Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board INCIDENT ON WHITNEY

I have sent this to many members of the post and several have suggested that it would be educational to others. I will try to post it in hopes that, some day, it may help another outdoor adventurer.
Theloneus

I had been wanting to do a winter ascent of Whitney for several years, so finally decided to do it this year, whether I found a climbing partner or not. I wanted to do it some time prior to the start of the reservation period on May 1. Watching the weather forecasts on the Internet, I decided to leave on Tuesday, March 30.

I left Claremont, Ca. in the morning and arrived in Lone Pine in time for a late lunch. After a hearty lunch I drove to the Portal and parked. I wrote out a brief itinery and put it on my vehicle dash, readable from the outside. After talking about trail conditions with someone from the Portal Store I was on the trail by 3 p.m. The weather was clear, as predicted, and the snow was soft and deep enough that I was able to hike all day with snowshoes. Just prior to sundown I made camp in a rocky outcropping just above Outpost Camp, overlooking Mirror Lake. The next day I changed to crampons and ice axe and continued up the chute paralleling the “switchbacks” to the North. Part way up, noticing the iron posts on the trail, I climbed up to the trail, thinking that I could make better time there. I found that the snow was so deep and soft on the trail that it was impossible, even with snowshoes, to continue on the trail, so I returned to the chute and continued to climb. As the chute got quite steep below Trail Crest, I encountered three climbers coming down. They had summited and were returning to their camp just below the switchbacks. They reported that the weather had been clear and that the snow on the trail was well consolidated; snowshoes were not required, just ice axe and crampons. They had taken three hours to go from Trail Crest to Whitney Summit. After a very strenuous final approach I arrived at Trail Crest in the late afternoon and made my camp on the East side overlooking the chute. My campsite was on a very narrow ledge off the trail and protected from the wind coming from the West.

The next morning, Thursday, April 1, after a breakfast of tea and cup-o-noodles, I selected a minimum amount of gear to hike the 1.9 miles to the summit and back as light and quickly as possible. I carried a map, compass, cell phone, GPS, Power Bars, water bottle, and camera. I was well dressed for the conditions. The trail was well marked by the three previous hikers and the trip to the summit took three hours, as anticipated and I arrived before noon. The weather was still clear but wispy clouds were blowing by and it was growing dark in the West. I called my wife and told her that I expected to be out by Friday and that I would call when I get down. The weather began to deteriorate quite quickly with very low visibility and blowing snow. The snow was sure to soon obliterate the trail so I attempted to return as quickly as possible to the trail and back to my camp. After several attempts to get to the trail were thwarted by low visibility, I realized I had a problem. I had not picked GPS waypoints on the trail to the summit and my map was not high enough resolution to use for selecting accurate points for my GPS. I called 911 hoping to find someone to give me accurate waypoints back to my camp at Trail Crest. A Highway Patrol dispatcher in Barstow answered my call immediately. After some difficulty explaining my situation and what I needed, she transferred me to the Forest Service in Lone Pine. The person who answered explained that the office closes at 4:30 and that it was nearly closing time. He then transferred me to the Sheriff’s office in Lone Pine. Sgt. Randy Nixon answered and I explained my situation and what I needed. He immediately understood my situation. By this time my cell phone batteries were getting low and it was getting dark so we agreed that I would turn my cell phone off and he would call back and leave the GPS points and weather forecast on my voice mail. I would stay the night in the hut at the summit and next morning I would access my voice mail and get the information. I stayed over night in the summit hut which, apparently, is intended for use only as the most primitive of shelters. Half of the floor was covered in ice and there is no stove or emergency supplies. During the night my water froze.

Next morning I found that Sgt. Nixon had left the information twice, in case one version was garbled, and requested that I inform him as soon as I returned. I entered the 4 waypoints into my GPS and started for the first point. I found the going very difficult. The visibility was still very low and because the trail was covered by snow, it was difficult to know if I was on the trail or not. Just a few feet above or below the trail and the terrain is extremely difficult. I eventually arrived at the first waypoint, which was relatively free of snow, and the trail was clearly visible. This gave me confidence to proceed quickly toward the next waypoint. Soon the trail was again obscured by snow and progress again became very difficult. I eventually came to a trail which, unlike the relatively North/South orientation of the Whitney Trail, seemed to be East/West oriented. [This was probably the trail leading to Crabtree Meadow] It began to grow dark by now so I decided to try to find shelter. Near the trail I found an overhanging rock that seemed to afford some shelter. Using my ice axe, I attempted to build a snow wall in front of the overhanging rock as protection from the wind and snow. The wind had been blowing so hard that the snow was the consistency of sugar and was very difficult to compact into a wall. After forming as good a wall as possible, under the circumstances, I crawled into my shelter for the night. I alternated between sleeping and getting up and walking around briefly. The shelter did provide some protection from the wind and blowing snow. The next day I turned on my GPS and got a heading and distance to the next waypoint. The GPS began indication a low battery so I only turned it on long enough to get the information and use my compass thereafter. At this time I must have been affected by the combined factors of dehydration and hypothermia; my only recollection of that day, April 3, was of struggling over very rough snow covered terrain and of nightfall coming again. At that location the terrain was completely snow covered with no rocks, or trees to use as protection from the weather. The snow was still impossible to consolidate and make a shelter. My only option was to dig a trench in the snow to get below the wind and blowing snow. Before going to sleep I stuck my ice axe into the snow to mark my location. This arrangement was very uncomfortable and sleep was difficult. It was quite cold and the high wind and blowing snow continued throughout the night.

