Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Thanks to all Whitney Veterans on this board

I have been lurking on this message board for about 3 years and finally registered today. I registered to 1)give a HUGE hug and thanks to all the Whitney Veterans who populate these forums and 2)detail our two hikes for others to use, as I used past postings and hikes. The hints and tips posted by Doug Sr. and everyone else were invaluable for our successful two Whitney hikes.

Even with this board's assistance, our first hike on September 12, 2007 was almost a disaster. Late start at 2:45 AM at the Portal. Did fine until about the cables area, when AMS hit my husband David HARD. AMS was my biggest fear and I was just not affected by it except for a slight headache. (I have a theory about why him and not me - he is a former smoker and might have some residual lung damage that causes him to retain CO2. CO2 retention puts him at higher risk of this syndrome. I'm a huffer and puffer when I hike, so I pop off my CO2 without a problem.)

We summitted late, at 3:00PM, completely exhausted (I have pix to prove it, on a spot by the hut we now call "Exhaustion Rock"). David looked at his watch and became concerned about hiking in the dark, particularly before the return to Trail Camp. We started back down the trail at 3:30PM. At 7:00PM we passed Trail Camp. Then the sun went down and we were hiking in the moonless night. At 8:30 PM we lost the trail in the dark at Trailside Meadows. Although we had a GPS, we simply did not believe what it was telling us. Even with headlamps, David fell in the dark and broke his trekking pole, then I fell and almost twisted my ankle. Exhaustion & sanity demanded that we get some sleep and wait for the sun to return in order to find the trail again. We sought shelter from an overhanging rock with a shallow depression, by the rock foot bridge. This area partially protected us from 30 miles-per-hour winds in 42 degree overnight temperatures (estimated wind chill factor of 34 degrees). After donning our jackets, gloves, balaclavas and wrapping space blankets around ourselves, we attempted to sleep. I have never been that cold for that long EVER - violent shivering and worries about hypothermia kept me from sleeping well (As a nurse, I worry about these things). At 2:45AM a headlamp awakened David as a hiker literally tripped over us – the next day’s group of hikers were working their way up the trail.

We broke camp and resumed our 5 mile return hike by following the headlamps of the hikers down the trail. Many people asked if we had already summitted for that day. As we explained about our overnight experience, we learned that Whitney hikers are unlike the hikers we encounter in the "flats" of Los Angeles County. "Do you need food? Do you need water? Can we alert anyone for medical attention?" Wonderful and kind people willing to stop their hike and assist us in any way possible - it made my heart sing! The 6:00 AM sunrise was a welcome sight and we finished our hike at 6:45AM at the Whitney Portal Trailhead.

We learned many things from this hike, including:
• Start at Midnight!
• Hike at a faster pace
• Hike in moonlight
• Pre-hike the 5 miles hiked in darkness to become familiar with the trail (we only pre-hiked the first 2.5 miles)
• Replace space blankets with space sleeping bags (the winds kept pulling the blankets off of us)
• Believe the GPS!

On September 17, 2008, we did it again, successfully summitted and returned in 17 hours (versus 22 hours, not counting 6 hours under a rock in the dark from the first hike). Did we learn our lessons from 2007?
• Start at Midnight!
- Nope, left at 2AM and paid for it by hiking the last hour in the dark. 2009 is definitely the year for a midnight start!
• Hike in Moonlight
– Yep, we were 2 days past full moon and had moonlight on the eastern mountain sides as we hiked in the dark – BIG difference!
• Hike at a faster pace
– Yep, we cut our time by 5 hours.
• Pre-hike the 5 miles hiked in darkness to become familiar with the trail
– Yep, did it a couple of days before the real hike and made it to the switchbacks around 12,000 ft elevation. It made a tremendous difference in knowing where we were in the dark. Plus it was nice to see that part of the trail on a beautiful sunny day
• Replace space blankets with space sleeping bags
– Yep, didn’t have to use them, but they are there! (Many thanks to David's boss, Searl Tate, a Whitney Veteran himself, for this suggestion in 2007)
• Believe the GPS!
– Yep, but we still like maps and our eyes better…

So these are our experiences for 2007 and 2008. On 09-09-09 David and I will attempt our third Whitney hike. We want to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and renew our vows at the summit of the place we love the best in the world. Thank you again, Whitney Veterans, for helping make these hikes safe and enjoyable.

Cecelia

Cecilia, great post! I can empathize with your husband - I dayhiked Whitney yesterday and was slammed by severe AMS at the exact same spot. Turned around not too far above the cables, after passing 13,000 feet. The hike down with AMS was torturous - I can't imagine being stuck on the mountains under those conditions with AMS.

How did your husband fare on the 2nd trip up? Any AMS? If not, what does he attribute the difference to?

