April 4, 2012
With the Rainier season fast approaching I recently found myself re-reading Dee Molenaar’s The Challenge Of Rainier and I came across a poem written by former Chief Guide Clark Schurman that is worth sharing.
Into the cloud-sea far below
I, lonely, watched the red sun go,
Then turning, miracle of glad surprise,
Enchanted, saw a full moon rise.
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Get those workouts in and we’ll see you this summer!
Tye Chapman
April 3, 2012
Stanford University recently published a study about ibuprofen and its possible prevention of acute mountain sickness (AMS). We asked our resident ER Doc/guide, Dr. Emily Johnston, to weigh in. Below is her summation of the article.
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Summit of Everest - May 2008. (Photo by Dean Smith)
If you’re planning a trip to altitude in the near future, you may have heard about a recently published study from Stanford University that took a look at ibuprofen as a medication to prevent acute mountain sickness. While this is potentially exciting news, and it does make sense physiologically, there are a few caveats:
1) The ‘n’ (number of subjects) in this study was relatively small, with 86 participants. Larger studies, in the future, may help confirm the effectiveness of ibuprofen for prevention of acute mountain sickness (AMS).
2) While ibuprofen is a commonly used medication, available without a prescription, it can still have significant side effects including kidney failure (worse with dehydration), bleeding of the gastrointestinal tract, and platelet and white blood cell dysfunction, which may alter your body’s ability to stop bleeding or ward off infection, amongst other things.
3) Sometimes we see an “if some is good, then more is better”
mentality with nonprescription medications. Remember to always follow the dosage guidelines provided with the over-the-counter medications that you buy, and read and heed the warnings.
It would be great if such a commonly used, generally safe and accessible medication is truly effective against AMS. This study is very encouraging, stay tuned for more information. And remember, people have been climbing mountains without medications for hundreds of years. While meds are great to have, when needed, they’re not a magic bullet for getting to the top. Nothing replaces careful physical and mental preparation. So keep on hitting the trail, or the gym, and get ready to enjoy your climb.
No one ever failed to summit because they were too strong!
Dr. Emily Johnston
April 1, 2012
The Notch (Photo by Tye Chapman)
George checked in after a rough climb of Mt. Whitney this weekend with a report of increasingly high winds (60mph) and cold weather which turned the team around just below the notch (14,000ft) on summit day. And upon arrival back at camp, things didn’t get much better – the winds picked up so much that the team opted to pack it up, get out of dodge, and get back to Lone Pine. A long day for sure, but the safe decision sometimes requires more work than you’d like.
Climb #4 is moving up to high camp today with hopes of some better weather (read moderate winds).
Tye Chapman
March 30, 2012
Almost There. (Photo by George Dunn)
Or in this case two words, “Almost There”, because that’s all we got out of George this afternoon. It’s either ‘stoic mountain guide talk’ or George not wanting to type on his phone (my guess is the latter) but hey we’ll take it.
From the looks of it they’re closing in on their camp just below Iceberg Lake on Day 2 of their Whitney climb. The weather looks great and if all goes as planned they’ll wake up early tomorrow morning and give it a go.
Tye Chapman
March 30, 2012
In classic George Dunn fashion we got an “all is s well” message after Day 1 of George’s current climb on Whitney, and not another word.
However, I’ll give George a ton of credit for snapping this photo in the morning and attaching it to his, albeit brief, text message last night.
Team Photo At The Whitney Portal. (Photo by George Dunn)
Tye Chapman
March 29, 2012
Our Mt Whitney trip got off to a great start as all nine folks were super strong heading up to Upper Boy Scout Lake (Camp 1). Unfortunately, the weather turned for the worse as winds picked up throughout the night and a low pressure system settled in. With that in mind, we got everyone together for a team meeting to discuss our options. In the end, we decided that descending was our best bet.
Once back in town and settled-in, we met back up for a pitch-in BBQ, told some stories that were way too good to be true, and made a plan for our next few days in the Sierra. Just because Whitney was out of the question didn’t we were packing up and heading home – we had options. There is great rock climbing, ice climbing and backcountry skiing in the area. We discussed all these options and some folks decided on going ice climbing, while others did a day of rock climbing. The snow stability ruled out the backcountry skiing.
Lee Vining, the local ice climbing area, is massive this year! We spent day honing our skills and getting comfortable on WI3-4 type terrain. We were all psyched on the climbs. The next morning we woke up early and headed into Owen’s River Gorge for a great morning of rock climbing.
We didn’t climb Mt. Whitney, but we had one heck of a trip!
Karsten Delap
March 28, 2012
Which way to EBC?
The weather in Kathmandu was beautiful today and the team’s two early morning Twin Otter flights went off without a hitch, with members and their duffels arriving on schedule to Lukla (9100ft/2800m). After some tea and snacks at the Lukla bakery, they hit the trail. Today the hike was pretty easy, basically downhill the whole way, with a lunch break along the way!
Now they are in Phakding (8500ft/2600m), one of my favorite spots. After traveling halfway around the world, it is great to spend the night down by the river and know that now all you have to do is walk.
Eric Simonson
Check out the Everest Expedition page for full Everest coverage.
March 24, 2012
George called in this afternoon with some good news! Despite the wind and unseasonably cold temps, most of the team made the summit.
“An absolutely incredible effort by everybody today!.” said George after all had returned to High Camp.
It’s all downhill tomorrow. If all goes as planned they’ll have a hot pizza and a cold beer in hand by 3pm.
Tye Chapman
March 23, 2012
One of the many views along the way.
George called in from a chilly and breezy High Camp on Mt. Whitney just after 2pm today. The team made good time up to camp as it took only three hours of walking. George said that the team is strong and everyone is doing well. They will do some training for the next couple of hours, get some dinner and then get to bed early. The plan is to get up around 2 am for the summit push.
Good luck team!
Clarissa Morford
March 22, 2012
Almost to Lower Boy Scout Lake.
George called from Lower Boy Scout Lake on Mt. Whitney today at 3:14pm. The weather was great with mostly clear skies and a nice warm & easy breeze which made for good climbing. They went without snowshoes on this climb, making things a little easier for everybody.
The team made awesome time to camp and is getting ready to set up tents and cook some Thai food for dinner tonight. A good first day in the Sierras!
Clarissa Morford
