Missing in this article is the reason for...the cause of...what appears to be a rather sudden affliction of gastrointestinal disturbance among your climbing partners. Did the afflicted personnel drink from some common source? Or patronize the same pre-climb food dispensary? Crucial information since it might indicate just how quickly these maladies might strike after...what? Drinking the wrong water? I've been drinking the water for 45 years. I've seen the little animal turds bounce along the bottom while drinking. Drank from below beaver dams. Presume I'm carrying the giardia. I've drank from 4-wheeler tracks. Swamp water...which tastes worse when boiled...so I don't. Lake waters with birds on them make me queasy. The best water comes right out of cracks in the rock. Mountain streams are good.However, I will drink from no water where humans are around...or upstream. On popular climbs like April Bowl at Hatcher Pass I carry two liters of water. Don't filter or boil...but am careful.