Actually all things considered her knees held up very well on the way down the switchbacks. The real problem and concern was her stomach ailment and how much energy throwing up drained her. It took us three hours to come from trail crest to trail camp. Because of her exhaustion she was very cautious with every ledge to step down; take a few steps rest. I was just very concerned she would collapse, fall down and get hurt. She knew there was no option but to get off the mountain, there was ho help while she was up there. By the time we got to the cables we knew she was going to make it, just the pure relief that we were close! She continued to sip water the entire time although it was impossible to hold it down for long and she even went to the bathroom on the way down. Her mind was clear and balance good just completely exhausted. Thank the Lord after a good night's sleep she was back to normal and felt fine in the morning. I don't think another attempt for the summit of Mount Whitney is in her plans at the moment. However, she has no regrets and other than those few hours of feeling terrible she had a glorious experience.
