Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board A Day You Should Be Glad You Didn't Have...

First off, a bunch of us had a really good time climbing Olancha Peak yesterday:

(I put the antenna on Jeff's head on purpose.)


Second, are grizz back in the Sierra?

I've never seen bear tracks this big before.


A now to the title of the topic: You hear Doug talking about not splitting up all the time. We ran into a climber sitting at the Wrangler's Camp on the way down. He had lost track of his three climbing companions and obviously was suffering rather severe AMS. We convinced him to leave a note and head down with us.

Props to Kevin T who carried TWO packs almost all of the way back down to the Trailhead:

Kevin and Rafael (not our Rafael) head over Olancha Pass.

Good luck and safe travels down in South America, Kevin.

Richard Ryan and I were talking about how awesome it was that you and Kevin helped that guy get down safe! Serious Mountain Kudo's to you two. That dude was in bad shape.
On a lighter note I had a great time yesterday bagged my 3rd new peak in 2011 all with Uncle Rich(minus Father Shin)!
It was a perfect day except for the nagging blister the size of a silver dollar(I'm on the way to REI as I type to buy some synthetic liners).
Ryan was superman driving the big worn out Yeti home last night(Thanks so much RB)
Pics are below
https://picasaweb.google.com/Jeffscof/OlanchaIsOneToughArseBiAll12123ftOfHer#

What a boring trip......where were the cows?

Seriously, does it get better than this????

Richard, do you have any other pics of the bear print? That looks pretty large..

Here are 2 pictures I took of the bear tracks. They are from different times during the day and different areas. The second picture of the bear tracks were the biggest, bigger than my size 11 boot (not shown). These were the biggest bear tracks I've seen.

Yo Mike maybe the print we saw in the afternoon was bigger because the bear ate that one dude's 2 friends! That's why he couldn't find his friend! Good advice keep your friends in bear cannisters!

yeti

All I know is that I'm glad I wasn't camping up there. I would of not wanted to run into that bear!

thanks for the good day on the mountain, fellas.

I think the cows got eaten by the bear.

An awesome day all around with some interesting surprises along the way. Definite props to Richard and Kevin for staying with Rafael and helping him out. He was in bad shape.

Regarding Rafael's condition: I'd be interested in hearing Dr Murray's or Dr Lankford's comments on the symptoms of AMS vs Dehydration...

Obviously, Rafael had AMS. He perked up and sped up as we lost elevation... but there were other things going on (such as feeling chilled even though it wasn't really cold (I was wearing a sweaty cotton long-sleeve shirt and no jacket until well after sunset, while he had a Sub-Zero jacket zipped up. And we weren't moving fast, so I wasn't generating body heat.)) that make me believe that dehydration may have also been involved.

He seemed annoyed when I mentioned that I thought he should start drinking more.

Here's a photo of Joan tracking the bear:

Tina and I talked to this guy at the Wrangler camp on our way out. When he saw us, he walked over (with pack on) and told us he lost his partners and asked for a water filter. I told him that Ryan had one and he would be by in about 30 mins. I also told him drink the water straight from the stream if he couldn't wait.

Btw, he seemed fine when we saw him. He talked fine, complete sentences and was walking fine. Nothing out of the ordinary, so Tina and I weren't worried.


Great hiking with ya Kevin. Have fun in South America.

"I think the cows got eaten by the bear."

Coming soon to a National Geographic TV special.

Do you think he conned Kevin into carrying his pack down? [joking]

I had the distinct pleasure of watching him barf five or six times on the way down to about 7000', so he was definitely having some issues. [being sarcastic]

We knew he wasn't thinking clearly when he stated that he was going to stay put, but wouldn't drink straight out of the stream (How was he planning on staying hydrated?) and had no stove to cook any food. (Did he actually think he'd be able to walk out the next day without eating anything since breakfast the prior day?)

Your bear was certainly an adult, but likely not as big as some of those prints might give the impression. A slow walking bear, or especially one walking in snow, will overlap its front print with the next step of the hind foot on the same side, a step called a direct register . Slightly faster, and the prints are end-to-end. Faster still, and the hind foot lands in front of the previous print of the front foot. the typical overstep pattern usually found . On snow, the direct register produces a lot of double prints, having the total length of the sum of both feet. If you look closely at your first print picture above, and several in the following pics, you will see that they are just such a double impressions. Looks like there are a lot of smaller single prints, too. Big bear, but not likely to leave a 14 inch print with one foot.

Not sure, Richard. The pass is only 9200 feet or so, a little low to have serious AMS in most people, but possible. You didn't mention headache, which is actually required for the formal definition of AMS. Not to say that it was not present and/or a contributing factor. The vomiting would suggest a more advanced case of AMS, if indeed AMS is the culprit. I think that dehydration is the logical other possibility. It would be interesting to know how much he had been drinking, or more important, peeing, and the color of the urine (see, isn't medicine fun?). Didn't say where he lived. If Ridgecrest/Bishop/Mammoth, doubt AMS. If LA, far more likely.

You can never go wrong drinking water, although a person who is vomiting can be tough to keep water down. Electrolyte fluids sometimes stay down better.

The sensation of cold suggests peripheral vasoconstriction, which might be found in AMS as a secondary sign, but it definitely can be found in dehydration, and it can be found in a person who is vomitting from any cause....so that doesn't help.

Finally, it is possible that there are other things going on....a virus, a medication intolerance, a food intolerance....for example.

However, a sick person at altitude has altitude illness until proven othewise. Descent is always a good option. sips of water as tolerated. I'd avoid any food while nauseous. I would not allow to be alone.

Good work getting him down.

Thanks Doc.

This is a good example of where being a "good samaritan" doesn't compare to having SAR/Medical experience. I didn't think to ask those question related to headache, etc.

He did complain of stomach problems, but that was after he had been throwing up and dry heaving quite a bit, so I wasn't surprised to hear it.

He lives in Santa Monica.

I didn't see him head into the trees once on the way down.

Regardless what was wrong with the dude, great job for Richard and Kevin getting the guy down. I was a little disappointed to hear the dude didn't even offer RP or KT money or dinner. Kevin only carried the guy's 40lb pack down the hill......You guys are awesome...

Jeff, to be fair, when people are pretty sick, and in a tenuous situation, they often discard the usual conventions of niceties.
A very polite person, normally, may become mute, seemingly churlish. The sicker the person, the worse the response often is, sometimes actively opposing obviously correct advice.

I think that has one has to be careful about judging someone in this setting. Remembering that part of the pathology is that the brain is not functioning normally.

Thanks Jeff, but some of what you state is rediculous...

I would hope that if someone ever finds me out in the wild, dazed and confused, they would assist me in getting home. We should be willing to help fellow climbers without the expectation of compensation.

We don't need to bring the Everest Mentality to the Sierra...

On another note: it just so happened that Kevin and I were the least inconvenienced by staying back and helping this guy. I sure any other member of the gang would have been willing to step up if we weren't there.