Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Lost summit...(MR trip report)

Nope - didn't make it. Details and pictures at the link below (caution: 5MB of images):

http://tinyurl.com/gy7g7

Regards..and thanks to everyone, as usual, that have helped me out with info and stuff..

Edit: My server can't handle the traffic check back later if the images don't load..

Chris

hey Chris,

fantastic trip report with pictures. we were all asking about you as we headed up the trail sunday morning. nice to know we at least saw your tent out that day. we met trevor and his clients at the notch as you can probably tell from pictures. kudos for helping out on a tough situation - I know it cost you making summit - but your trip has given you the memory of a life time. would like to trade memories sometime.

wish you had come up with us that day - but I know you had a plan. surely you must shake your head at the way the script plays out sometime. next time you head this way - let me know and I'll be glad to have you join.

you must still be pumped on adrenaline now - reading your story brought me right back to Sunday. thanks for sharing

WOW! Great story. Feel good... you deserve to.

Chris; I am impressed. Very admirable to give up ones attempt for the the safety and well being of others. Right on!
I would be proud to accompany you on a trip up the MR. Let me know if you would like some company. It has been 21 years since my last time up that way and would like to repeat it.
Stay cool!
Dave

That was a great read. Karma will do you a favor in the future, somehow, someway. The summit is a matter of time. You'll nail it, no worries.

Thanks...I'm looking forward to returning again. I just helped out a little bit..the clients toughed it out..the guide made good decisions, and Kurt is just a machine. He made it from the Portal to the sandy area between UBSL and Iceberg in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Awesome.

Sorry I missed some of you on the trail..and I had a great time on the mountain..I really did.

Regards..
Chris

hey chris great trip report and photos, If I was up for that many hours as you I would have done the same thing and said the heck with it and gone down with them but later that day or next day I would kick myself in the butt for not staying at the sandy spot just like you said. When we are tired and dejected we don't think things out until later, I've done that a few times....Also so we both are 0 for 3 on the MR I can't go up the rest of this year but I sure hope I get to see you next year on the MR trail..I'm glad everybody is safe.I know you got a couple of pictures in there your going to frame, I like the reflection picture... take care.....mark

Chris-

Excellent adventure, way better than just slogging up the last part of the mountain! Like Chicago Cubs fans say - just wait 'till next year.

SS

Chris -- it was great to chat with you at Iceberg Lake (as the "lone hiker from Whitney-Russell Pass") and excellent trip report. You should be very pleased with what you did, and as you say the MR isn't going away. It will be easy compared to hanging around in the dark & cold!

Hope to see you on the mountain again...
julian

Chris - just returned from my first Whitney summit via the MR over Labor Day. My brother bonked on the way down the notch to Iceberg Lake from dehydration and not keeping his blood suger high enough. Fortunately our group had a strong team mindset and we were able to get some candy and water into him to save the day. I mention this becuase your story helped me realize how bad things may have gone if someone didn't step up to help when we realized the problem. It takes true strength of character to put your own plans on hold and help total strangers. Don't second guess yourself on the decision to go down. The route will always be there. At a minimum you helped someone in need, at the extreme you may have saved a life. Can't think of a better way to define success.

There is a lesson here, and my conscience does not allow remaining silent.

People in good condition make one-day ascents of the Mountaineer’s Route in 5 or 6 hours. Less good, 8 or 9 hours. If you haven't summited in 11 or 12 hours there is a big problem. But such a problem didn't suddenly appear: It had to have been obvious for some time, especially to people familiar with the climb.

This party left the Portal shortly after midnight, and from your times, was still going up at noon and probably later. That something wrong was developing should have been obvious for hours. It should have been equally obvious that it could only get worse. If AMS was a factor, what should be done about it is well known: At best, stop ascending; at worst, descend.

I take novices into the mountains a lot. I am always alert to developing problems, and sometimes have to make the uncomfortable decision to turn the party around. I say "uncomfortable," because those who feel fine always want to go on. But if one person is ill, the safe thing—for him as well as the whole party—is to go down.

I am trying not to find fault here. All I know is from Chris's report, and there is surely much more to the story. I am not trying to dissect the situation that Chris found himself part of, but rather to use it to reiterate a point: No mountain climb is worth putting people at increasing risk, as summit fever competes with increasing evidence that the smart thing is to descend. As has been said many times, the mountain will always be there.

Chris,

What dates did this take place. The reason I ask is I was on the East Buttress climbing in party of 3 on the 19th. We climbed through the night and summited at 3:30am on the 20th. I saw headlamps in the sandy flat area while I was belaying my friends during the night. Just wondering if it could have been your group.

BTW, wat to go. You did all the right things.

Chris,

What an amazing story. You are to be admired for your openness, willingness to assist, and bravery for helping those people down. It's easy to be critical of others in hindsight, but when the problems arose, I'm sure all of those involved were glad to have you there. It just shows that no matter how you get up there, MMWT, JMT, MR, the hike/climb up Whitney isn't just for anyone. And, as you mention a few times, the mountain will always be there for you.

Thanks so much for sharing this story. And congratulations on making it as far as you did!