When I was at the summit, I had called my wife, Maria, and told her that I expected to be out by Friday and would call from Lone Pine. On Friday evening she called the Dow Villa Hotel, where I would stay if I came out late, and they told her that I was not registered. She called the next morning and they reported that I still had not registered, and they gave her the number for the local Sheriff’s office. The dispatcher who answered the phone recommended to wait for the rest of the day to see if I came out on my own and said that he would send a deputy to the Portal parking lot to see if my car was still there. On Sunday morning, April 4, she called and got the dispatcher. She told him that I had not called or checked into the hotel. She felt that it was time to start a rescue. The dispatcher said that the Search and Rescue coordinator Sgt. Randy Nixon would call back. Sgt. Nixon called back soon afterward and, after getting the information he needed, he agreed to start a rescue effort. He remembered that I was the one who had called asking for GPS waypoints.
The next day, Sunday April 4, was clear and my GPS indicated that I was about 0.1 Mi. from my camp. Soon there came the sound of a fixed wing aircraft from the North. The aircraft seemed to be circling and slowly approaching. Finally it reached my location, as did a helicopter. I flashed a signal mirror to attract their attention. The crews of both aircraft began communicating with me using loud speakers. The fixed wing aircraft made a low pass with landing lights flashing. They asked if I needed help and I responded by marking an SOS in the snow with my ice axe. The helicopter made a comment about returning, and left.
Sgt. Nixon called Maria after a few hours and reported that they found me and I seemed to be in good shape and was responding to them. However, he reported that there was a jurisdictional problem – I was on the Sequoia side of the boundary and she needed to call Sequoia National Forest to request help. She called Sequoia and they took the information and agreed to call her back. Over an hour later they had not called so she called them back. They had decided that to let the Sheriff’s department, Sgt. Nixon, continue to coordinate the rescue. The next available helicopter that Sgt. Nixon located was not able to respond because the pilot was not qualified to land above 12,000’. The suggestion was made that they resume the rescue the next day. Sgt. Nixon, feeling that one more day could be serious, or even fatal for a subject who had been exposed for three days, persisted. He found a Highway Patrol helicopter from Paso Robles who was in the area, qualified, and willing to attempt the rescue. The crew advised me, via loudspeaker, to descend the slope I was on to a flat area about 800 – 1000’ below my location [Probably south of Discovery Pinnacle]. As I descended, they advised me on the best route, considering obstacles, steep sections, etc., which they could see from the air. They landed and when I arrived they took me aboard and flew me to the North Inyo Hospital in Lone Pine.
Eric R. and his hiking companion were hiking up the Whitney Trail on Sunday April 4. As they approached Trail Crest they noticed aircraft activity and heard loud speakers in the area of Trail Crest. They guessed that there was a rescue in progress. As they approached Trail Crest Eric noticed something protruding from the snow. They investigated and found a camp, mostly covered by about 2 feet of snow. Guessing that this might be the camp of the person being rescued, they stuffed everything into the backpack and slid it down the chute they had just come up. They then continued toward the summit. On the return they found the backpack on the chute. Using some extra cord Eric was carrying they strapped the backpack onto Eric’s backpack and continued to descend. At Outpost Camp it became difficult for Eric to continue with the extra weight so he removed the extra backpack and left it. When they reached the Portal parking lot they removed their packs and returned for the backpack they had left. At Lone Pine they turned the gear into the Sheriff’s office.
When I arrived at the hospital they quickly started a rewarming program including an IV of warm fluids, heated blankets, and immersion in a therapy hot tub. Maria arrived that night and drove me home the next morning. That night I went to a Kaiser Hospital emergency room where they started a program of antibiotics and medication for pain and swelling.
Only after arriving at the hospital in Lone Pine, when they removed my gloves and boots, did I realize that I had frostbite injuries. Now, about 2 months later, it appears that I will lose the outer portion of four fingers and 2 – 4 toes through “auto amputation”, i.e. the affected areas will “sluff off” in time. Various estimates by the doctors of the time required to completely resolve the frostbite problems range from 6 months to one year.

