Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board (Unsuccessful) Trip Report - 8/19

Left the Portal at 3:30 sharp yesterday morning and had a wonderful hike for about 6 hours until I passed Trail Camp and started the switchbacks. At about 12,500 feet AMS symptoms really kicked in. This surprised me beacuse (1) I've been above 14,000 feet several times in Colorado without any signs of AMS, and (2) I spent 4 days acclimating in the Cottonwood area before my Whitney day.

By the time I hit the cables, I knew I was done for the day. I pushed on to get over 13K feet (thanks Wayne Pyle for that excellent switchback topo map), then turned around. By this time my symptoms had turned into full-blown AMS - massive headache, nausea, no appetite, occassional dizziness and blurred vision. My legs felt like jelly!

This is no easy trail - by far the roughest and most dangerous one I've ever hiked. It took me four and a half hours to get back to the Portal, and every bit of concentration I could muster. Trekking poles made it possible without injury.

While I didn't summit, I enjoyed and appreciated the climb immensely. Met many great folks on the trail, and gleaned a wealth of information from this website. Many lessons learned that hopefully may help me summit this sucker one day. I especially appreciated the eight or ten minutes I got to chat with Doug at the store two mornings ago. Gem of a guy!

I may not have summitted, but at least I got some good photos:

http://www.facebook.com/gary.f.hicks?ref=profile#/album.php?aid=2017677&id=1289892993&ref=mf

looking back....what would you different....?

Wow, four days! Did you do any hiking on the Cottonwood / Horseshoe trails? Did you sleep up there or back in Lone Pine?

So sorry you came so far and got so close. Just remember -- Old Mt. W ain't going anywhere anytime soon.

Friendowl, I'm not sure at this point, other than give White Mountain a long day to acclimate above the 12,000 I achieved in the Cottonwood area. I had planned to do this till I read about the road conditions post-pavement and the numerous flat tires the road causes. I have a rental out of Vegas, so I really didn't want to take the chance.

I had Cytomax to the max in my water all day, and the 4 acclimatization days prior, I was hydrated well (I stopped to pee numerous times along the way). I had a ton of carbs the 2 days before and the morning of the hike. Advil/Tylenol/Aspirin on a regular basis from the start. I'm just not sure what else I could have done to prevent the AMS except get higher before the Whitney day. In Colorado that's easy, but not in the Sierra.

Steve C, I hiked Cottonwood Lakes the first day, then Cottonwood Pass the third. I went to Yosemite on the 2nd day and hiked Mono Pass. All were exceptional, but I really enjoyed Cottonwood Pass the best.

I had a mild headache my first day at Cottonwood Lakes, but absolutely no issues the 2nd-4th day. In fact, after the 8 miles at Cottonwood Pass, up to near 12,000 feet, I felt exceptionally strong and ready for Whitney.

I just chilled out the 4th day at the Horseshoe Meadow area and rested up for the Whitney of day 5.

You're right, though - the mountain ain't goin' anywhere. I'll be back to give it another shot some day!

Oh yeah, and I'm staying in Lone Pine - thinking "work high, sleep low", like the US Olympic teams do. I had originally planned to camp in the Cottonwood area, but there were no available campsights on-line at any of the camps near the Portal. I was arriving late on a Friday from Atlanta, so I knew the first-come sites would be gone by then. It was the Dow Hotel for me after I considered all this.

No such thing as an "unsuccessful" summit. You went as high as you could go and turned around. You reached a high point along the MWT. My opinion.

Bulldog34 (hmmm...Herschel Walker's jersey number at UGA in Athens...a UGA alum by chance?) their ain't no mountains that big in Georgia. Great job of pushing yourself and knowing when to quit.

Glad you were afforded some down home hospitality along the trail by meeting nice folks along the way. Yes, Doug Sr. is a kick in the pants. He's got a lot of stories to tell.

You will summit next time.

Have fun.

Looking at it, I consider it a "Successful" trip. Looks like you had fun, set yourself a new altitude record, (most important) made it back down.

