Sea level to 10,000 :: avoiding altitude sickness

[bozeman]

2 things: might want to go for a trip out west and just 'test the waters'.......hate to have a hunt ruined due to this, trust me, I have been there with a friend.

1- as mentioned, hydrate when I am in CO, UT, AZ, NM, WY.....I set my watch, every 15 minutes whether I feel thirsty or not, stop and drink (I live in AL, so no elevation here)
2- the first sign of difficulty breathing, slow down, difficulty in speech, turn around and get lower until you feel OK again, coughing/spitting blood, get down FAST!

I have a good friend, tip/top shape......get him over 8,500ft....his body simply cant process the air/oxygen right, above 9,000 speech gets difficult and coughing.......scrary the first time it happened.

Stay safe and DONT over exert yourself trying to get away from everybody. Enjoy the journey and the hunt!

 

[tracker12]

Texan here. Hydrate hydrate hydrate. If you have time to acclimate a couple of days prior at lower elevation 6-7,000 ft, would be ideal. Diamox is a diuretic that your doctor can prescribe to help. Avoid alcohol use. Listen to your body. Headaches are common. I usually suffer from them the first night or two but haven’t had any additional issues. There are some great mountain sickness/high altitude society websites online with excellent info. A multitude of supplement companies touting claims of helping or preventing it. IMO, they don’t do much of anything but just take your money.

Post number 2 is all the advice u need.

 

[Dos Perros]

This is a timely topic and good reminder as this afternoon I'm taking my 7 y/o on a scouting trip. Heading straight to 11k. I'm going to have to keep my eye on him.

 

[southLA]

Make sure you eat enough. Coming from +12ft elevation myself, I always found myself not eating enough when above 10k. I have to force myself to eat.

 

[dtrkyman]

I did quite a bit of guiding at moderate elevation, 6k-8500 feet, lot's of Texan's and low landers in general. Started making them hydrate on the ride to wherever we were headed. "Pre" hydrating seemed to be really valuable!

 

[Cady Creek]

I had good luck with the Wilderness Athlete Altitude Adventure pills. Basically just makes you hydrate. I couldn’t drink enough. Downfall is stopping to pee every 5 minutes and re-filling your water supply at every stream. But does keep you well hydrated.

 

[zion zig zag]

I live at 6300 feet and am in the 8000 to 10k zone very often. Still, 12k plus will occasionally effect me. One of the things I notice is the inability to sleep at that altitude. If you need a sleep aid, don’t use any over the counter meds that have diphenhydramine (Benedryl, Advil sleep, etc.). Those meds work by slowing your respirations, which will cause you to ‘micro’ wake up hundreds of times to catch your breath. If you need a sleep aid have your doc give you some Ambien, it doesn’t slow respirations.

 

[ToolMann]

Good discussion. I live at 6,000 feet in Colorado. Spent a bunch of nights above 10K with zero problem. Then two years ago I backpacked up to 12K. About 30 mins after setting up camp it hit me. Shakes, nausea, things coming out of both ends. Glad I had a buddy to take care of me and make sure I was ok. Finally passed out on top of my sleeping bag and woke up in the morning feeling pretty good, just a little tired. Went to the same spot last year. Set up camp and started feeling not so well. Laid down for a nap and woke up feeling pretty good. I hydrated more on the second trip. Rule for me know is know your limits, drink plenty of water. I'll be heading back up there in a month and hopefully things go smoother.

 

[gburk]

sub 1k Texan here. Only problem I’ve had is sleeping at 11-12k: basically sleep apnea due to repressed breathing rate where I would keep waking up gasping for air. That wasn’t fun! But survivable at least..Gonna try diamox to prevent that next time.
I guess it impacts everyone differently so you won’t know in advance what you’re in for, but having some meds on hand might help.

 

[Patriot2]

I have hunted out west for the last 30 years at 10,000-12,000 feet, yet live at 840' elevation in MIssouri. I tend to be more inclined to others I have hunted with to get altitude sickness and came to just expect it in mild form. Then 3 years I quit caffeine cold turkey and never looked back. I have had no symptoms of altitude sickness since kicking caffeine -hunting the exact same areas. It has been pretty amazing - I am loving it.

