Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Poorly Planned & Dangerous Whitney Summits Monday

I summited Whitney monday, almost too late I think (1:30 P.M) but I was surprised to see a couple heading up the summit ridge at 3:30, still at least one hour away. They were exhausted, poorly dressed, carrying a bottle of water- a couple- the girl in shorts and tank top, no day pack at all. The man had the pack, but they were getting up there too late, in a place where the setting sun can mean temps dropping into the 30's very quickly.

She disappeared and choppers were still looking for her today. In addition, a father/daughter summit team encountered some problems as well. She had AMS and was descending to get her health up, but her 65 yer old father was descending the most difficult part of the trek alone, at night. In the end, a kind climber named Chris climbed back up the switchbacks in the dark to bring him down, and offered me some fluids as well, as I was getting dehydrated and I had an asthma issue up top.

I'm not the worlds best climber, especially with asthma, but I limit my risks. I came up there prepared with great gear, the sense to turn back if it was too late or if I could not physically make it, days of gingko treatment to combat AMS, tons of water and carb foods to help me along the way. I can't believe how people underestimate this mountain and the rigors of summiting something like Whitney.

I am really happy that everyone at Trail Camp that night bonded together to bring down the people struggling, myself included. Thanks to Chris for bringing up water to the switchbacks because I had run out. And thanks to him for not settling into his comfy tent and helping bring down the 65 year old man instead.

Thanks to Dr Rick and company for giving me medication when I got to my camp to help me through the night. He was climbing that day, not being a doctor, but helped anyone he could that night.

Thanks to all Whitney adventurers who look out for other climbers up there, its that comaraderie that makes being in the back country so enjoyable.

If you're planning a trip up Whitney, PLEASE be prepared and don't be afraid to turn back if its too late to summit. it was really scary watching headlamps s..l..o..w..l..y.. make their way down the switchbacks at 9pm when its 30 degrees and you know the people are not dressed well and are out of water. This morning when I left the portal there was still no word on the missing girl. She is in my thoughts and prayers.

peace

Hi everybody,

The two hikers you saw were my brother Dave and his girlfriend Olivia. Dave is actually an accomplished backpacker, but his girlfriend was not. At the time you saw them they had been hiking since 9:00am that morning! They reached the summit, but at about Trail Crest, I believe, something went wrong on their way down. There is a ridge where the trail splits off into the Mt Whitney Trail and the John Muir Trail. At approximately 7:00pm, Olivia disappeared around a corner, just yards away from where the two trails split. When Dave came around the corner she was gone. He had not heard anything, but went back and forth to look for her aways on the two trails. Calling her name to no avail. He then descended down the switchbacks to their camp at Trail Camp hoping she would be there. She wasn't, so he went up and down the switchbacks looking for her to no avail. By this time it was 9:30pm and after 12 1/2 grueling hours of hiking, Dave, with two other climbers hiked down to Whitney Portal in 3 hours to get help. He dialed 911 and slept in his truck until morning. The authorities didn't do too much today, shockingly, but Dave is meeting with Inyo authorities tomorrow morning to helicopter up to the campsite along with other copters and search party people that will scour the mountain.
For the record Olivia is a 52-year-old Phillipino, about 5', 100lbs. She is in good shape. She had a down jacket and other appropriate clothing, but in freezing temperatures we are seriously concerned, especially with a second night upon us. Olivia did not have food or water on her, obviously not good. Let's hope they can find her on Wednesday. Keep an eye out climbers and hikers and if you have any info let me know. I'll do the same. Our families appreciate it. Thank you and God bless.

Gregg

Gregg,
Best of luck to you and yours! Please keep us posted with any updates regarding the search. I also alerted <a href="http://www.summitpost.com/show/mread.pl?f_id=22&t_id=4462">SummitPost.com California climbing community</a> about this so if somebody ends up in the area this week, they will watch out for Olivia.

GREAT NEWS!

My brother Dave's girlfriend Olivia was found this morning uninjured and in good health. This was amazing considering 2 nights in the freezing temperatures and no food and water. Thanks to those who were looking out for her. A special thanks to the authorities, park rangers, and police involved in the search. Please make sure you are qualified, prepared, and make intelligent decisions when hiking or mountain climbing. This is not a situation I wish on anyone. Take care and thanks.

Gregg

Thank God for the happy ending! Kudos to Chris, Rick & Co. for "steping to the front of the line" and assisting the other folks on the trail. I ran into 3 folks from Sacramento a wk ago while doing light hiking on Split Mt/Middle Pal. One of the topics of discussion was the rate of Whitney incidents. We came to similar conclusions as noted on Ara's initial e-thread. Do not underestimate this hill and come prepared with contingency plans. Why leave it to chance/luck to determine the outcome.

