Walking in the mountains can turn hazardous—like the time I climbed New Mexico’s Wheeler Peak with three of my students.

The hazardous part was caused by freezing fog, not something I expected in early September and a condition that made the footing slippery and the temperature bone-chilling (think of a cold shower using ice water). Omar and I had reached the ridgeline, at 13,000 feet only a short sprint from the top. We crouched behind a boulder to get out of the 40 mph winds and waited for the others.

When Cody and Jose appeared, I could tell Jose was in trouble. He complained of a splitting headache and increasing nausea, sure signs of altitude sickness. And I could see he was beginning to shake, which could be the onset of hypothermia—a serious condition when combined with altitude sickness.

I thought of my friend Eddie who, unlike me, was a real mountaineer who climbed the likes of Mt. Denali in Alaska. On one such adventure he and his companions encountered a severe storm near the top, which made them retreat down the mountain. They were passed by three, young, British men who kept going and later fell to their deaths. “They didn’t know when to say ‘whoa,’” said Eddie.

I shared the story with my guys on Wheeler. Cody volunteered to return immediately with Jose (the only remedy for altitude sickness). Omar and I quickly summited and then headed down ourselves. By the time we reached the trailhead, Jose’s symptoms were gone, and we enjoyed a good laugh as he described the icicles once hanging from his ball cap.

I captured most of this on film. You can view it here.

**Not all mountain summits are above tree line. If your body can’t handle the elevation but you still want to reach a top with great views, in the next blog I’ll share some of my favorites: