Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Oxygen Canisters..?

Does anyone have any experience using personal oxygen canisters hiking Mt Whitney? Do they help at all for altitude sickness or is it just a waste of money? Just curious as a friend of mine mentioned it and I had not even thought of it.

Thx,

Chris

Never used O2 canisters for MW although I have contemplated it my first time to the summit. Never really needed it because of training. You have to deal with the weight unless you cache it somewhere. Then what good is an O2 canister if you got it cached and need it NOW!

Cost-effectiveness? Debatable. You got money, get it! I wouldn't rely on O2 canisters to help for AMS. O2 brings temporary relief.

They sold O2 canisters on Fuji-san. Pretty neat. Just wondered if there was really O2 in it or just AIR.

Just train hard, get acclimated, pace, hydrate, nibble. Save money. Save weight.

Have fun.

Thx for the reply. Here is a link to one of many sites I found.

http://www.healiohealth.com/tek9.asp?pg=products&specific=joemonmpo

Weighs less than 5 ounces. May be a good addition to first aid kit.

Chris

I wouldn't bother. They had them everywhere on Fuji, and they are of little use. If you are truly concerned about AMS, go to your doctor and get some Diamox. Don't let some self-appointed Whitney God talk -or attempt to shame- you out of it either. If you were going on a cruise and get sea sick, you would take something for that, right? If you go to the beach, you use something to prevent sunburn, right. Same here.

Ditto WillyDinSD on Diamox.
I have had good success with it.

Climbers on O2 take themselves down to 20,000 feet. Unless one has emphysema O2 is not at all necessary. And unless one acquires Russian titanium tanks they weigh quite a bit.

Take an extra day or two, take a bit more Diamox and enjoy the climb.

If you can get there a day or two early, do it. It makes a big difference in the acclimation process. Take a hike up to Lone Pine Lake or Outpost camp and hang out there for a few hours. Come back down, sleep and go for the top. Pace, eat, hydrate, protect yourself from the sun and wind and you should be fine.

If you're concidering O2 or even Diamox, you're probably over thinking this climb. Plan an extra day into your trip and it should be more then enought to get'er done...

I dont think diamox is over thinking it. I have been climbing Whitney for years, at least since 1982 and leading climbs on the Eaast Buttress and East Face since 1989 and in the last 5 years have started experiencing altitude sickness no matter the level of acclimatization or training. Diamox has been a life saver or at least a trip saver. Since I started taking low dose diamox I have had zero altitude problems and this year I have been in the worst shape ever. Diamox works for me.