Javier
Genesis 1:1

The two hikers you saw were my brother Dave and his girlfriend Olivia. Dave is actually an accomplished backpacker,
and he allowed her to come along dressed like that?
and what was he trying to accomplish?
getting rid of his girlfriend?

exactly. it was very weird- if he is so experienced why would he summit with her when she had no day pack (at the very least), with no water, wearing a tank top and shorts so very late in the day?! and how could she have gotten so far ahead of him at the most treacherous part of the trek- near the 4 windows, where one misstep could send you flying down the mountain?? also the trail down to crabtree meadow ranger station (that she apparently took) is pretty straight- if she was only a few minutes ahead of him he could plainly see her making her way down the trail. why would he let her get ahead of him? and why didn't they have radios?

they weren't heading up to summit until 3, and they were at least an hour away. if he was experienced, he would never have let them summit so late, without the proper gear and supplies. she could have easily died. it was very strange and suspicious and stupid.

yeah daytime conditions, but wearing that in the dark isn't a good idea. summiting in shorts and tank tops is great at 11 am, not at 4 or 5. the sun goes down at 6, then it gets real cold. there would be no way for them to summit at 4 or 5, and get down to trail camp by 6. they looked like hell when i saw them on the ridge.

Does a direction sign exist at the downward cutoff to Guitar Lake (Crabtree)? I can't remember. If not, maybe there should be. A person who is exhausted or suffering or just simply confused could easily think that down is right, so I'll go this way... But they don't know east from west.

Maybe they decide to test the way they first thought was right but there is so much uphill approaching Trail Crest from the back side that somewhere along that section they second guess themselves and go back to the last intersection and go towards Crabtree because it's getting dark (it's 7:00 pm in late October)and cold and at least that way goes down.

Remember the first time you crossed over to the back side of Trail Crest? You get so stunned by the beautiful view that it doesn't register that you're descending that much, but on the return trip after summitting it might feel like this way is going up too much, maybe to another peak...

We all know that the traffic on the Whitney Trail has had a major increase in recent years. There are so many people who think it's just a matter of being tough enough. They aren't used to risk of death in their lives, and they simply don't know what to prepare for. The median amount of risk in people's lives is related to avoiding speeding tickets.

Whitney's principal client base, the population of the LA basin/southern California, has grown so much that Whitney is now seen as a weekend jaunt. There is so much emphasis on making it as fast as possible that this has been received by the uninitiated as "how hard could it be--people do this in one day all the time".

Not only did Chris not get into his warm sleeping bag, but he went back up the switchbacks once or twice to help people before the "official" Trail Camp-originated search parties began. He didn't plan his trip so as to keep himself on the fine line between success and failure. Because of this he had the physical, logistical and psychological resources needed to offer what could be lifesaving assistance to someone who didn't have the resources left.

I thought I was going to be writing sad condolences to the family and friends, until I saw SufferBravely's good news post. I thought between Monday night and Wednesday was too long so she may have fallen, which would be very bad there. But she just got lost. Good weather (I presume) saved her life. That is luck, and not very good odds. There is a high pressure area the last few days over the multi-state sized area around Mt. Whitney setting new high-temp records in the LA area now.

Maybe the board contributors who know Olivia could invite her to write here what happened--in her words. I think that would help a lot of people, and that is why Doug started and maintains this board.

Adios, Rich.

rich, they made stupid moves and were ill prepared.
They are the reson people die on the mountain.
simple but true

Hi Everybody -

I'm the sister of the guy whose girlfriend was missing the past couple of days. I just wanted you to know the couple that was seen hiking up the mountain was NOT my brother and his girlfriend. It turns out that was a different couple. My brother's girlfriend was wearing warm clothes, a down jacket, and another jacket on top of it (luckily!). They did, however, reach the summit later than they should have, and she was frustrated that they weren't going fast enough, so she went ahead. When she got to the intersection of the Mt. Whitney Trail and the John Muir Trail, she took the Whitney trail by mistake. When she reached the bottom of the mountain, she thought she was in the right spot, and that something had happened to HIM. Because the search & rescue helicopters were being diverted to fight the fires south of there, they were only able to borrow a CHP helicopter for about an hour the first day. Unfortunately, it flew near her and then over her, and didn't see her waving her yellow jacket. We found out the rangers get so many calls for help, there's not usually much of an effort made to find someone the first day they're missing. They launched a full-scale search yesterday morning, with 4 helicopters and people on foot. They passed her by again at 7:30 a.m., but found her when they circled over the area at a little after 9 a.m. They never spotted her when she waved her yellow jacket, but waving her emergency Mylar blanket is what caught their eye.

