Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Anyone climb Whitney after ankle surgery? Looking for advice

Hello fellow adventurers. I hope some of you can share experiences with me to help me gauge whether to scrub a 2011 summit attempt. Here is my story:

After putting in and getting an overnight permit for Sept 13th (hooray) I was hiking in east coast early spring conditions, slipped on a rock, got a toe caught in another rock as I tumbled, and fractured my right ankle. I am 7 weeks post surgery, am going to PT 3X per week now, am working like mad on range of motion and am 50% weight bearing after 1 week of being out out of a cast, in a boot. I hope to be swimming and bicycling soon as part of PT too. The formal PT ends in late June and I need to decide if I will strong enough to make it in about 4 days (Outpost day 1-Trail day 2-Summit day 3-out day 4), as well as getting the doctor's clearance. Oh and my bones healed by week 6, two weeks ahead of normal for a middle aged woman, but now it is the ligament's turn to get back in shape. PT is not for sissies!

Anyone have experience with ankle injury recovery? Am I being too hopeful for 2011? Or should I wait for 2012?

Thanks in advance--you guys are my hiking crying towel.

Everything heals differently, but I summited Mt Whitney 11 months after total hip replacement at age 51. You aren't pushing it by stopping at Outpost and TC, so you may just want to see how you feel when you get to those campsites. And, you'll feel much lighter when you head to the summit without your backpack. In my opinion, I think you should make a go of it......but again, listening to your doctors advice and the advice of others. I didn't tell my doctor I was summiting Whitney after surgery, but he didn't seem fazed afterward. You should do a search on this site and the WPSMB for ankle, ankle injuries or just injuries. You will find many, many hikers who have summited Whitney after major bone breaks, pins, new hips, etc. I know of one guy that summited Whitney in about half the time I did after hip replacement. So, do your research and have fun!

Thanks for the advice, Quillansculpture. Wow! THR is a much more arduous surgery then my silly ankle. I'll take your suggestion to look in the archives.

I think my poor husband is spooked because I busted it while hiking and he (along with a search and rescue team) got me back to the trailhead over 2 rocky, steep miles of snow/ice/icy stream fords. I think its worse for someone to see it happen then if it happens to you - the shock and endorphins makes everything kinda fuzzy. If I meet anyone in distress on whitney- or any trail for that matter- I will not hesitate to help because I have been there!And I will enroll in a wilderness first aide course so I can learn to splint, a crutial skill!

Broke my ankle (actually just above) skiing at age 48 or so. No surgery was involved, but it was about 12 weeks for me before I could really go again. Two important things: bones build strength from exercise much like muscles do, so the difference between healing and strong enough is important. Second, everyone is different so only you and your doc can know for sure.

Lots of practice hikes can tell you a lot.

You may have one more thing going. I believe you can also camp at Lone Pine Lake, making for a very easy first day option or extra stop coming down, and providing another decision point, for the price of (someone) carrying only another pound or so in food.

But the approach in two or three mile increments is the easy part. The crux will be summit day, which is a ten mile round trip from Trail Camp. Although your load will be the lightest, there is no way to break that up safely, so you will have to be prepared to back off, maybe even pretty close to the summit. Not an easy choice.

Best to you.

saltydog is right on. The hikes you take prior to your summit attempt are going to let you know where you are at. BUT....I believe the most important thing is to KEEP YOUR GOAL. My goal was to summit on September 8th. I didn't make it. But, my goal to summit did not change and I reached the summit of Mt Whitney less than one month later. Keep your eye on the prize and schedule your workouts and hikes accordingly. Monitor your ankle. You will probably know pretty soon how your ankle will be. It will be the day you forget you actually had an injury.
And, I believe 2011 should be your goal, but if you don't succeed in making the summit, do as I did and call it a "practice hike". Then the same goal, different date: 2012.

NJ, not quite similar or as bad as your situation, but last year I was carrying weights in pack up a local mountain to train for Whitney. I slipped and fell and jacked up my knee and ankle pretty good. I had a Yosemite trip planned just days later. Out of sheer stubbornness (and stupidity), I did the whole route up Half Dome and limped my way back...I was actually on the verge of crawling. I recovered, and hit Whitney's summit two months later. My right leg however, has never been the same.

You can do it if you want. Don't short change yourself, but don't do anything that'll jeopardize your well being. I think everyone's idea of shorter, smaller hikes to gauge your ankle's strength and recovery is a great idea.

