younger and spent more time up around Whitney)he came home for Christmas and said his goal was to go with me to Whitney the next summer. As first I tried to talk him out of it but finally gave in. That next summer we took him, now 8 and his sister, who was 10 up the mountaineers route. Spent the first night at LBSL (10300 feet) and the second night not quite to iceberg lake (12300 feet). We didn't go fast but they all made it. Another time I took another son, who was 10 at the time. Giving them time to play on the way, none of them had altitude sickness. Only 1 bad thing. You end up carrying most of their stuff.

The difficult thing about having children is you worry about them. They are tired, due to the elevation, and you have to keep them going..."you can make it", "just a little further", "what do you think is beyond that bend?". It ends up being way slower, but they really do need to stop often and throw pebbles in the lakes etc. It can be a great experience, but a difficult one. However, for ever they know they made it and feel proud about going at a young age. All I can say is I was a young 33 my first time

Nathan was 12-1/2 when we did Whitney in 2001. However, he and I have been hiking and backpacking since he was 5, so he is pretty well seasoned at this point.

Would I take a kid (of any age) who had never hiked more than a couple of miles or never been above about 10,000' up Whitney? No. However, if the kid is in reasonably good shape and has some experience with 10+ mile hikes, and has been up in the mountains at least a few times, sure!

Spending an extra day or so at 8,000' would be advisable to give them time to acclimate.

As you can read in my trip report under the "highpointing" section of my <a href="http://www.mtritter.org">WWW site</a>, we hiked from Portal to Trail Camp the first day, then to the summit and back to Trail Camp the second and out the third. Before that, we had spent two nights at Mammoth Lakes (about 8,500') and dayhiked Glass Mountain (11,000') as acclimation. (We live near St. Louis at about 500')

Kids are amazing...Nathan surprised the heck out of me when he was only 2-1/2...we were up at Crater Lake and wanted to ride the boat around the lake. It's a mile and about 700 vertical feet down from the rim to the dock, and I figured I'd be hauling him back up...but he made it both ways under his own power, and we've been going ever since...

I took my 12.5 year old grandson up for a one-day hike just to see how far he wanted to go. He was coming off a terrible cold that kept him coughing most of the night before the hike. However, he was able to almost make it to Trail Crest after no exposure to altitude and he lives at about 1500 feet. The only exposure he got was getting to the base of White Mountain 2 months earlier where he got a raging case of altitude sickness.

I think if you take a kid on an overnight trip, they probably won't have any more problems than us adults. Maybe rest at Trail Crest, then at the summit for an hour, rest again at Trail Crest and Trail Camp. It's all downhill from there anyway.
Sure wish someone had started me hiking this mountain at that age.

Last summer I took my son (12 years old) to the Whitney area to hike. He had been to the Whitney summit a few years earlier. We stayed at Horse shoe Meadows (10000 feet) for 2 nights before we planned to hike to Thor Peak. The 2nd night he came down with this flu type (sweating, couldn't sleep, headache, shivering) problem. It seemed strange since the first night and the next day he was fine, and it seemed to get come on after went to sleep that 2nd night. I know that altitude problems can be worsened by laying down because your heart rate slows down, but still wasn't sure what to do. Finally I got up and gave him a 1/2 tablet of Diamox, wondering how we could be so unlucky for him to come down with the flu at this moment. An hour latter he was fast asleep. The next morning he was very tired but the problem had gone. We still went on the hike. What does this tell me? You never know when altitude problems will hapen, even for a person with no previous problems. Be flexible enough to work around what happens. With your children be observant and pay attention.

I was seven years old when I first went up Whitney... we took a week to go up Whitney and over to Guitar Lake, and then back to the Portal. I have wonderful memories of that first hike; it was hard, but it was the start of my love affair with Mt. Whitney. When my sons were 10 and 14 I took them on their first hike up Whitney; again we took a week acclimating as we came in from Onion Valley to Whitney via the John Muir Trail. My sons had no problems at all. Just make sure your nephew keeps eating, drink plenty of water, and encourage him to breath deep; keep an eye on him for changes in mood.

But I'd like to add something on a personal level... I don't know when you'll be up on the mountain but I wish I could be there when your nephew makes it to the top to give him a "high 5" for a job well done, and to shake your hand for being the caring person you are. Sounds like your nephew is a survivor, and it's the encouragement and support of people like you who make a difference in this world. Bravo!

well, after a severe prodding of my sister via phone, she thought that taking her son, my nephew, to the top would be a great idea.

