I read that your body can and prob will reacclimate while sleeping. She disagreed with me and stated if we go back up and do small hikes around 10,000' we should be fine. Pls give feedback on this heated topic so it can be put to bed.
Some people can indeed blast up and down the mountain without any acclimatization, although some of those do not feel good, or must descend. Studies have shown that about 40-60% of people get AMS in some degree on long and high dayhikes like Whitney, so it is prudent to reduce that figure.
There are a gazillion medical sources that tell us that sleeping altitude is the best determinate for proper acclimatization. Day hikes help some, but the axiom "climb high, sleep low" actually means something like, "climb high, sleep lower than that days' max height, but higher than the night before." Sleeping at Lone Pine does nothing for acclimatization.
Most people over due the food concerns. Recommendations for a 4000 calorie Thanksgiving bloat fest are not needed or edible by most people. Be sensible. 2000 cal is enough for a Whitney day, unless you are an ultra-marathoner. Eat more when you get back down. Makes it taste even better.
