My take is that compliance on Whitney with the WB program will never be high, regardless of whatever incentive/punishment is used. While a certain percentage of the folks climbing MW are backcountry enthusiasts with a wilderness ethic, the lure of that highest-in-the-lower-48 brass ring brings a lot of inexperienced one-and-doners to the party. They're seeking a bragging-right, don't plan to be back, and frankly don't give a crap about the mountain (pun intended).

I suspect that's what the comment re Whitney having the world's stupidest hikers is really about. And I can't say that's misplaced. I've done a significant amount of hiking in the Rockies, Sierra, and Cascades, and you just don't see anywhere else the kind of continual, unrelenting idiocy and irresponsibility that manifests itself on Whitney year in and year out.

But, just one dude's opinion . . .