-Laura

Again..I just want to reiterate that I don't think anyone was in serious danger at all during the whole thing. Other than Eric's tough time walking, which might have led to a spill, there was nothing beyond being a bit cold, miserable, and exhausted.

While at the sandy camp Trevor and I discussed the situation and he said that if I had NOT been been there with the sleeping bag and bivy it might have actually been a good thing since the only option would have been continuing on down the mountain regardless of how tired everyone was. I'll leave it up to Eric to decide whether stopping and getting a couple hours of sleep was helpful or not. Whatever the case..the situation was under control..with or without me there..the entire time. Had I stayed up at Iceberg the end result would have been the same..I'm positive of that.

rootpi - Nice chatting with you too! You know, it was funny because I heard some rockfall coming down from the Russell/Whitney pass about 20 minutes before I saw you..and I couldn't figure out what had caused it. I was video-taping at the time and made a comment on the tape..so it must have been you on the way down..

Kevin - The hike was on September 24th..starting at 0700 in the morning..we reached the Portal on the descent 24 hours later at 0700 or so on the 25th.. You guys that do the technical climbs up places like the East Buttress have my total respect..I can't even imagine being up there on the side of that rock..

Bob brings up some good points (as usual) and I tried to just tell the story and let others with more experience than me sort out the lessons. I only saw the group on the descent, not on the way up..so I don't know how everyone was feeling. The pace was obviously pretty slow though. Some people can function perfectly for a long time..I liken it to a NiCad battery..they are strong for a long time, but when it quits, it does so instantly. A "lead-acid" person would slowly degrade over time...

Regarding the summit..big deal..I thought to myself the whole way down..thousands and thousands of people have been up there. Me being there doesn't add anything to the Universe..and I know I'll make it up there sometime.

Speaking of which..I've been looking very carefully at my schedule in the coming weeks..and I have a gap from Oct. 10 to Oct 14th..hmmm... Provided the weather holds out..I'm coming back out..and going to do a single day ascent via the MR and come down the Main Trail. I left the Portal at 0710 and made it to Iceberg by 1245 with a full pack..I'm certain with a daypack I can easily leave earlier, make the summit and get down in good time. (I fly for free..which is why I'm able to dash out and back without worrying about cost of flights..) So..maybe the weather will hold out for another couple weeks!

Thanks for all the comments..

Chris

Wow. Absolutely good work, Chris! Doesn't sound to me like you should have done *anything* differently. Good luck the next time!

Hi BeachAV8R,
tr and the pictures are great. Your achievment is much bigger then summit of Mt. Whitney. You did great job on the mountain.
Thanks.
happy climb

Chris, thanks for sharing your story. You will bag ol' whitney eventually. Hope to see you on the mountain sometime.

The mountains are calling, and I MUST go....

quick shout out to tomcat, rach,the bobs, and snowy- hope to see you soon. I'm coming home.

Great report, even better pictures. I'll also say thanks for sharing your story. My experence on the MR with my sister & brother-in-law last month came close to what Eric experenced. We panned to do it in a day and planed to go down the main trail. We also planed that we would be on the trail after dark so we packed the necessary food, clothes, headlamps, etc. Although we didn't plan to be on the trail as long as we did (about 22hrs) but with plenty of warm clothes and food it was a fun experence.
We look back at the experence and I think it would been better to do with someone that knew the route or camping out at a high camp and summit on the next day. We probably spent too much time in route finding on the way up and for me I started to bonk on the way down and that slowed us down to a crawl. Lower down on the trail we were going against the flow of traffic comming up. Although we were pretty tired, it was fun to watch the fireflys (headlamps) comming up the main trail. Now that we've done the MR I can't imagine going down the MR after dark. Going down the main trail at night is bit of a challenge in it self. I think for us if we do it again we'll plan on a multi day hike up and down the MR during the daylight hours. I'm just curious if you more experenced on the MR do it either planned or unplanned at night.

Beach,

Great story and good work. I was having a similar conversation with people this past weekend on a hike. We were discussing how so many people show up to hikes (especially Whitney) unprepared and/or unknowing of how truly difficult it is. In the end, not only do they put themselves in danger, but they also usually require the assistance of some good semaritan on the trail (i.e. people like you).

I'd say the worst part about situations like this is the fact that someone like yourself, who has trained so long and done your homework, has to "adjust" your plans because of others. For someone like me, who lives a mere 3 hours from the portal, I could basically go and hike Mt. Whitney every week if I wanted to, so if I need to abort my plan, no big deal because I know I can just head up there another weekend.

Your situation is obviously different. Plane trips, vacation time, rental cars, driving from Vegas... you're talking a significant investment in time, money, etc.

I'm not saying that you should have not helped the group. I absolutely think you did the right thing. What I am saying is that it totally sucks you had to do it.

Hopefully we can all learn something from this. Ultimately, be responsible for yourself in the outdoors. Everyone makes mistakes, but it seems situations like this should be able to be prevented.

Gusto

Chris, amazing trip! I think that one will me more memorable than geting to the summit. It's a rich story to be proud of and tell to your grandkids. Always wanted to say that.. hehe. again great story. Thanks for sharing!