We have camped out in the Mammoth area (Minarets specifically, 7600 ft.) and my nephew runs around like he's at the beach. However, Mt. Whitney is not the beach and I do still have reservations about this, mainly because the kid still has only one eye.

I am going to require him to wear goggles to protect his remaining eye. I also will insist on trekking poles, not just for the "backside" but also for the cables and also the crossing of LPC, which is not deep but it will be a challenge for a little kid with one eye at night. Good think we are doing this at Full Moon in August.

He's a tough kid and I think it will be a lot of fun. Perhaps I might convince him to be president some day.

Thanks!

Many years ago I read a scientific article about altitude and how it affects the body. Included was a photo of the blood vessels inside the eye, a little dilated (swollen), which theoretically could leak a little. In 15 years of practice as an optometrist I have never seen anything I would consider altitude problems with eyes (except a little RK effect - read Lasik link). I consider Whitney too low in elevation to be much of a real problem. Anyone with one best eye would always want to take special effort to protect it, anywhere they are at.

I summited Whitney with my son when he was 8, 10, & 12 years old. My daughter was 10 when she went. My Nephew was 10 or 11. My friends took their two boys 8 & 11 up. With proper acclimization and taking our time (usually 2-3 days) all of them did fine. The hard part was on me worrying about keeping them motivated. That is in contrast to 14-16 year old teenagers I have seen, who said it was too hard just before they went back down to go fishing.

HaroldA, let me fill you in a tiny bit on my nephew

First I messed up his age darn it he will be 12 in October.

I also have to say he only has ONE eye, one was taken from him in a crazy man's gun attack that killed 5 children and one grandma. One of his bullets missed my nephew by about a foot, went through the window and stopped in the TV set (he was one year old and was playing in the dirt outside the apartment). The other bullet hit the stucco just inches from his head and put out his eye.

So now do you see my concern. I have a day pass and here's a kid with no depth perception but he wants to go up there really bad and how can I say no?

Well, I'm going, if he backs out or his mom has a change of heart, I'll just ask Jimbo...he's a gamer.

Thanks

Your nephew has probably learned well to adjust to his life with one eye, in terms of his 3 D or depth perception. The 7 painters cues that fool a person into seeing depth in a painting are easier to notice with one eye closed. I find that people who are blind in one eye adjust to that quite well.... I think the real issue is you are right in being extra cautious when it comes to your nephew. Go and get him some sport glasses with polycarbonate lenses and have him wear them the whole time while hiking. Then you won't have to worry.

One more thought. A few years ago a young UCLA student with one eye wanted me to set her up for Lasik eye surgery. I thought long and hard about talking her out of it, not having an eye to spare if something went wrong. Finally I asked the corneal specialist who would be doing the surgery what he thought about doing Lasik one someone with only one eye. His response was "We only do one eye at a time."...one eye and then the other. We were extra careful about everything before & after the surgery and it went fine. Now I look back and feel a sense of real gratitude I didn't talk her out of it. What a shame it would be for your nephew to never experience the satisfaction of Mt. Whitney because it is easy for people to put limitations on him. Under the circumstances, you will watch out for him even more careful then perhaps his own parents. The rest of your life the two of you will have a special bond for doing that together.

After you get back from Whitney, post a message how your nephew liked the experience. We would all be interested to know.

UC and HA I am having second thoughts but they won't last long as we get closer to August. He's been blind in one eye since just before his first birthday so I think he'll probably kick my butt up the hill while I carry all his stuff.

Later

I will take a group of 15 people to Whitney this August during full moon (August 10-12 to be exact). The group includes my two sons at the ages of 16 and 8, respectively.

We plan to spend the night before the hike (Aug. 9) at the Whitney Portal campground. We will camp at Trail Camp on Aug. 10 and 11 nights and hike to the summit on Aug. 11.

What dates will you be in the mountaion. I hope I will see you and your nephew in the mounntain. Maybe my sons and your nephew can become friends and hiking buddies.

I am up Tuesday August 12, several days in Devils Postpile area before that. Sorry I'll miss you but it's not like the last time I or he will visit the Sierra.

Later

Dude, you are taking your nephew! I am not going to be "that guy" that denied him the opportunity to summit the big one. Besides, I am taking my nephew, or he is taking me, when we go so it will be like a family reunion. haha. Talk to you soon.