Steve and I have had conversations regarding how to efficiently educate the masses: what information to provide, what links, how to get it out there using this board and others...
I think that the location of the information is very important. And where the WZ and WPS are great resources, they are not a catchall. I asked the Dad this weekend if he read any of the boards and he said no.
I personally think that the best way to communicate the information is right at the trailhead. I think they should have a counter that shows how many people have been hospitalized or died for the year to date due to AMS.
It could be something as simple as a chalkboard that says
Hospitalizations due to AMS, 2012 YTD - 42
Deaths due to AMS, 2012 YTD - 2
And then have the important information (avoidance, symptoms, what to do if) printed below. With the warning in a large font: Altitude Sickness can Kill You
I think that blunt information is best:
-If you have a pounding headache at 10,000' and you take an aspirin, it will not cure altitude sickness. It will mask symptoms and put your life in peril at a higher elevation
-If you are sick at 12,000', it doesn't matter how tough or physically fit you are, pushing through the pain and going to a higher elevation can cause HACE or HAPE which can kill you.
-If you feel sick on the trail, assume it is altitude sickness and descend to a lower elevation.
I think that anybody who reads the WZ or WPS for a week will probably be at far less risk than others who do not read these boards. There is no way to quantify how many incidents have been avoided through the information that is available here. But we are a small percentage of the people who actually go up whitney. Steve could probably give an idea of how many unique visitors this site has per day. My bet is that it is far fewer than the number of permits that are issued every day.
I think that a one minute talk about AMS at the interagency office is just as important as the wag bag and bear canister talk. But then again, maybe that's not their charter.
