Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board 27 Month Old on Whitney?

My nephew and his wife are considering taking their 27 month old daughter in a backpack up the MWT.
Does anyone have any experience with young children on Whitney?
Thanks

After proper acclimatization a trip to Lone Pine Lake would probably be OK. I took my children from 3 weeks old on up camping as high as 9,ooo ft.with proper acclimatization, I would just be concerned about a child being able to communicate altitude sickness symptoms. A lot of adults don't even recognize it. MAGG

I took my kids hiking/backpacking in the area when they were that age. But I don't think that answers the question you're really asking.

Just be be clear, could you define "on Whitney" and "a backpack up the MWT"? Are you talking about the summit or a lower point? And what time of year? What is their experience with the MMWT and backpacking in general? The differences are significant.

Dude I would have to agree with Magg. I have a 18 month old at home and love hiking/climbing and I'm not even considering taking my daughter, whose name is Whitney btw, until she's at least 6 or 7. Major concern is the baby wouldn't be able to communicate. If they want to take her to elevation for a trial run, why not go to Mosquito Flat TH or HorseShoe meadows?

"On Whitney" would be two days to Trail Camp and then to the Summit on day three. A backpack is a top-of-the-line child carrying backpack. Yes, they are talking about the summit. Next weekend. My Nephew hiked the majority of the PCT in California several years ago. Last summer he climbed Mt. Shasta and Whitney by the Mountaineers Route.

ClimbSTRONG... I would advise your nephew and wife to consult with their pediatrician before they do this.

My son was born when we lived in Colorado and my daughter was an infant... I remember the doctors strongly advising us against taking the babies to the summit of Pikes Peak (14110') until a certain age.. I just don't remember what that age was.

It is generally thought that children have less ability to adjust to altitude than adults. Consider that a healthy adult died abruptly of altitude illness in the area within the last month, suddenly, in spite of immediate professional guide assistance being available.

This represents a roll of the dice. You are asking for reassurance of taking a risk with a child, when none can really be given. What on earth is the point?

Here is an authoritative article on the subject, but note how MUCH information they advise a person have, before attempting such things:

http://www.theuiaa.org/upload_area/files/1/UIAA_MedCom_Rec_No_9_Children_at_Altitude_2008.pdf

I assure you that I was not seeking reassurance for this activity. I only sought information that would better inform the situation. I have definitely gotten that. The article was especially good! I have shared all of the great info, advice and opinion from this thread with my nephew and sincerely expect that they will abandon this idea.

Thanks to all that responded.

I hope common sense prevails and your nephew decides to wait a few years.

Ex peace officer here. I'll go out on a limb and say this: If anything were to go wrong(at the higher altitudes)and SAR is involved the parent(s) could be accused of child endangerment. Borderline maybe but possible.

At some point, I fully expect someone to ask about giving birth on top of Whitney.

Still laughing on this one. Thanks!!!1

Mouse

Some links that basically talk about some of the same things that are listed in the article that Ken posted but in a little less of a scientific format.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_altitude-sickness_11223.bc

http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/client/client_pages/Media%20Archives/mtn_media_AltitudeSickness.cfm

You might want to pay particular attention to the paragraph on SIDS in the second article.

http://gorp.away.com/gorp/eclectic/family/expert/080300.htm

I was once told about parents that took their child on a backpacking trip to Bench Lake (as I recall the child was about 8 years old). The child became sick but they did not realize it was altitude sickness. Eventually, the parents realized the child was not getting better and they needed an emergency rescue, but by the time the rescue team got to Bench Lake the child was dead. I don't know all the details or how long ago this was, but I know it happened as I was told by someone involved in the rescue. A very tragic ending to a happy family outing.

Anyway, just be aware of the symptoms of altitude sickness when you take young children backpacking.

As a long-time pediatric critical care nurse and an avid hiker/climber, I found that UIAA article very interesting. There's obviously little data on the effects of higher altitudes on young children. (Not many parents are likely to volunteer their babies and toddlers for a study to see just how ill they may become from inducing AMS.) This question came up on another message board and my response was that I would be inclined against taking very young children over about 10K or where a significant number of people start to have altitude-related problems. The main problem is that the younger a child is, the more difficult it is to assess his or her condition unless you're an expert; as the article notes, infants and toddlers are not very good at self-reporting their symptoms. And there was a noteworthy point made early in the article: "Is the trip pampering to the parental ego rather than to the needs of the child?" The 27 month-old would have a lot more enjoyable time at Lone Pine Lake with a lot less risk involved (as long as the parents keep a close eye on him near the water!)