NJ, that sucks! The upside, however, is that you you're still 18-plus weeks out from your permit date, so you have lots of time to make the go/no-go call. I would not automatically defer the trip a year at this point. Continue your PT, keep the rest of your body in shape, and see how the ankle performs as you eventually move back into a hiking boot and hit the trail again (not "hit" as in last time though - please).

You may find that 6-8 weeks out the ankle feels good, you're carrying equivalent weight to your Whitney plan with no trouble, and you have a high level of confidence that you're ready to tackle the mountain. Of course, it's possible that may not be the case, and you feel it's not do-able - but you've already demonstrated that you're healing faster than the norm. You have no reason to believe that won't continue through therapy and your return to training, right?

Your hike is set up nicely for your situation: 4 miles with a heavy pack the first day and 2 miles the second day. That second day 2-mile hike will be done very quickly, so spend a lot of that day acclimating at TC and resting. Have some marmot stew for dinner. The 10 miles on day 3 will be the longest, but your pack will be much lighter. You may find the last day the toughest - hiking 6 miles downhill with a heavy pack and a potentially protesting ankle. Presumably you'll be using trekking poles? There's only one correct answer to that question.

Either way, give it more time - at least another 8-10 weeks before you even think about running up the white flag for 2011. Ten weeks from now still leaves another 8-plus weeks in which to finalize your trip if you decide to move ahead with it.

Thanks for that sage advice. I have a get well card from my hiking buddy that is a picture of a turtle with an ace bandage wrapped around its shell. That is precisely what I am determined to do: I have told the PT folks about Whitney and they are determined to help me get to a 2011 goal, but it depends upon my body healing.

2600fromatari,what a story! I promise I won't do anything to jeopardize my health. I am 50% weight bearing right now, working towards 100% in a frakenstein boot. The first step is walking around my 1 mile long mostly flat and circular neighborhood street. Next is to do a longer hike at a nearby state park along the Hudson River to guage distance with a pretty view and smooth gravel/dirt path which is easy underfoot. The last step is do a short hike of a few miles to a lake that is uphill (mostly paved due to heavy dog-walking traffic) to gauge my ankle's strength and recovery up and down steep grades, then finally on to an orange trail located after that same lake which will help judge uneven terrain capability with moderate grades. Crawling here would be doable lol, but I hear you. If I get in trouble the local rangers can help you get out via their ATV big-foot golf cart utility vehicle they use for trail maintenance (I helped some lost and exhaused novice hikers who could not find their way back to the parking lot in the heavy woods and confusing trails a few years ago and this is how they got them out).

NJ, I wasn't going to be one of those people who get carted out from trying Half Dome. I just limped very slowly until I found a place to sit down...rinse and repeat. I was actually doing okay going up, but I think it was the adrenaline. I fell off the proverbial cliff when I came off the Subdome. My right knee and ankle felt like they were going to fall off so I placed more weight on the left side which ended up hurting that side as well. LOL. I had so many people look at me. It was such a pathetic sight when I got back to the Happy Isles trail head and grandmothers were whizzing past me and smirking.

I think going down the steep grades will let you know where you're at. That's what I have the most trouble with these days on hikes. I can go up all day (heart and quad muscle willing of course) but my knees are now in pain on just about any hike 10 miles or longer. I take along a wrap or brace which helps as do those trekking poles. Good luck!!! Got my fingers, toes, and eyes crossed for you.

Bulldog, you cracked me up several times: the marmot stew is a great suggestion! Yes, I have gone back to ultra clean living to heal and it is paying off: eat lots of fresh sauteed veggies, high quality protein, drink 2 liters of water per day on top of other decaffeinated beverages, atkins bars for those sweet cravings to avoid sugar, and I am always crutching around for exercise which gets the old heart pumping. I am telecommuting for work now so the brain is not atrophying on TV shows. As for those hiking boots, I am wearing the same one on my left foot that the ankle was broken in because it is the only shoe thick enough to match the frankenstein boot to keep my knees even. And yes, I am a firm believer in hiking poles. The SAR team was struggling up the steep trail to get to me and called back our cell phone to ask if I could move at all so they could get me out before dark (this happened on the day before the clocks changed to daylight savings). That set of 10 yr old Leki poles was the reason I made it about 3/4 of a mile on a broken ankle (while grabbing my husband's shoulder of course to do a 3-legged race kind of hop) to meet the astonished SAR team who splinted me, threw me in a stokes basket, and got me out to my eternal gratefulness. If not for the cell phone working I would have had to go out all the way out on the poles. And Yup, I had a headlamp too just because you never know!