Sound pretty good to me.

+@ti2d, you're very astute. Herschel's jersey at UGA 1980-1982, and yes I'm a Bulldog through and through. My passion, after my family and the wilderness.

Thanks for the kind words, and I don't really look on the trip as unsuccessful, just the summit attempt. I would do it again in a heartbeat, even knowing I wouldn't summit. I'll take what I learned this time up the mountain and use it next time.

One interesting thing about my conversation with Doug. I mentioned to him that I had been acclimating by hiking in the Cottonwood/Horseshoe area. He said that was smart - clearly a lot higher than the Portal area, and he didn't understand why more people didn't do that.

The day I went to Cottonwood Pass, I may have seen 20 people all day. In my pre-trip planning, this area seemed - by far - the easiest approaches to 11,000 feet and above in the immediate Eastern Sierra area. I don't get it - why do so many choose to acclimate at 8,400 feet at the Portal when 11,600 is just down the road (literally)?

Bulldog, I don't even know you, but after checking out the pics, I feel like a friend. Your story and the pics get me a little nervous for my first attempt in two and a half weeks. I used to run marathons, including the Wild Wild West a few times, but this looks to be WAY DIFFERENT (and my marathons were 10 years ago)! I am staying up near South Lake to acclimize and have never had problems with headaches, but even after hiking many, many miles, riding bike, lifting weights, and wearing my frikin boots for weeks on end to break them in, your story and pics bring even the idea of Whitney into the realization that it will be hard and harder. I have researched as much as I could and when it comes down to it, I have come to the opinion, that I will need to remember to stay in the moment and "have fun", no matter where my journey ends on the mountain. I appreciate your information and will send out a hello from the portal to you and Tucker when I start my journey. P.S. My attempt will be with my wife, my friend of 40 years and his son, and my 19 year old stepson. Thanks again :-)

quillansculpture, thanks so much. I believe all of us who wander in the wilderness are friends at heart, even if we've never met. Tucker is my nine year-old daughter's "Rescue Pet". My wife and daughter, Brianne, hike regularly - we started her at age 4 at Mesa Verde and we've hiked in most of the national parks in the west, most recently the Cascades last September. When I go on a solo hiking or backpacking adventure, Tucker comes with me and rides on my pack so that Brianne will be with me in spirit. Last year Tucker and I spent a week camping and hiking in Death Valley in early March.

As for your trip to the Big One in a couple of weeks, I wish you tons of luck. As you said, stay in the moment - enjoy every minute of it. There is no place like Whitney - or the Eastern Sierra, as far as that goes. Don't over-think the climb, but have a healthy respect for it. It can be dangerous if you're not focused. A dayhike of 22 miles up and down this monster is no joke. My next attempt will almost assuredly be an overnighter at Trail Camp (coyote-sized Marmots and all). Based on what I experienced yesterday, that seems quite do-able.

My AMS made it doubly-dangerous coming down, especially since I was solo. Like you, I had never experienced even the slightest touch of AMS in the past, no matter how high I'd been. I've spent a total of probably 20 hours above 13,000 feet in Colorado, and God only knows how much time between 12K and 13K - all the easy way, by car. I had never really exerted myself above 10K, so that may have been what brought it on. Or it could just be that AMS hits when and where it wants.

Aside from constantly enjoying and appreciating the experience, keep an eye out for AMS symptoms and know when it's time to get down. A headache is common, so I'm told, but once other symptoms appear it's time to re-evaluate your priorities. Going down is inherently more dangerous than going up. Even with AMS, the beauty was astounding and worthwhile. And remember to take photos often - I missed a number of great shots going down in the afternoon when the lighting was different than earlier in the day. My focus on not slipping with the AMS going on was a big reason, but I do regret that I didn't have more photos.

Again, best of luck on your trip and please post a report!

It's not going anywhere, but it is getting taller.

Any day hiking near Whitney is a good day. The peak is only part of the experience.

