Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board WPS FOLKS ROCK!

We did a one day hike of Friday. Two members of our group got caught in a storm on the summit. We did not know if they were coming down or were stuck. The folks at the store became aware of our deal and
1. Came up the mountain to find us and get info.
2. Organized us and connected us with the rangers and sheriff's department.
3. Calmed us down.
4. Told us what to expect and what to do next.
5. Hooked us up with a few beers while we waited.
6. Just generally were a great help.

Our two companions made it down two hours after we got down so all was well and a great day was made.
They are a wonderful asset!

Did anyone actually stay in shelter that night? Did everyone make it down Friday or did some come down after daybreak on Saturday?

Though I am a Florida Flatlander having climbed only 3 fourteeners, I have listened to "Into Thin Air" countless times while training in the swamps and river areas of Florida. It is amazing how little mistakes can multiply. We left about 30 minutes or so later than we had planned because someone missed a text message. Had we left 30 minutes sooner, the two last hikers in our group would have been off of the summit when the weather came. My son was going with us, but decided not to go after we got started and turned back. He had the water filter. Luckily we had plenty of water between us. I was told the water up higher was OK to drink, that a ranger had tested it, but didn't want to chance it. Certainly a lesson was learned.

Thanks again!

RULE 1 Getting to Summit is optional, getting down is mandatory.

RULE 2 See rule 1

Can you share any details of the incident? What time were they on the summit, what was the storm like? How many people were in trouble?

We were doing a one day trip and started at 3:00 am or so.I think the storm hit about 1:00. I was on the way down as I saw the clouds coming. When I left the summit and started on the trail, it was sleeting pretty hard but as I travelled down, I saw no measurable accumulation. It was lightning though.

Three of our group were behind us. As we headed down, we went slow hoping they would catch up. One of them caught up with us and he said some people were thinking about staying in the shelter including our other two. The three that stayed behind were a father and his two sons. The father and the oldest son were in the shelter when the youngest one left. The oldest son wanted to stay in the shelter but the father demanded they start heading down. There were some indications that there were still people in the shelter or still heading up after our friends left. I don't know what happened to them.

Our last two climbers got the trailhead at 10:00 pm.

Hi Thanks for the kind words, your group sets the stage of what we see all summer long.Fellow hikers heed what happened to this group and make sure you plan your trip well.... snow rain hail group getting spread out over the mountain and THE final words of wisdom make sure before you seek help help is needed. Someone in the next canyon may die, S&R may be needed for another rescue and helping your group because of your actions may take away that resource. Thanks Doug

I am the type who owns all of the "I learned THIS from ...." books(fill in the blank: Kyaking, flying, hiking..)

I do long hikes by myself (+15mi)and try to be prepared with the proper gear, alerting friends of exit times, weather reports, bail out plans., etc. My question in this case is:

Was the weather obviously an issue BEFORE the hike was commenced, or was this an 'act of god' situation?

I would really appreciate commentary as to how and where the planning could have been improved, especially since my goals are expanding from the comfortable 9-10K elevations, to the loftier 14k at some point.

Bee

Having gone up the next day (and assuming that the T-storm activity was similar), I would have to agree with what I think Doug Sr. implies in his post: there was an over-reaction by people who didn't know what all the facts of the situation were.

Yeah, there was a slim chance that someone may have been struck by lightning.

No, they wouldn't have frozen to death on the summit if they had carried ANY extra warm clothes with them.

In answer to your specific question: Yes, DMATT and some of the other forecasts that I looked at, predicted the potential for showers and T-storm activity.

One last comment: A certain NPS Ranger was wondering what all the panic was about. Paraphrasing liberally: This ain't no big deal.

One more: We ARE at the time of year where we have T-storms. When people make comments about ODD weather, I wonder where they've been in past years?

BTW: thanks to the moderator who deleted the OLDBOOB posts.

Adding to what Richard said... Just my two cents worth here:

It was a year ago last (this?) week that the huge flash flood came down through the Portal area and did all that damage to the road, also a flood flashed into Independence.. took out the Whitney Hatchery.

This time last year I was tracking the weather hourly for at least two weeks (I still have the spread sheet on it). Thunderstorm activity during this time of the year is not only NOT unusual.. it should pretty much be accepted as the norm and should be prepared for anytime anyone will be venturing out.

There is nothing ODD about the weather patterns as they are... and only preparation and knowledge will get you through.

It all goes back to doing your homework. Winter and High altitude aren't the only things you have to worry about when your going out there...