David and I still discuss that night. Boy, what a long and cold 6 hours - I have camped in cold weather and shivered, but never my entire body for 6 hours. We were so lucky to have been as prepared as we were. As for AMS, you do the best you can to prepare for it. However, by the time we got down from the summit, negotiated the switchbacks and hit Trail Camp, most the AMS had dissipated. We were moving so slow, I guess we acclimated!

The second trip we both had mild AMS - headache, nausea, fatigue. It's the funniest headache for me - slams me right in the back of the head and sits there like a piggybacking demon for the rest of the hike to the summit. We wanted to spend a bit of time at the top, but two large noisey groups were there whooping and hollering, which didn't make the headache demon any happier. So we quickly hydrated, forced some food down (which stayed down, thank the pagan gods) and got off the mountain as quickly as we could. The weather was threatening (around 11:30 AM), so we wanted to scoot before electrical storms hit as they had the day before.

My husband has no idea why he is so affected by AMS, while I seem to suffer less. This happens whenever he gets above 9,000. We did Mt. Baldy as training in 2008 to prepare for the Whitney hike. I was having a blast and was hiking at a brisk pace, chattering about something when I noticed David was strangely quiet. I turned and saw him about 200 feet behind me and not looking good at all - ashen, sweating, labored breathing. When I asked what was wrong, he said AMS and he felt like hell. We made it to the top of Baldy and he was better after he ate, but we got down very quickly.

So I seem to handle high altitudes and endurance hikes better than my husband does, while he runs marathons and half marathons and leaves me eating his dust. However, it is nice to do SOMETHING better than "Mr. Thighs of Steel."

Cecelia, very interesting. He sounds like my wife, who doesn't handle elevation well at all, but is otherwise very fit. I made the mistake of taking her up Pikes Peak about 5 hours after our flight from Atlanta (1050 ft elevation) landed in Denver, and very quickly saw severe AMS up close and personal. In retrospect, a 13,000+ foot elevation gain in less than a day was not my most shining moment of intellectual capacity. I do remember thinking though, "glad I'm not affected by altitude - that looks horrible!"

Well, after numerous trips above 13K and 14K feet over the years, thinking I was magically immune to elevation, I got an even more up close and personal opportunity to evaluate AMS symptoms. I just never expected to be hit with it at 12,000 feet, and especially on Mt. Whitney. Getting down was a real challenge, which is why your first-summit story intrigued me.

I suppose we do what we can to prepare, but there are no guarantees with this illness. It's very fickle. When experienced Himalayan climbers can suddenly be stricken with it at 16,000 feet - well, if AMS were a table game in Vegas I'd steer clear of it.

Thanks for sharing your story!

Well, welcome "finally," Cecelia

My wife and I were married at Whitney Portal Falls on 07-14-07 by none other than Kurt "Wed"berg, of SMI in Bishop (Thanks, Kurt). We celebrated our first anniversary with our friends (BruinDave and BruinJane) by reaching the fabled summit on 07-17-08 (BruinJane didn't join us at the start of the hike although she hiked later in the day and turned around midway through the switchbacks).

We celebrated our second anniversary making it to the top of Fuji-san on 07-22-09.

Third anniversary? Thinking of Mt. Rainier or Mt. Shasta. One of the two. Wherever we may roam.

Yes, something about them mountains you gotta love.

Oh and another thing, my good friend and old softball teammate Bob and his wife Jayne will be celebrating their 20th on 09-09-09. Small world.

Congratulations to you and your husband on your upcoming 20th, and I am sure I speak for all the Whitney Veterans out there, "You're welcome," be safe, we look forward to seeing some summit pictures, but also be sure to...

Have fun.

Cecelia, thanks for all the detail. What do you mean by "space sleeping bag"? Are you talking about a bivy sack?

Yep, that's just what I mean. However, most non-hiking folk I deal with just don't know what that term means, so I spell it out for them. Sure hope we don't have to use them for the 2009 hike! Cecelia

I'm very jealous - my husband and I would love to do Fiju-san! However, that adventure will probably have to wait for the next 2 1/2 years until I complete my doctorate of nursing program (back in school for the 4th time since 1973 and am making sure this is the LAST time - I'm 53 years old, for heavens sake!).

We are talking about running the Grand Canyon R2R2R next year - that would be cool. David's boss just completed a climbing trip up Mt. Shasta and loved it. We will never do that - we are trail runners and hikers, NOT mountain climbers. I do know my limitations and hanging off a sheer rock face is not my idea of a good time.

As for pictures - I must unravel the mysteries of posting images to this message board before that is going to happen. But I'll figure it out, given enough time.

Thanks for your kind words. Means a lot.

Cecelia

I sent you a private message (PM), if you want more information.