Obviously, a lot of lessons have been learned from this. As other people have mentioned, make sure you allow enough time to get to the summit, and if you don't, TURN BACK. Don't ever leave the people you're hiking with, even if you're getting on each other's nerves. Realize there won't be much of a search effort made in the beginning (in her case, for 2 nights and one day), so have enough emergency supplies to last you a couple extra days. Try to bring 2-way radios, or a GPS positioner, as well as a picture of the people you're with, in case of emergency. Make sure everyone in your group has their own map, in case you get separated. Try not to wait until the last weekend of the season, when no one may be around if you get lost. And arrange for someone to call the ranger's station if you're not back when you're supposed to be.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. It meant a lot to my brother and his girlfriend, the way you all came together to try to help them and keep them in your thoughts. We hope this can be a lesson to help prevent other hikers from having this happen to them.

- Cathy

After monitoring this exchange for over a year I feel compelled to comment on what happened over the last few days. First of all I want to thank those who confirmed the safety of the lost hiker. For those of us who spent Tuesday looking for her as we hiked between Trail Camp and the summit and back again, it is a relief to know that our happy day was not marred by the untimely death of a fellow hiker.

We had heard about her situation early in the a.m. from a camper at Trail Camp who was approached by the boyfriend early the night before. The boyfriend was looking for additional batteries for a late search. Throughout Monday night, we could see faint headlamps moving down from the switchbacks.

The entire time we spent on the trail the next day we tried to put ourselves in the position of a weary hiker lost in the dark; looking down ravines and behind rocks. It wasn't until the CHP helicopter passed us several times on our way down the switchbacks did it occur to us that she was unlikely on the eastern side. Our guess was that she went down the western ridge. This makes sense because at this junction that is the trail that heads down. The trail back to civilization actually scales up for awhile. This is counter-intuitive to a weary hiker in the evening hours.

Although they could put a sign there with an arrow pointing left to safety, I think a map and compass is better. There are dozens of good guidebooks out there and all of them have a basic checklist that includes water and warm clothes. I would add some inexpensive two-way radios as well. Most importantly, never leave your hiking companions.

I too summited monday and was present during these events. I would just like to say that the willingness of the majority to help someone in need on the mountain was one of the most amazing things I have seen. I hope Olivia is ok.

I lead group hikes with the Sierra Club and others occasionally, and it is truly a worry to me when a group breaks up into separate hikers. These days, I always pack along several two-way radios, and hand them out to (I hope) someone responsible when people want to go on ahead or head back. The radios make a world of difference keeping track of people, and truly change the whole set of constraints on what a group can do.

What really fries my day is when someone chooses to bail or branch out or run on ahead without first letting me know. Those are the people that end up causing problems at the end of the day.

On Whitney, with two people hiking together like that, and without radios, they broke two MAJOR rules.

1. Never separate from your group for more than a few minutes. Shouting distance or within sight is as far as the separation should go.

2. NEVER EVER pass a trail junction without waiting for the others in the group. It just makes me scream inside when idiots do that.

Cathy wrote:
> she was frustrated that they weren't going fast enough, so she went ahead.
> When she got to the intersection of the Mt. Whitney Trail and the John Muir
> Trail, she took the Whitney trail by mistake.

Olivia may have thought she was getting there faster, but just think about it... If you get there before the last guy, what have you gained? You only have to sit and wait for him. If you get too far ahead, what if he needs help? If you are waiting at the end of the trail, you just make the waiting time longer if you leave it up to the slow guy to haul his dead carcass out on his own. If you were with him, you could lighten his load, give him water, first aid, etc. etc. Waiting at the end of the trail just increases the wait time! So why NOT wait every few minutes, and make sure the group is together, rather than forge ahead like an idiot?

She was obviously doing better physically than he was. In such a situation, it becomes the healthier person's responsibility to go the slower person's speed to see that he gets off the mountain in good shape. In my book, she not only broke two important rules, but she also abandoned her responsibility.

Cathy says when Olivia reached the intersection of the Whitney Trail and the John Muir Trail she took the Whitney trail by mistake. But we know Olivia went down (towards Crabtree) instead of up, so wasn't she on the Muir trail at that point or am I confused? Isn't that intersection the potentially confusing point on the return to the Portal from the summit? That's where up is down so to speak and you hike up (on the Whitney trail) to Trail Crest and then head down the switchbacks towards Trail Camp. Doesn't the John Muir Trail come up from Crabtree?

Cappy,

It's only confusing if you are clueless. I sat at the junction changing after returning from the summit, we came up from Guitar Lake earlier that morning, and I warn two people they were heading for Guitar Lake instead of Whitney.

