Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion I wonder which 14ers I can actually do?

Thank you Bee and Laura, for injected some much needed reality into the topic of "down-climbing."

Experienced rock climbers (and SAR personnel) can tell you, with experience based authority, that the descent is often more dangerous than the ascent. What seemed easy going up can become a major problem while descending the same route.

A case study:

During a good snow Winter (sigh) years ago, a couple of very experienced climbers and skiers decided to ski over the crest at Echo Col. One of the guys climbed up a nearby cliff to see if the West side looked do-able on skis. About 90 feet up he tried to down-climb his ascent route and discovered that he couldn't. His partner skied out and called for help. Inyo SAR arrived on the scene near Echo Col, via a very dicey helo flight at 2 AM, and climbed to the stranded climber/skier. SAR personnel lowered the guy down to safety. Post script: the very same rescued climber/skier was killed a couple of years later, while descending the Petit Dru in the French Alps.

It's all well and good to say that climbing down is as easy as climbing up if it is Class 2 or easy Class 3 - assuming the absence of route finding problems. But above those levels problems can occur. Most experienced climbers will seek a safer descent route or rappel if they have to.

It really angers me when some contributors to this forum offer climbing advice to people they have never met, or climbed with, without first-hand knowledge of the person's experience, climbing ability and physical fitness. Some self-proclaimed "experts" and "hard-men" ought to just STFU.