Side question: Why are the windows considered dangerous?
I think I recall you had to climb up to get a view out of the windows. But they could easily just be walked by with no danger at all. Am I missing something?
There are descriptions of the windows that are very frightening to people who have problems with heights or edges....at least in the abstract when they read about them. They visualize getting blown down to Lone Pine.
There are some windows that are right on the trail, and the *thought* of that is just terrifying to people with these concerns.
Of course, the reality is quite different, and most people who actually walk past on the trails say "what was the big deal"??
I got the question so often in my Whitney talks, I finally incorporated a slide to address the issue.
But there is a truth to the danger, and that is that rarely, a person befuddled by medical issues thinks that is the route down, and attempts to go that way (through the window), with tragic results. (Of course, we don't actually know what happened, but there have been situations involving very experienced hikers who ended up at the bottom of one of those chutes. No way they got there accidentally). The trail through the talus is so clear on the backside, and the windows are so obviously not a route, it's hard for me to believe they accidentally make that choice with a clear head.
