Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board What if Whitney had snow all year around

With all the discussion about human waste and water quality I thought this would be interesting....an article about Mt McKinley (Denali) in Alaska....sanitation and the snow.

<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/06/16/alaska.reut/index.html">waste left behind on Mt. McKinley</a>

Thursday, June 16, 2005 Posted: 12:15 AM EDT (0415 GMT)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) -- Mountaineers who ascend North America's loftiest peak are often brought down to earth by "virus-laden poo" left behind by previous climbers, a medical report says.

The unsanitary conditions created by piles of human feces on Mount McKinley can cause diarrhea among climbers, which can lead to widespread problems when combined with the physical stress of a mountain expedition, according to the report in the journal Wilderness and Environmental Medicine.

Of 132 climbers interviewed on the 20,320-foot (6,200-meter) peak in the summer of 2002, more than a quarter reported having trouble with diarrhea, said the report, which was conducted by officials with the Alaska Division of Public Health.

At high altitudes and in cold temperatures, the authors said those troubles can be severe and potentially dangerous, leading to acute mountain sickness, hypothermia and fatigue-related accidents.

"They think they're going out on a pristine climb and there's virus-laden poo all around them," said Dr. Bradford Gessner, a mountaineer and one of the study's authors.

The researchers said other peaks around the world had similar sanitation troubles but they did not have data on the degree of the problem.

The study recommends a campaign to better educate climbers about hygiene and to impose stiffer penalties for breaches. Climbers also should use alcohol-based hand sanitizers or other antiseptic cleansers after defecating, use purification tablets for drinking water and avoid crowded sleeping arrangements.

Such steps also are appropriate in other well-traveled climbing routes, like Washington's Mount Rainier and on Himalayan peaks, they said.

The National Park Service already has started a clean-up campaign, including the distribution of devices called clean mountain cans to store feces for removal from the mountain, said Roger Robinson, lead mountaineering ranger for Denali National Park and Preserve, site of McKinley.

Because of the harsh conditions, piles of feces have accumulated at the mountain's crowded high camp, located at 17,200 feet (5,200 meters), Robinson said.

"It's just an ice pack up there. You really can't dig down and bury anything," he said.

See, I told you guys.

All kidding aside, this is one of the three reasons why they no longer allow camping on Half Dome. The few trees that were growing up there had been stripped of branches for firewood, there is some kind of endanged salamander that lives up there and the third reason: human feces under almost every loose rock on the summit.

I have heard the same thing about Mt. Shasta. When I think about it, I am happy Mt. Whitney doesn't have that issue much.

That would really take away from things to look down and see something like that in the snow.

Better to get all backpacking and hiking trips in across the country before the NPS declares anything above 10,000 feet as "endangered"!

Bob R posted this reply on Richard's Mt. Whitney page

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This newspaper article extracted from “Gastroenteritis Outbreak Among Mountaineers Climbing the West Buttress Route of Denali—Denali National Park, Alaska, June 2002” by JB MCLaughlin, MD, MPH; BD Gessner, MD, MPH; and AM Bailey, RN, MS. It was published in the Journal of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, Vol. 16, 92-96 (2005):

http://www.wemjournal.org/wmsonline/?req...2&page=0092

The authors gathered data on 132 climbers on Denali returning to base camp from June 11 – 14, and found that over 25% had experienced diarrhea. They had planned to gather stool samples in an effort to identify the culprit organisms, but could not for several logistical reasons. Reading the paper, several things struck me:

· The human waste problem up there is well-known, and 39% of the climbers stated they had seen snow contaminated with feces in or near at least 1 of their camps, with the 17,200’ camp being most contaminated. Yet
· 78% collected snow for consumption within 10 meters of their camps, and
· 56% said they rarely or never boiled or purified it before consumption.
· Furthermore, 33% said they rarely or never washed their hands after defecation.

Thinking back to articles I have written in the past, this is hardly “drinking smart!”

The authors mentioned three risk factors for contracting diarrhea during the study period: (1) spending 8 or more days at the 17,200’ camp, (2) being a member of a climbing party in which at least 1 other person also had diarrhea, and (3) not receiving disease risk-reduction education while on a guided expedition.

Among other things, the authors recommend "that all mountaineers who climb highly trafficked alpine routes be provided with detailed information on appropriate hygiene and illness-prevention strategies (e.g., washing hands with alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing 60% - 95% alcohol or antiseptic soaps and detergents after every bowel movement and before cooking and eating, using water purification [e.g., iodine] tablets in all water that is used for consumption, and avoiding crowded sleeping arrangements in tents).”

I’m very happy I have already climbed that sucker!
_________________
“The mountains are calling, and I must go.”
--John Muir