 

[JeffP_Or]

The differences and where people feel it can vary widely - I was in really good cardio health [lots of bicycling] when we hiked Kilimanjaro. We left from Portland [~150ft] and Seattle with a group of varying health. Most of us had done training hikes etc to about 8-9k.
I didn't really seem to feel the impacts until around 12k as I recall; others started feeling it at about 8k. I attribute that to hydration and the cardio conditioning. Several in our group did the diamox thing and it worked great for them; I didn't even get a prescription and had none - no issues. Nowadays, being in poorer cardio condition, I feel the elevation at around 9k - not sickness, but the lack of oxygen is noticeable.
As has been noted, any acclimatization you can do by arriving early will help - can you get there a day early? Two? Maybe camp a bit lower and climb to hunt? Not sure where in Pennsylvania you might get some elevation but try as much as you can - if you can spend time at that elevation so much the better; it is best to do that within a week as the body will readjust again quickly. Hydration for sure. Also, recognize the symptoms/issues - some are not really a problem; some are and can get bad. Recognizing and being able to drop a few thousand feet in elevation will really help.
And the gasping for air thing while sleeping is real per @gburk - I had that happen at the 15k camp before summit day - very unsettling! From a dead sleep to bolt upright and gasping for breath. Crazy. Not sure that would happen at the 10k zone though [and it isn't a trip ended anyways, just unsettling]. Had not happened before or since that trip.
Enjoy!

 

[Elk97]

Altitude kicks my butt every year. Live at 2' and only hunt at 8-9k' but I can't get enough oxygen in me to climb hills without gasping for air like a fish on the bank. I started taking gingko biloba a couple of years ago, start a month before hunting and it seems to help a bit. Also use hydration packs in my water and drink a lot prior to, and during hunt. Seems like it's getting harder to acclimate every year as I get older (older than dirt) so age may be a factor. When I was in Nepal at 15-18k' there were people (usually young that didn't follow the recommended altitude schedule) being hauled down in very serious condition every day and very few people actually felt good.

 

[robtattoo]

Get a script for diamox from your general practitioner. 2 pills/day for 3 days, start on the day before you hit altitude.


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Don't let pride kick your ass either. Get the Diamox.

Altitude affects everyone differently & being is shape is a great start (I'm not) but it isn't everything.
Familiarity with the sensations you'll experience will help more than anything. The 'fizzing' at the back of your head & neck. The sleep troubles. The mild brain fog..... it gets easier to handle every time, but only because you've felt it before & know what it is.
My first time out west (live at 1600' in TN), hunted in Western Wyoming around 9-10k nearly killed me. It got easier over the next few trips, but a trip to 12.5 in the Flat Tops in CO put me right back on my ass. I was literally trying to make it 30yds between rest stops on the first day.

 

[grfox92]

Getting there a few days early is the most fool proof way. That includes just hanging out and walking around. You don't need to exercise, just be there.

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[Mighty Mouse]

Give these a listen:

Hunt Backcountry Podcast 140 | Altitude Sickness: Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment

What is altitude sickness? How can it be prevented? Do over-the-counter medications and supplements work? How can you tell the difference between serious illness and non-acute symptoms? If acute mountain sickness occurs, how should you treat it? We answer all of these questions, and more, with...

exomtngear.com

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/mu8hry/Episode_144_DrMartinez.mp3

 

[Laramie]

Out of all the people I have guided, the only ones who got sick were a couple of early season hunters who came from sea level and hunted at 10-11k' and drank quite a bit of beer at night. To me the real key is not pushing your physical limits in the first 48 hours. Take it slow those first two days and you should feel fine throughout your hunt.

 

[2rocky]

I've made the trip to WY a number of years from 15 ft Elevation. We drive over 2 days. Sleep on the road at 4-6000 feet, then arrive at 8000 ft in camp and hunt to 10,000. You learn to dial it down the 2 days prior to opening day that you are bumming around.

 

[gburk]

And the gasping for air thing while sleeping is real per @gburk - I had that happen at the 15k camp before summit day - very unsettling! From a dead sleep to bolt upright and gasping for breath. Crazy. Not sure that would happen at the 10k zone though [and it isn't a trip ended anyways, just unsettling]. Had not happened before or since that trip.

Yeah exactly, it was torturous and doesn’t happen every trip, just that once! Really crazy.

 

[Poser]

One of my hunting partners comes out from TN every year and hunts with 3 locals. He usually spends 3-4 in town (6500 feet) and then Heads in the backcountry and camps at around 10,200 a full 5-6 days ahead of us. That’s a solid 8-10 days of acclimation.

 

[jzeblaz]

All good stuff here. I live at sea level and hunt around 8-9k every year without much issue. I've raced mountain bikes at 10-12k several times and felt the elevation just arriving at the start. I've used Ginko for a month leading up the races and I believe that helped. The notion of acclimating in a day or 2 is silly, IMO, it takes weeks to really feel normal. To avoid sickness, really focus on hydration and nutrition, especially when you aren't feeling thirsty or hungry, nearly force drinking/feeding. Those races were hard efforts for 10-12 hours starting at 10k and sleeping at 10k. I stayed in town for a week before the last race and got good rest, moved around a little bit and stretched a lot for a week. I think that helped, but paying attention to the warning signs people have mentioned are critical too. Conventional wisdom at elevation is to get iron (they say from red meat) so you're making more red blood cells. I did that a bunch on race weeks and felt fine racing. Good sleep cannot be discounted as well. Good luck up there!