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[pct-l] Mt. Whitney



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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| >>
| >
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|
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