AFTERWORD
· Each reader can come to his/her own conclusion about what I did wrong on Whitney. I summarize my mistake in one word – Hubris. Until this experience I would not have believed that anything could stop me from hiking 1.9 miles and back on a familiar and well-marked trail in one day. My painful experience has, of course, drastically changed my thinking on that matter.
· I find it amazing that a Highway Patrol 911 dispatcher would transfer a call from someone in my situation to an office that has a closing time, in this case the Forest Service office in Lone Pine. In most California counties Search and Rescue is the responsibility of the Sheriff’s Office. The Forest Service knew that, even the Dow Villa Hotel knew it; why doesn’t the 911 dispatcher know it? One would think that a 911 call about a problem in the area of Mt. Whitney would be a common occurrence and the dispatchers would be accustomed to dealing with them.
· The first helicopter to respond to my location could not complete the evacuation BECAUSE I WAS ON THE SEQUOIA SIDE OF THE LINE! One would think that mutual assistance agreements between all government agencies adjoining the Sierras would be established in advance so that a rescue would not have to be delayed just because of a jurisdictional matter.
· I especially want to thank Sgt. Randy Nixon, SAR coordinator for the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department, for his persistence and skill at marshalling the resources necessary to complete my rescue when a delay of another day would have resulted in further injuries or, possibly, death.
· I think it is a testament to the camaraderie of the outdoor community that Eric R. and his companions would go to so much trouble to retrieve a stranger’s gear under such difficult circumstances. I hope I would do the same.

Theloneus
Glad you made it back, thanks for the post, good luck on your recovery

Wow. We're speachless.

some of the most important things i have learned;
i have learned reading this site.
thanks

Great Post!

How did Eric R. know with 100% certainty that the gear they found was yours? As I was reading you post, I wondered if they had made a terrible mistake and possibly picked up somebody else's gear. I suppose you were the only one up there the night before? I am not sure I would have made the same call.

Theloneus,

Thanks for posting your story. I truly hope everything works out for you. Some of the best lessons that I have learned have been from other hiker's experiences, weather good or bad.

JJBB

Wow! Glad to hear that you will be mostly fine after some recovery.

Everyone planning to go up there should read this just to help them have some ideas in their minds of how to be prepared. If you hadn't had cell phone, GPS AND Compass, etc. and the clear thoughts on how to use them and how to protect yourself from the weather, you might not be typing this story now.

Thank you for posting your story (and for sending it to me by email). I hope that your recovery is swift and better than expected.

It is truly amazing what Nature can do in such isolated environments. We are all at her whim in these situations.

-end

Theloneus,
Thank you so much for writing up your story and sharing it here. Your courage is inspiring, and this is certainly educational to read how a clearly experienced and capable hiker responded to a dangerous change in conditions. All the best in your recovery.

I think the most important part of your story was the fact that it was only a 1.9 mile hike each way, what could go wrong or happen in that time?

I have to admit, I would have probably thought the same thing and made the same judgements you did.

The best lesson we can all learn is Whitney changes very quickly, and no matter how fast we think we are going, the weather on top changes even faster.

Not meaning to get the whole cell phone debate going again, but you seemed to get reception a number of times from at least 2 different spots. Which cell phone service do you use, and were you surprised to get reception for both your calls and for the calls returned to you?

My service is Verizon but both calls were from the summit. Until I had the information I needed I didn't want leave the summit and lose reception.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I can't believe the "red-tape" involved in a rescue mission. Wish you a speedy recovery.

Theloneus,
As with the others, I'm glad your OK.

It should be no surprise that the coordination of rescue services is not optimum. The 9/11 commision is clearly demonstrating that. I still believe Sgt Nixon did an outstanding job as SAR coordinator.

Being a helicopter pilot in SoCal, I am suspicious about the claim that 'the pilot was not qualified to land above 12,000’. I suspect that the helicopter did not have the performance to conduct a safe landing and takeoff rather than it being an issue of pilot qualifications. Unless insurance rules dictate it, there are no such pilot qualifications in the US that restrict landings to certain altitudes. Keep in mind there are not many helicopters that have sufficent performance to conduct a rescue above 12,000 ft at mission weights. Several years ago I heard the US Navy landed at UH-1N on the summtit of Whitney but it had minimal weight on board and practically no gas.

If you need to be rescued by helicopter, get to as low an altitude as you can. There have been numerous helicopter accidents during mountain rescues due to performance limitations, including at least 2 on Rainier and one on Mt Hood (UH-60 last year).

