adjusting to altitude

[Sled]

Get fit, stay hydrated, try to stay a night at elevation to acclimate and my doctor gets me Diamox.

this is good advice. in addition i'll mention that some people are predisposed to AMS, HAPE or HACE more than others. I've seen prime of their lives 20 year olds that exercise daily at high intensity become symptomatic when less fit people remain asymptomatic. so, train you body, treat it right, hope for the best and plan for the worst. get the script -- https://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/acetazolamide

 

[taggart_lumpy]

just water and motrin for me.
been pretty lucky getting by on just those so far.

 

[Bearshirt]

We time the drive to spend the first night around 8k camping on blm land. Then its another 5 hours to camp. We set up base camp get lunch and take a nap. Then we spend the afternoon driving all over checking trail heads and wrap the evening up with glassing from the truck. The next day we hit lower elevation areas between 8-9k and keep a slow pace. Still lots of climbing and bushwacking. Drink lots of water before trip, on way out and while there. The only suppliments I take is natureal calm magnesium and calcium powder for muscle cramping. I also will take valerium root extract for a sleep aid the first few nights. We just keep hunting higher unless we find elk. So far we have found them any where from 8k to 10k. Lower elevation has been harder hunting. There are so damn many bears in the oak brush and that stuff can be a pain to crawl threw.

 

[Backyard]

Lots of good information. I do cardio 5 days a week all year around and try to get a few weeks of carrying a loaded pack before I go hunting. Been doing that for 20 plus years of elk hunts but like others have said it takes me about 2 days at altitude to feel normal again. The reason I ask is now that I'm 56 it seems to take a little longer and just didn't know if there were short cuts.

What you've described seems totally normal to me. I've been doing the same for going on 20 years, maybe a little more on the pack training, and have the same effects.
I do try to get thoroughly hydrated in the days prior to hitting the mountain, but a couple days to start feeling good is normal. BTW I'm 56 also.

 

[Newtosavage]

I’m not sure in regards to supplements. Drink lots of water.. i find if I don’t drink a lot of water my heaches from the altitude are much worse

This.

On my drive to the high country, I always have bottles of water within reach and I make myself drink a lot more than I usually do.

I haven't had a problem (knock on wood) so far, going from near sea-level to 9K feet in one day. Done it for years now. I wouldn't try to go higher than about 9K on that first day though. In my experience, it's up around 10.5-11K that I've had issues. But after a day at 9K, I can go up to 11K without any problems (other than the normal sucking wind).

I have noticed that I do lose my appetite at elevation though. I usually lose 7-10 lbs. in 10 days in the high country. Probably 1/2 from the workout and 1/2 from a lack of appetite.

 

[Bulldawg]

I just keep hammerin

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[Bulldawg]

But in all reality if you really wanted to slow down you acclimation process you would have to use a hypoxic chamber like this

https://hypoxico.com/home-systems/

Not a terrible idea, but it would be a pain in the butt


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[coyotecreek]

I'll second the Ginko and hydration. I'll start a week before the trip drinking more water than I normally do and continue that thought the trip. I've gone up to 11,000 ft (living at 2500) with and without the Ginko and have felt noticably better with the Ginko. You can get it cheap at Walmart or most any pharmacy. I have more trouble falling asleep at altitude than anything., but that could be from too many thoughts in my head!

 

[njdoxie]

Do not waste your money on any supplements. They have not been proven to work and most of them are junk.

I feel the same way now, pains me to think of all the money I’ve pissed away in the last 30 years, god.

So far no issues....how do people pound water when traveling? Must have some empty jugs when starting the drive. I fly, no way to pound water, just a pita if I did, but I try to drink a lot once I’m in camp.

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[Squirrel Master]

I went on my first mountain hunt last year. The first 3 nights were at around 11k feet, coming from roughly 320 feet where I live. I took all the drinking water advice, and other than having to pee about 50 times the first night it seemed to help. I just noticed that I had a little insomnia the first couple nights, and little things like carrying an armload of firewood 50 feet would have me out of breath. But after the third day we moved down to around 10k feet to a better hunting area we found, and I didn't have any trouble after that.