There are so many guide books, websites, message boards and people who have done this trail there are no excuses for ignorance other than pure laziness. There are people I hike with who revel in ignorant bliss, you might know the type I'm talking about...you pick the trail, you do the research, you buy the maps, you carry the 1st aid kit and I'll show up and follow you. Everything is honky-dory until thing go wrong, like with Oliva.

Bill

Greetings!

Holy Cow; they tell two friends and they tell two friends and they tell two friends...

I'm the guy who's girlfriend, Olivia Djeke, got lost after summiting Mt.Whitney on Monday, Oct. 20. Thanks for all the support everybody, but the people that Ara described as poorly dressed and exhausted were NOT us. My brother Gregg then posted some messages saying that they were us, but he was wrong (sorry Bro).Those people were in front of us and while the girl was experiencing altitude sickness, the guy was not, and they both made it down safely.

Stay tuned, and I will post the entire true story, detailing how we got separated when we were only a few yards from each other, the great survival ideas that Olivia used for 2 nights and 2 days, the way she flagged down the helicopter, and the tireless efforts of Keith Hardcastle, Pat Grediagin, Doug Thompson, Ronan the Irish dude, Andre, Todd, and many others. It will be good reading, I promise!!

Later,

Dave

Missed the JMT/Whitney junction myself a few months ago. How? The wife and I were heading to the summit from Trail Crest, a crowd had gathered at the junction to talk with JMT hikers from Europe, and someone had leaned (large) backpacks against the junction sign. Between the crowd, the packs, and our own concentration on placing one foot in front of the other, we just kept heading down. Fortunately, one good soul from the crowd chased us down about 10 minutes later and explained how (and why) we'd gone wrong. No damage - just some lost time and energy. No real moral here either, other than "sh*t happens", be prepared for it, and no large assemblies permitted at trail junctions.

i'm not sure if people realize it, but this whole thread is only providing ammo to the Feds. idea of somehow instituting a way to check for personal preparedness on the whitney trail. there was a lot of dissent among posters here when this idea came out in the recent LA times article, i was one of them, but after reading this story and the post above mine about how people somehow got lost hiking the trail, i might be changing my opinions on wether or not people should be checked b4 they start their hike.

furthermore how, when hiking to the highest point in the land,how do u get trail confusion?? would u not notice that A) u are going down when B) u obviously need to go up??? i don't get it

Cathy,

First of all let me say that I'm glad that everything worked out OK and Olivia is safe.

You pointed out some lessons some of which
are important but others I really have to take issue with:

- Make sure you allow enough time to get to the summit, and if you don't, TURN BACK.
Great idea, very important.

-Don't ever leave the people you're hiking with, even if you're getting on each other's nerves.

Especially if your navigation skills are not up to par.

- Realize there won't be much of a search effort made in the beginning (in her case, for 2 nights and one day), so have enough emergency supplies to last you a couple extra days.

This is ridiculous and probably dangerous! Two days of supplies for a day hike! All that junk will just slow you down. For a day hike, bivys are not allowed. You keep moving unless you are injured, in which case you suffer. Bring enough clothing to spend a very uncomfortable (but not lethal) night out in case you are injured.

- Try to bring 2-way radios, or a GPS positioner, as well as a picture of the people you're with, in case of emergency.

Oh, come on..It's A TRAIL! There is a sign at the junction! You don't need GPS, you just need the most basic of wilderness nav skills. If you can't follow a marked trail, you should not be out of sight of someone that can.

Bring a picture of the people you are with? How about just stick together, especially inexperienced people!

-Make sure everyone in your group has their own map, in case you get separated.

This is a good idea. Also make sure that everyone actually knows how to read a topo.

- Try not to wait until the last weekend of the season, when no one may be around if you get lost.

Don't go during peak season just to depend upon the safety of crowds! They are not responsible for you. I do, however, think that the inexperienced are better off going when the weather is mild.

BTW, there is no "last weekend of the season". The mountain is open all year.

- And arrange for someone to call the ranger's station if you're not back when you're supposed to be.

Yes, have someone ready to call, but give youself enough time to be a bit overdue. I say call the next morning on a dayhike.

I'm sorry to be so harsh on some of your advice, but I would hate people to think that carrying a GPS and two days food substitutes for skills and good sense.

Whitney is a very easy mountain. Of the California 14ners only White Mountain (or possibley Langley) is easier. You don't need much experience or particularly good fitness, but you should have some basic sense and wildness skills. Somehow Whitney seems to attract hordes of the clueless.

-Know the terrain
-Know your capabilities
-Bring what you will need to survive
-Constantly reevaluate your situation and always have an out.

This is all anyone needs to know.

-Greg