Thelonious,
I know when you call 911 from a cell phone anywhere in California it goes to a CHP dispatcher. That dispatcher is NOT used to taking calls from stranded hikers and has no idea what you are talking about when you start asking for way points. You very likley could have been speaking to a dispatcher in Los Angeles or Sacramento. I would not put too much reliance in cell phones and GPS devices. Nothing works better than common sense and as you did leave an itinerary on your car and with someone at home. I have turned around twice on whitney while solo hiking and skiing. There is no shame in turning around.

Okay, everyone, especially all you seasoned, experienced hikers/climbers: To learn from this experience, what could (should?) this gentleman have done differently (other than simply not be there) to improve the situation or even prevent it??

Yeah, he violated cardinal rule #1 - never hike alone. But it doesn't seem like the lack of a second person was a factor in this case.

Quote:

"...I selected a minimum amount of gear to hike the 1.9 miles to the summit and back as light and quickly as possible. I carried a map, compass, cell phone, GPS, Power Bars, water bottle, and camera. I was well dressed for the conditions. The trail was well marked by the three previous hikers and the trip to the summit took three hours, as anticipated and I arrived before noon. The weather was still clear but wispy clouds were blowing by and it was growing dark in the West."

All of the above sounds perfectly appropriate.

A fast moving weather change could happen to anyone. So, should he have brought a headlamp? Spare batteries? A stove? Should he have worn plastic boots? Spare socks? Or, perhaps, if one is travelling alone on a winter climb, would you say you should just make a rule to always take your full pack with you - just in case? Or maybe at least, a sleeping bag and a tarp?

In this situation (trapped by weather), what additional things can you do to protect yourself and prevent frostbite / cold injuries?

Not criticizing - sincerely wondering about this. Like I said, any one of us could see an approaching front, start heading down, and suddenly find ourselves in the same situtation. I'm curious what suggestions you all will offer.

I'm sorry Theloneus, I'm not going to be politically correct and I'm not going to sugar coat it for you. When it comes to mountaineering, you my friend are in over your head! You can't get back to Trailcrest without a cell phone and a GPS??? If you need a cell phone and a GPS to find your way around, please stay out of the mountains. You are an accident waiting to happen. As Clint Eastwood said, "A man has got to know his limitations." Learn yours! What made you think you could do a solo winter trip?
A map and a compass are part of the 10 essentials, but if we have degenerated to the point where we need satellites and microwave towers to find our way around in the wilderness, then we need to stay home on the couch.
BTW, I have been climbing in the Sierras for about 10 years and have done many winter trips to Mt. Whitney including solo day hikes, but I wouldn't dream of doing a solo winter trip to a peak like say, Rainier or Denali. I would just be asking for trouble. You deserve the Darwin award.

Walter -- If you read the post by Theloneus, one of the main points he makes is that he learned a major lesson -- no, make that several major lessons -- about his limitations. I admire him for posting his story in such detail because it will help other people avoid similar problems. One of them might be me. In many cases, avoiding problems will mean following your advice by staying the F out of the mountains under some conditions.

A minor note -- survivors are ineligible for the Darwin Award.

I agree with Clamberabout. Learn from this experience. Think about the "what ifs?" before ever leaving home for the high country. I always prep for my hikes (knowledge of terrain and weather) and carry equipment/clothing for the worst possible conditions for that time of the year. My down bag and Gortex bivy are always in my day pack....

I kind of have to agree with Walter. But if you are looking for things he could have done differant besides not going at all I would say LOOK at your watch. At what point did you decide the weather was getting bad and it was getting late. Thelonious has way to much reliance on technology. Evwry other sentance was "my GPS this and my cell phone that". A flash light or headlamp is a no brainer. I just cannot imagine how this happend to him? Unless he was staring at his GPS the entire way and failed to see the terrain around him that would give him indications where he was, even in a snow storm. Bottom line I think Thelonious thought technology could make up for lack of experience.

First, I'm glad that Theloneous made it though this OK (for the most part) and I think it took a lot of courage to post this so that others can learn from it.

Obviously there are a lot of things Theloneous could have done differently but I found this statement telling:

"Until this experience I would not have believed that anything could stop me from hiking 1.9 miles and back on a familiar and well-marked trail in one day."

The problem is that the trail disappeared under the snow. In my opinion the key mistake was relying on an existing trail and apparently (as best I can tell) lacking the skills and experience to navigate cross-country through storm conditions. Although he had the proper navigation equipment (map, compass, GPS), this wasn't enough without the ability to use it.

To me the "take home" lesson should not be about what extra gear to bring but about what skills and abilities to learn. My impression from the trip report is that Theloneous was actaully relatively well-equipped (though he should have had a headlamp if he didn't bring one.) For the length of time he ended up being out, a stove would have been useful in order to melt water--staying hydrated may have been more useful in avoiding frostbite then extra clothes.