I'm sure you'll get up there soon........................DUG

Bulldog34, AMS is a funny thing. It affects people differently. I did my first Whitney trip last year. I had a light case of AMS; I did summit but it was not enjoyable while I was up there (which was only about 15 minute’s tops). The only thing that I wanted to do was come down.

One of the guys that I went with last year had done Whitney 3 times before with no problems. But on this forth trip he also started getting AMS. It is strange how it doesn’t have an effect on some trips and it does on others.

Last year as I was coming down hating every step I told myself I would never do it again. That only lasted about an hour after making it down. Then I thought it was OK and it really wasn’t that bad. I will do it again and next time, enjoy the summit while I’m up there. I hope anyway.. I’m doing it again on 10/03/09. I know that it will again be hard but I learned a lot on that first trip and will do some things different on this trip.

I will be doing Whitney once a year so maybe next year we will run into each other.

Whitney offers something different to each person that comes to see her.

M.Mouse

M.Mouse, "coming down hating every step" - that sounds strikingly familiar! Also familiar was the feeling I got this morning as I walked out of the Dow Hotel and looked west. There was Whitney, absolutely majestic in the morning glow, and I knew I'd be entering the Lottery again come February. Maybe we will see each other on the mountain next year . . .

Best of luck in October! Watch out for those damn cables!

I think you hit the nail on the head here! I don't, luckily, experience any AMS symptoms, but last week, doing Russell, my climbing partner (male, age 28) did the following: 1) Hiked from portal to 10,000 in late afternoon heat, in about 2hrs, and got so bad we had to stop, and camp earlier than planned. He was also on Diamox. He didn't plan on continuing at the planned wake up time of 4am, but just for kicks we emptied his pack except for water and clothing, and started upwards at a snails pace for the next few hrs. By 8am he still felt good, and continued on to 13,750, only being turned back by hard rock moves. His AMS had totally disappeared, and we both attribute it to keeping his heartbeat slow and steady. No exertion, that's the key. If this doesn't allow you to make fast enough progress, I guess more training is in order.

Good luck next year!

You will all do fine. Just pace yourselves, keep hydrated, nibble on some snacks, take it all in!

We better see summit photos of all 5 of you on the summit. Be sure to take a picture of the summit register while you are at it! Then in Lone Pine you can gloat: "We were up there!"

Okay?!!!!!!!!

There! Nuff said!

Have fun.

Heat, exertion, and diamox can be a toxic mix (especially if he was on the full 250mg per dose)because there is a higher risk for dehydration, which in itself, can display symptoms very similar to AMS (or combine with AMS).

Bee

bulldog34, I’m glad you found the map helpful.



If anyone would like a detailed jpeg version, just click HERE.

If you do Excel and would like my original Excel version, click HERE. The Excel version has all the data for each of the 97 switchbacks, including their latitude-longitude coordinates, their elevation, and the distance between each switchback.

Thanks to Bob R for making the Excel map available.

Bulldog, sorry you didn't make it and you came from so far away. Next time try acclimating at White Mtn just across the valley, easy to get to. You can sleep in your car at 11,700 feet and in only 3 miles you're in the 13,000' elevations and it's up from there. Different topography, but no less dramatic. I think the Cottonwood Lake area is only in the 10,000' elevations. No permit needed at White. You'll love this mountain and a chance to bag another 14'r. Don't give up.

We attempted to summit on Tuesday August 18 but failed due to excessive puking at 14,000 feet. My only symptoms of AMS was a a very slight headache at Trail Crest. The onset of AMS came suddenly after passing the Windows section of the trail. The rapid onset of nausea and puking caught me off guard. The puke consisted of 90 percent of the water consumed during the hike up from Trail Camp. With only a liter of water left the decision was made to abort the mission . Inspite of camping at at Lone Pine Lake and the next night at Trail Camp, AMS struck. My water ran out before returning to Trail Camp. A lesson learned - always carry enough water for a "puke allowance." Perhaps the density altide made matters worse that day. I believe with the temperture correction the density altitde was 16,000 feet. Any thoughts on this? Aborting the mission to the summit was the smart move. The mountain will always be there.