 

[bignocks]

Kifaru just did a podcast on altitude sickness. It seems 8000 ft is the magic number. Going above that is when the bad stuff might happen. So acclimating at the trail head for a night can help. Also a big thing was don't do a heavy workout the day before u gain a bunch of elevation. Also hunt high and sleep low can help. Obviously all this depends on what your trying to accomplish. Good luck

 

[Y2JJ]

Great listen

 

[OXN939]

I run triathlon regularly and do a lot of work at altitude, so I've spent some time down this rabbit hole. Really what this issue comes down to is your VO2 max, which is basically how efficiently your body processes oxygen. Like everyone has said, making sure you stay hydrated (via drinking lots of water and no diuretics- to include alcohol or coffee) is huge. The cardio you mention is key, too. If you have a base of cardiovascular training, it changes your physiology- your hematocrit (red blood cells per X volume of blood) increases, which is probably the biggest part of the VO2 max piece. There are elevation chambers that extreme endurance athletes use to train, although these are expensive and hard to find. Basically, do your cardio, eat well and stay very well-hydrated when adjusting to altitude.

 

[MtnOyster]

Driving from Kentucky it takes me about 3 days at altitude and i'm usually moving pretty good after that. as other have said I like to spend the first night in town after a 20 hour drive just for a good nights sleep at around 5500-6000 ft, then head up the mountain the next day and set up camp short hikes and glass before dark. Take it easy if possible the first real day of hunting and after those days i'm good.

 

[EDW]

Be in shape before you go. I spend as much time on a tread mill as I can. I try to do two miles a day five days a week. As elk season gets closer (July) I increase the distance and carry a back pack with 20 lbs inside. I try to arrive 3-5 days before the season starts and do as much scouting as possible. which also helps acclimate to the altitude This regiment seem to serve me well in addition I do carry saline nose spray and aspirin.

 

[elkstabber]

I live at 100' elevation in Virginia and travel several times out West chasing critters. My experience has been different than a lot of what others have said.

At age 50 I've found that cardio isn't as important as muscle strength. In my 30's it didn't matter but now I think the blood flow into the muscles is more important. What I mean is that when I'm climbing at elevation the muscle strength holds me back more than being out of breath. Simply, if your legs/core are stronger than my body will make it up the hill, regardless of how bad my chest is heaving. When I focused my training more on cardio I had more trouble getting up the hill than I do now.

Also, Diamox helps me for sure. I went to a convenient doctor and got a prescription for less than $10. 20 pills I think that will take me 4 years to use. It is a diuretic. I'm not a doctor but it helps the blood acclimate and makes me drink plenty.

I only use the Diamox when I'm hunting at 10k or more, because below that I just don't have much trouble. I've never taken a sleep aid of any kind.

Always take your time for the first couple of days.

 

[Pwells10]

I take shilajit. Buddy of mine is a distributer. Works wonders during archery season and gives me extra little bit of energy and focus. It's an organic tar like substance I have to boil. I was pretty skeptical until I gave it a shot.

 

[Mike 338]

Although fitness is a must for mountain hunting, it has no noticeable relationship to altitude sickness. I'm intermittently affected by altitude. Sometimes it's bad and sometimes not. I find if I go 3 days early, I can get sick and rest through it rather than charging hard the first day. It hasn't affected me lately but I never know.

 

[fwafwow]

Anyone try the tents? My hunting partner is ex-military and said they trained at sea level and slept at altitude with the tents. He said it worked well.

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[Sled]

I take shilajit. Buddy of mine is a distributer. Works wonders during archery season and gives me extra little bit of energy and focus. It's an organic tar like substance I have to boil. I was pretty skeptical until I gave it a shot.

do you boil this organic tar substance on a spoon with a lighter?