Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Whiskey on Whitney

Jack, Kahula and red wine...don't leave home without it.

This ain't a stinking death march.

What I don't understand is if you're doing the thing you love the most, and spending the night in some fantastic place you've chosen, why do you need to get loaded to be happy there? Wouldn't that be the place you'd want genuine, unclouded reality? If not, why go there?

Booze is a drug, no two ways about it; it just happens to be one that's legal and socially accepted in our society, but it escapes me as to why one would want to get high in such an environment. Does dulling the senses enhance the enjoyment?

I know, "I don't get loaded, I just have a little", but basically the purpose of booze, be it whiskey, wine, or beer is to get high, to whatever extent. Sure, a cold beer tastes good in many situations, but would you settle for a non-alcoholic beer that tastes the same? If not, why not?

Sitting at home on the couch after a lousy day, having personal issues, etc., it's understandable, but even in those cases it's just an escape from reality, and there are better ways to deal with things, that really work instead of just putting them off for later.

Anyway, for some time I've thought it odd that people feel the need for a drug when they're in a situation they've deliberately chosen, to where they'd haul it along on hikes. If you need drugs for that, is there any situation where you don't?

General question, not intended as a reply to any single post here, but something I've wondered for a while.

Gary- First off, I respect your opinion.
Yes, alcohol is a drug; just like coffee, sex, adrenaline, etc...
I look at it like this: Take altitude out of the equation (in my case that is the only x-factor). If I spend my hard earned money to fly off to some remote island, I'm surely going to partake in all of the aforementioned activities. I’m not doing it to cloud my reality, these are just vices I personally enjoy; everyone has their own. Maybe it is just the vino taling...
http://reddirtblog2.blogspot.com/2007/12/john-sherman-vermin.html

Gary Get a grip! Eat some soup. were talking about having a little nipper here not some DRUG!

Ok, I'm takin' the bait...

Sheesh Gary! I don't think anyone here is talking about having enough to get even close to the legal driving limit. ...except maybe for Rogue's dad.

I myself don't much enjoy anything with alcohol, but there IS something celebratory and ceremonial about having a swig at the summit or at the end.

I better be careful. You might condemn me for the endorphin high I get after a workout.

It is odd that you nail folks for the celebration part, but justify this: "Sitting at home on the couch after a lousy day, having personal issues, etc., it's understandable". Now that, in my mind, is more troubling and dangerous.

Didn't your mom ever teach you to make sure you take enough to share with the rest of the class?

Just stirring things up a little, I didn't really expect it to be a popular opinion, having seen the positive reaction invariably given on the board here to bringing booze along on the trail.

By all means, do what makes you happy, that's a personal decision. There's a difference, however, between taking along a bottle of champagne or whiskey once for some special occasion, and taking it as a matter of course on hikes. Most drug highs, while they are pleasant at the time, aren't very fulfilling in the long run though. Which is why I wonder about the enthusiastic response seen here so often. And, of course, it's not too hard to make a "special occasion" out of every trip 8^).

Besides dehydration, which has been downplayed, the sleep induced by even a little alcohol is actually less beneficial, and you're more likely to wake up and have trouble getting back to sleep when the booze wears off. Should something unexpected occur...storm, animal, rockslide, whatever, having all your faculties when it wakes you can make a lot of difference (having woken up in an emergency situation on a fishing boat one night, and seeing how useless the guy was who'd had a few 'nips' to help him sleep was, I can attest to that).

Re the 'sitting on the couch' being understandable; I didn't mean it was good. I meant that being in a situation where you work a job you don't like all day, and coming home to less than great situations would be a perfect excuse for a few beers or whatever. To that extent it's understandable. No, it's not a good way to handle anything, and it won't solve anything and it will in fact probably delay the person finding any real improvement, but the desire to want to drink there is understandable; it is, after all, a drug, and drugs mask things we don't like.

The desire to want to have a drink (or any drug for that matter) while, for example sitting on top of Half Dome or Whitney, or camped along some idyllic trail, is less understandable...to me. If I need a drug to 'improve' things there, I'm in the wrong place.

Full disclosure and clarification for Gary. My 28/5/09 post might lead one to think I overdo it with the champagne. Actually over 55 years I have climbed 14,000' peaks (many multiple times) over 325 times and celebrated with champagne only twice on top and once back in base camp. With a 187 ml bottle, which amounts to approximately 6 oz ( 3/4 cup) shared with others, I guess a swallow or two would not qualify as overdoing it ! The intent was to celebrate a meaningful climb, ie finishing the Colorado 14er circuit and also a memorable climb of Mt Stanford,south 13,963', with some other Stanford alums.

I suggest that this is an individual decision and what works for
some might not work for others. The important thing is that you
are out doing the climb & the rewards will vary from person to person.

CMC

Perhaps we should ask why a drink of an alcoholic beverage is the typical standard of celebration?

A bit too extreme and complex to actually analyze in this topic but it's the more intriguing question for me.

From a fine little ditty by the Chad Mitchell Trio:


We're coming, we're coming, our brave little band
On the right side of temperance we do take our stand
We don't use tobacco, because we do think
The people who use it are likely to drink

Away, away with rum by gum, with rum by gum, with rum by gum
Away, away with rum by gum, the song of the temperance union

We never eat fruit cake because it has rum
And one little taste turns a man to a bum
Oh, can you imagine a sorrier sight
Than a man eating fruit cake until he gets tight

<refrain>

We never eat cookies because they have yeast
And one little bite turns a man to a beast
Oh, can you imagine a sadder disgrace
Than a man in the gutter with crumbs on his face

...and on and on it goes...

Had an uncle like that...

All he did was eat fruit cake and cookies.

What a waste of a good life.  

It's easy. No effort involved, a couple of sips and you're having a great time.

One could also ask why alcohol is a "reward" for those turning 21.

"Don't use drugs, son, they're bad. Well, except alcohol which is bad now, but good when you're 21 because you're older and it's good to get loaded when you're older. Not with drugs though, just alcohol."

8^)

I've never been drunk or even felt anything at all from drinking and I have never been high in any way legal drugs or not so I myself don't understand the nature of it all but I don't hold it against anyone who wants to drink themselves to death if they want to as long as they are not hurting anyone else while they do it.

Talking in melodramatic terms about getting drunk and drinking oneself to death may fill a need in some people, but I see no connection between such talk and someone taking a celebratory sip -- atop a mountain or elsewhere.

I second the tempest in a teapot (or whiskey bottle) comment.

Because Gary is catching so much flack, I thought I'd mention that I share his outlook about alcohol. But to each his (or her) own. Members of the alcohol industry will be heartened to read this thread.

As would the author of the Gospel of John, Chapter 2.

Gary, I am curious... Are you speaking from experience, or do you completely avoid everything with alcohol?

Definitely usually.

xxxx