Altitude Illness on Mt. Rainier—Incidence and Climbers’ Cognizance

Abstract

Objective.-Thousands of people set out daily to climb the world's highest mountains in hopes of summiting. Although many 3000-m summits are accessible in favorable weather, conditions may turn calamitous quickly, requiring practiced navigation or rescue. Owing to the portability and low cost of many technological devices, many climbers have eschewed map and compass navigation. We sought to evaluate climbers' reliance on technologic devices, as well as their effectiveness and reliability for rescue. Methods.-This survey study evaluated a convenience sample of climbers and hikers who arrived at Camp Muir, Mount Rainier (10,188 feet). Investigators ascended on 6 separate dates to the study site to collect data. The primary outcome evaluated was the percentage of climbers relying on a technologic device for rescue. Results.-Two hundred forty-four of 308 climbers (79%) brought some technologic means for rescue. However, only 133 (43%) had a nontechnological backup plan in event of device failure. Therefore, 57% relied solely on the functioning of their devices in a rescue situation. Of the 102 climbers who relied solely on a cell phone as their means of rescue, 49 (48%) had service at the time of the survey. Thirty-three of 308 (11%) reported that they had required a technologic means of rescue in the past, most commonly an avalanche beacon (n ¼ 13). For the 24 rescue devices that failed, the most common reasons were dead batteries in global positioning satellite equipment and lack of cell phone service. Conclusions.-Reliance on technological devices is becoming commonplace among climbers on Mount Rainier and largely replacing map and compass orienteering. The lack of reliable service for these devices as well as their failures among climbers who have had to use a rescue device in the past is, however, alarming.