Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Cottonwood lakes SPOT rescue of 8-18-09

RB,

Thank-you for completing the story, I only had portions. I Think it should be emphasized that your group did make a good effort to acclimitize by spending two days at altitude prior to hiking and then only went 6.5 miles and up about 1200 feet. This is normally more that most of the hikers in the Whitney area do. I commend you for the effort and sacrifice you were putting in to save the boy. I think by me being a bystander it was just a little easier to evaluate the situation and help in the process to push the button just a few minutes earlier than you might have. I hope you were still able to get some good hiking in. We all learned alot about how to deal with this kind of situation.

There are a number of good sources of info. The International Society of Mountain Medicine has a good online tutorial for the non-medically trained.

Paul Auerbach's book Wilderness Medicine is an excellent source of information (there is also a "Field Guide" version) as is the Medicine for Mountaineering book by James Wilkerson.

High Altitude Medicine and Physiology is another great resource.

A note of caution - some of these are geared towards those with a medical background, but with a little work, can be invaluable references.

Altitude related illnesses are just one of the challenges you may face in the backcountry. I'd strongly recommend a Wilderness First Aid, Wilderness Adv. FA or similar course for anyone spending much time out and about or for someone leading trips where you may be responsible for others.