Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mental toughness

Everyone has their own circadean rhythms, natural microbiota/flora and comfort levels that react to certain circumstances and stress factors - so I say to each their own. Some people read, some drink alcohol, some take sleeping pills..some people imagine the trail ahead. Who are we to criticize their methods? I don't usually sleep all that well to begin with, and even worse when sleeping in the wilderness. I tend to agree with previous posters that try to get well rested prior to a trip. This also includes, for me, well nourished. For me, it takes utter exaustion when in the wilderness before I can sleep well. If someone comes up with the perfect answer, I would sure like to know...

I am antidrug and have stirried it up in the past. I think one night of bad sleep is less harmful than the residual effects of sleep meds.

My only interest would be what my doctor says is safe for me and perhaps, what your doctor says is good for you. The rest is opinion, which, in my opionion, is nothing to base health decisions on. Every body is different, as the saying goes. If sleeping meds, heart meds, diabetes meds, diamox, antihistimines, ibuprofin, asprin, (did I forget anything? Let's keep it legal) allow for me, my friends, my family, and all the guys and girls that appear as a mirage on the peaks above me, to do what they love while staying safe & healthy in the process, than so be it.

I was worried about sleep the night before and prepared in several ways. First, I got up early the day before my hike. I spent the remainder of the day, after picking up my permits, walking around Horseshoe Meadows. After a light dinner, I climbed in bed. After about an hour of tossing and turning, I finally fell asleep. While I didn't get my normal 8 hours, I did get some rest. Like most exciting adventures, I wasn't tired from the missing sleep.
The one thing I would like to caution you to be prepared for is the hike down the mountain. I read everything I could before my first hike. Nothing warned me about how hard it is to walk down. Yes, it takes less time, but it is exhausting, painful and much more difficult than I thought it would be.
I think newbies are so excited, the adrenaline helps get them to the top. Unfortunately, the adrenaline wears off on the way down and it is just tough.
Eat, take breaks and enjoy the view since it was probably dark when you were walking up.
I can't wait to come back and do it again.

Some thoughts:

Alpine starts on only a few hours of sleep... those mornings are cherished. There is so much excitement and adrenaline and sometimes foreboding and doubt and anxiety that you will not miss the sleep once you've woken up and have started moving. Trust me. As long as you've slept an average amount for the preceding few days, one day with 3 or 4 hours will not affect you on your hike.

However, if I am truly exhausted--if I've had reams of work and have slept an average of 4 hrs/night for several nights--and then I tack on an alpine start, I notice that my cardiovascular performance, tenacity, and balance have declined. I can still hike reasonably well under sleep deprivation, but there is a noticeable increase in effort. My climbing suffers tremendously as as I struggle with balance and commitment to moves.

Sleeping pills have their place if you understand the physiological ramifications of using them. Many of the strong climbers I've met use them to fall asleep unusually early (e.g., at 6 pm) so they can wake up at midnight for 20+ hr car-to-car assaults. When you need to climb literally all day well enough that you won't fall on continuous class 4 or 5, then the pills make sense and their use comes down to personal ethics. But where you don't need that level of continuous concentration, it's OK to go on little sleep. Really.

Besides, the effects of most drugs at altitude are not well-understood. As I understand it, the general sentiment in the community is that sleeping pills shouldn't be used at high altitudes because they quite literally slow you down--and the last thing you want to slow down at altitude is your respiratory system. So I guess the question is: is Whitney at "high" altitude? It should be a personal assessment which is independent of how high you've been before. It's a function of how much time you've spent at moderate to high altitudes in the last 2 weeks. That's it. If none, then 14.5K is very high. Treat it like a high peak: don't lounge around the summit for several hours, don't take drugs that interact poorly with altitude, bake your brownies longer, etc. We all have read about the horrible HACE tragedy on Shasta; while it had nothing to do with sleeping pills, it did demonstrate that 14000 ft is indeed very high even for fit, young mountaineers who have climbed, lived, and worked at high altitudes before (in his case, in South America). He just wasn't acclimatized (and of course it wasn't his fault that he got stuck way up on Shasta). Since almost all of us live at or near sea level, we should probably class Whitney as "high" unless we literally get out to above 8K ft once or more per week.

Heh, that was long. Back to the grinder.

On mental toughness: a measured pace is really important and I often find my mind trying to out pace my body. I think that pace is more important that a good night of sleep.

Are there any side effects from sleeping pills, allergy meds, etc. in regards to AMS? I wouldn't want something foreign running through my system if there was.

You might consider reading one of those trashy magazines, like Nat. Inq., that are found at supermarket checkout stands. Any worries or concerns that happen to be clogging your brain will be flushed out along with the "medication." It works like "mental bran" or "brain laxative."

JamesL sed it beautifully "Nervousness and excitement are part of the beauty of hiking". With Whitney, its all about reaching the top. You want it. SASout

I agree with Mark on this one.

The Ambien can help you fall asleep before your normal pre-programed time and allows you to wake without drowsiness.

Of course, try anything - gear or supplements, long before you bring them to trail.

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Carole is that why Bman was sawing logs in the Black Diamond Hotel in the Bowl that weekend?