[pct-l] Mt. Whitney

[teamcourage at attbi.com (Dave)]

all you need is acclimation when I do whit in august I won't have to 
worry about altitude because I live at altitude year round. So my body 
gets problems at low altitude but not high


Christine Kudija wrote:

>Dude,
>
>Absolutely great advice.  I rely on Diamox but always tell people to ask
>their doctors about its applicability to their circumstances/health
>conditions.  This is a reaction I'd never heard about and it's important to
>know.
>
>My husband's allergic to Cipro - got the 1 in a 1,000 very bad reaction to
>it, and was fortunate to be around people who recognized that he needed to
>get to a hospital.  Cipro is _routinely_ prescribed for travellers'
>diarrhea, urinary tract infections, etc, etc....but has substantial side
>effects for the unlucky.
>
>Thanks for the info -
>
>Christine "Ceanothus" Kudija
>
>"Never measure the height of a mountain, until you have reached the top.
>Then you will see how low it was."  Dag Hammarskjold
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "dude" <dude@fastmail.ca>
>To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
>Cc: <jeoverton@sbcglobal.net>
>Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2003 11:43 AM
>Subject: Re: [pct-l] Mt. Whitney
>
>
>| This all sound slike good advice, but I have one thing to add:
>|
>| ****DO NOT take any medicine on the mountain that you have not
>| previously taken at home with no ill side effects!!*****
>|
>| I once took a diabetic woman up whitney who was feeling the effects
>| of altitude and decide dto "borrow" some Diamox from a fellow
>| climber.  Everyone has heard of Diamox and how it is suppose dto help
>| with altitude sickness, so she figured "yeah!  that's what I need.  I
>| will fell better in no time and be ready to race up the mountain!"
>|
>| WRONG!  It turned out that diabetics cannot take Diamox and she
>| almost died on the mountain!  Her blood sugar went down to 19 (normal
>| is like 80-120) and she passed out 17 times on the way down the
>| trail.  When she got to the hospital in Lone Pine, she needed 2
>| liters of intraveinous saline solution to bring her back from severe
>| dehydration.  She is really lucky to be alive.  I tell doctors that
>| story and they are amazed that she was conscious with a blood sugar
>| level of 19.
>|
>| this story is not meant to scare you or anyone who wants to climb
>| Whitney or any other mountain.  Its just meant to prove a point:
>| don't take medicine that you are not familiar with on the mountain.
>| It doesnt matter if its Tylenol, Tums, Imodium, or Sucrets.  You
>| never know if you will be the 1 in 10 million people who will be
>| allergic to it and you do not want to find out at 14,000 ft and 10
>| hours from a hospital.
>|
>|
>| godo luck.
>|
>| peace!
>| dude
>|
>|
>|
>| > You most likely will acclimate quite quickly to "altitudes above,
>| > say, 9,000' "..
>| > and since you are not going to have an extended stay above 10,000
>| > feet there is naught to worry about for 99% of the people who go
>| > there...any symptoms of high altitude sickness (which you should
>| > read up on FYI) will not occur, typically, in the few hours you
>| > are at alttitude. Appetite changes usually take 4-5 days AT
>| > ALTITUDE to occur and you will be totally hungary for the mere day
>| > you are there...
>| >
>| > Please do not be fearful of the negative implicaitons of those
>| > comments as they truely don't pertain to someone hiking to the
>| > top of Whitney and going back down in a few hours or so...most
>| > sicknesses need several days for most people to occur (at altitude
>| > above 10,000- 12,000) feet and at most if you stay overnight @ the
>| > high camp (about 12,000) feet you will feel short of breath, a
>| > little nausa perhaps but that is about it... I have spent entire
>| > summers above 10,000 and after a few days  most people acclimate
>| > very easily. For 4 days just take what you like to eat, is easy to
>| > prepare as per my other post, and is not too heavy.
>| > But,additionally, most of your weight will be carried to trail
>| > camp and u leave your tent and heavy bag there.
>| >
>| > Most people fare well..if you feel a lot of gurgling in your chest
>| > or extreme lightheaded,severe headachey, drink several liters of
>| > water..at leaast 2,
>| > and wait 20-30 minutes. Maybe take 2-3 aspirin. If those
>| > symptoms worsen head down to lower altitude
>| > just about immediately...the symptoms will magically dissapear
>| > around 8000-9000 feet in an hour. U can then rest there for a day
>| > and try again, stopping
>| > for half a day at 10,500 and proceed leisurely up to 12000 and
>| > camp; then the summit the next day.
>| >
>| > As far as winds and delta temps, dont worry...during Aug it is
>| > very very much late spring/ early summer above 9000', in 25 years
>| > of hanging around Whitney area it does not fluctuate that much in
>| > Aug...but be prepared for 40's F.
>| > You have more to worry about with the bears at the Portal than
>| > alititude loss of appetite, or wind or whatever!
>| >
>| > Check out my web site for a great pic (IMHO)
>| > http://www.infolane.com/calliger
>| >
>| > If you want to discuss it more, I am considered somewhat of an
>| > expert after several months of mountaineering schools and 25+
>| > years of accident/event free mountaineering of quite a few peaks
>| > (although I did fracture my foot in my driveway at home!!)
>| > in the ice..but that don't count!!... please write me off-line.
>| >
>| >
>| > Richard
>| >
>| > Ps-
>| >
>| > There are bold mountaineers, and there are old mountaineers.
>| >
>| > There are few,if any, old, bold mountaineers.
>| >
>| > PPS-
>| >
>| > An expert is defined as one who knows his and others limitations
>| > and usually exceeds them-- cautiously!1 <smile>...
>| >
>| >
>| >
>| >
>| >
>| > At 10:02 AM 6/2/03 -0700, Christine Kudija wrote:
>| >> Jane,
>| >>
>| >> A couple of questions for you: (1) are you accustomed to
>| >> altitudes above, say, 9,000'/~3000m?  Appetite changes at
>| >> elevation, especially if going to high elevations is not
>| >> something you usually do.   (2)  are you accustomed to an alpine
>| >> environment, where temperatures and winds can fluctuate
>| >> substantially, depending on where you are on the mountain?
>| >>
>| >> I'll have some suggestions after you reply....also, are you
>| >> asking only about food, or about gear as well?
>| >>
>| >> Christine "Ceanothus" Kudija
>| >>
>| >> "Never measure the height of a mountain, until you have reached
>| >> the top. Then you will see how low it was."  Dag Hammarskjold
>| >>
>| >> ----- Original Message -----
>| >> From: "Jane E Overton" <jeoverton@sbcglobal.net>
>| >> To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
>| >> Sent: Sunday, June 01, 2003 11:52 AM
>| >> Subject: [pct-l] Mt. Whitney
>| >>
>| >>
>| >> | I am climbing Mt. Whitney in August (permit in hand).  I have a
>| >> number of books, but not one has a sensible list of supples for
>| >> the climb.  Does anyone have a link, where I could hust get the
>| >> grocery list fot a four day hike.  I am not a picky eater.
>| >> | _______________________________________________
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>| >>
>| >
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