It seems that the Whitney area is becoming littered with lost cameras; it must resemble a camera museum up there.

There are several ways to avoid losing cameras, including chest harnesses. I use a harness from OP/Tech to carry my large Nikon and zoom lense, which enables me to raise the camera to my eye for shots and then drop it safely back to the carry position. I have used it on long back-pack trips and on steep terrain, with no problems, other than an occasional bounce when I'm walking fast, but that's better than losing an expensive investment. The harness can be quickly converted into a conventional shoulder strap. The only draw-back might be on really steep (5th class) technical ground.

I'm sure others have similar systems for safe-guarding their expensive camera equipment. What do you folks recommend? How do you carry your camera on high-angle (vertical or near vertical) terrain?