Thanks for the food for thought about the last day. Downhill with a pack is more stress than normal so both my ankle and quads will have to be in shape. My husband and hiking buddy love me, but I doubt they will 'willingly' take all my gear back to the portal. If they do, it's gonna cost me in a 'remember when we' story I will have to live down for the next 40 or 50 years at the most awkward times lol!

Oh my! Yeah I hate it when grannies smirk lol. Had something similar happen to me on a 2 mile all uphill bike ride to the summit of Day mountain in Acadia Natl Park on the carriage paths. Two British grannies on 3 speed bikes waved an excessively cheery 'Hello' as they motored right past us with very smug smiles.

I think I will plan to take a lot of vitamin I on the way out...


Thanks for the kind wishes. With my luck, Sept 13th to 16th will be the earliest winter blizzard on Mt whitney in recorded history....

Great idea about Lone Pine Lake being available on the way out. Thanks for the good wishes and helpful suggestion. Also for sharing the 12 week timeframe- that is about another 5 weeks out for me so I have a ways to go yet. I know you are familiar with the feeling of time and healing going so slowly, especially now that it is finally spring and the trails are calling with waterfalls, birds, flowers, and leaves.

NJ, I think you will do fine. It's been almost 40 years now since I dislocated my ankle in a motorcycle accident. It was a serious mess. Had a spur removed 30 years later. Have arthritis in the ankle, but not bad. Jogging on it keeps it in shape.

But based on my experience with ankle and knee surgeries, I think at nearly 6 months after the break, you will be hiking like a champ. You may have soreness at times, but nothing to stop you. Go for it!

Thanks for the encouragement Steve. PT has been mentally tough because right next to the stiff-as-a-board ankle is the normal left one and I wonder how/when it can ever be like that one again, able to roll up, down, left, and right. This is actually worse then waiting for the CC hit from Inyo Forest service lol!

One more thought:

A hike up that trail is like a Jersey pizza: even when its bad its pretty good.

I have backed off Whitney twice: once at TCamp for weather and once at TCrest for my partner's AMS. One trip was from SoCal, but the other was from Connecticut, and I wouldn't have aborted either plan for lack of a summit. And that was in the old days, before the quota. Now, the opportunity is so rare, I would treasure that permit and use it, even if I knew there was a high probability of having to back off. When you see that alpenglow on Wotan's, or that first sunrise over the Inyos, you'll know what I mean

NJ, I'm a big believer in trekking poles on the downhills, regardless of how much weight I'm carrying. I'll tuck them away on level ground, and often on uphills, but they always come out for the descents (was it a descent where you fell?). They can be a pain at times, but on uneven ground they add so much more stability to your balance. I've used trekking poles for years on that premise.

Having said that, about two months ago I pretty much put away the trekking poles when doing my twice-weekly workout hike at my local mountain. I figured, hey, I've done this route hundreds of times before - know it like the back of my hand. I don't need poles for this, even if some of the trail is steep, rocky, rooty, and just plain gnarly!

Predictably, about a month ago, I took my first-ever fall on a trail. No poles + sandy granite slabs + downhill at a quick pace = broken big toe, massively bloodied legs, and wounded pride. Thousands of miles hiked over the years in every part of the country, in all types of terrain, and never a fall while always using poles on a descent (many, many close calls, though). Within a month of foregoing poles, bam!

You'll find that on Whitney there are many, many places where you have to take a long, awkward step down. With backpacking weight, it can be even more awkward. After 11 consecutive miles of descent, poles will be your best friend.

Be sure to send your orthopod a Whitney postcard to inform him of your success. Mine has a collection.

To give my 2 cents, I tore my hamstring in September and could not start running until the end of december (it was my christmas present). The problem was that I had the Boston Marathon in April. Regardless to say I know exactly how you feel.

You already mentioned that you were going to start swimming, which is great to work on your endurance. Something that helped me that could also start boosting your stregth and endurance is pool running. I swore by this during my recovery. I first started where I could not touch. When I could start taking body weight, I transitioned to running in the shollow end. It will help you work on some of the same muscles and smooth the transition for you to be able to start training on trails.

You can look online for tips/recommendations on how to pool run, etc....

Harvey, I love that idea! Will do- he will use it as a reference for his practice lol