|
turtlehead
Apr 28, 2005, 6:42 AM
Post #1 of 11
(2973 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Apr 3, 2005
Posts: 32
|
Alright, i saw the previous post about avoiding altitude sickness, and wanted to see what sorta stories were out there about having altitude sickness.
Last year I got it gnarly bad on a backpacking trip, I was having super euphoric thoughts/dreams, could only walk a step or two before I had to sit down. Couldn't eat or drink anything, though I kept doing my best to force water down my throat.
(I can't even tell you the thoughts that were going through my head the whole time, seriously, I just wish I'd of had a piece of paper to try and write them down on, they were "Amazing"... too bad I can't remember any of them)
Basically, I finally reached the pass with a TON of encouragement from my buddy. As soon as we started climbing down in elevation, I was amazed how fast, and how completely all the symptons went away.
|
|
|
|
|
guanoboy
May 1, 2005, 2:43 AM
Post #2 of 11
(2973 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 2, 2004
Posts: 244
|
I've got a few. My first exposure was on Aconcagua where I ran into this guy who had apparently spent a week above 18,000' while traversing from the polish glacier to the regular route. I certainly believe he was up there that long because he was completely delirious and wanted to find a partner for another summit attempt. Several people told him to get down fast and he got violent and walked away.
Another time on the N. face of the Grand, I had a partner clearly getting sick. At a belay we decided to rap down to the Owen spaulding and he said - "don't worry i'll walk" as he started to untie his harness. Thats when i realised how screwed he was. I told him not to touch anything, clipped him in for a rappel then went ahead and gave him a firemans belay - he became notably more coherent after dropping just a 100' or so. Interestingly enough the exact same thing happened to me with a different partner in just about the same spot while we were on the N. ridge.
Despite a good record on those mountains, I have since felt pretty crappy even at 11,000 - 12,000'. I think you never know with elevation sickness.
|
|
|
|
|
vashie
May 4, 2005, 4:19 AM
Post #3 of 11
(2973 views)
Shortcut
Registered: May 12, 2004
Posts: 149
|
Well, me an altitude sickness go way back. I first experience it when I was twelve at around thirteen hundred feet, trying to climb a fourteener (Sneffels I think). I got so dizzy and sick I slid down the talus, found a big rock, and sat in the rain listening to fighting marmots until my dad finally came back down. Yuck. The second time was on the same mountain, the car broke down so we had to hike in all the way from Ouray. Needless to say it killed me, and I spent my time vomiting off the trail with a bunch of out of state tourists watching in horror. Since then I have never gotten sick from altitude, maybe a slight headache, but nothing to slow me down. However this past summer I guided for some Texans, who had never seen snow or been above five thousand feet in there lives. Mass dehydration led to epic bloody noses, and bloody bear bag the next night :x . All at eighty five hundred too, good times working for the scouts!
|
|
|
|
|
yannbuse
May 9, 2005, 3:54 AM
Post #4 of 11
(2973 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Sep 15, 2003
Posts: 112
|
I always considered my altitude experiences as a mistake and so im not too proud of them.
My first was on my fist ascent of the Mont Blanc via the Gouter route. My bartending colleague and i had 24hrs before we had to return to work, so we were moving. After bivying outside of the refuge du Nid D'aigle, we moved to about 4800m when it hit hard. Crazy thoughts... just crazy, and an unparalled thrist for water! Motivation sank, but as soon as that sweet H2O hit my lips i would have a short burst of energy. Passing climbers would look at us and tell us to turn back. But at 4750m we were so close, so we dropped our packs hurried to the peak and then hauled ass down. No the best decision i ever made, but it worked. When we reached the refuge, we couldnt eat or drink. So we continued down, as soon as we hit about 3900m we felt much better and were able to run down the trail.
The second as again on Mont Blanc but by the Tacul-Maudit route with a new and unknown partner. After previously exchanging past experiences i was under the impression that he would hold is own and move fast, again, i only had 24 hrs off work. A couple hundred meters under Mt Maudit he started to complain, but complain about alot of things so i didnt really think he was being affected by the altitude. Then we pasted our point of no return, moving through a 40m ice climb with a 30m rope, rappel was not really an option, so the descent would be the gouter route after we'd peak. About 300 meters from the summit he was in piss poor shape, talking nonesense, having trouble walking (i was dragging him and at times putting his weight on me to help). I was surprinsgly fine, and not thirsty! so i gave him all my water and conituned to drag him/carry him. This slowed down our pace to a crawl, but we peaked and he felt alot better once we reached the train station underneath the refufe. But because it was closed we had to walk all the way down to Les Houches! Needless to say i got back to work on time, while he spent a day throwing up and two days sleeping, he also didnt use any sun protection, nor zipped up his jacket propely and had exteremly bad burns....
Again, can't say im proud of my decisions, but the expereinces taught me so much yet realise that i knew i so little....
Yann
|
|
|
|
|
kobaz
May 9, 2005, 4:47 AM
Post #5 of 11
(2973 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Sep 19, 2004
Posts: 726
|
This isnt an altitude sickness story, but related to altitude nonetheless.
Quick question, and I'm not trying to steal this thread, please go back to talking about sickness stories after this gets answered.
I'm going to be doing a road trip with my brother to colorado this summer and we're gonna do some climbing, and of course go and bag some 14ers. What is a good way to train for the altitude (other than trying to find some high elevation stuff to train on... since we live in new york). We are both very fit, we run, bike, hike and climb constantly, but I've heard that you can be affected even though you're in great shape.
And I dont want to buy one of those fancy altitude trainers either.
|
|
|
|
|
nonick
May 9, 2005, 4:54 AM
Post #6 of 11
(2973 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Oct 28, 2001
Posts: 174
|
Went on a recce once from 3000 m to 4150 m.
By the time we reached near our destination, i was full of the umbles..stumbling, mumbling and pretty near grumbling. I knew i had reached my limit, and would be forced down had the climb been longer. Fortunately it was not....
|
|
|
|
|
xprompt
May 9, 2005, 5:31 AM
Post #7 of 11
(2973 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 10, 2004
Posts: 159
|
just curious....
how does one get altitude sickness?
I've been to 14,000ft and havn't got it, though i've had a mild headache for a few hours/a day. that's my only encounter.
|
|
|
|
|
bandycoot
May 9, 2005, 5:39 AM
Post #8 of 11
(2973 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 25, 2002
Posts: 2028
|
In reply to: how does one get altitude sickness?
I've had a range from minor headaches, to severe headaches, to full on hallucinations of rattlesnakes and cobras all over the path when my friend and I did Charlotte Dome in a day from the east side. My partner hallucinated that everything was sleeping bags and thermarests and started falling asleep while walking. It was no good... At least we both didn't hallucinate at the same time! :)
|
|
|
|
|
nonick
May 9, 2005, 8:39 AM
Post #9 of 11
(2973 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Oct 28, 2001
Posts: 174
|
If you dont acclimatise you will get altitude sickness. Worse forms of AMS include pulmonary edema or cerebral edema.
Someone did mention the factors involved in altitude sickness. Even if your ultra fit, your body may not adapt well at altitude, especially if you climb up too fast.
Speaking of altitude stories - here is one i remembered right now. In a summer camp of school kids, one of the kids had a hacking cough in the night. The camp was at very moderate altitude - around 8000 ft. The instructors did not recognize pulmonary edema and when the boy woke up the next day, he was forced to go about doing his daily chores as usual. The boy died within a few hours.
The entire tragedy could have been averted had the instructors been well trained. All they had to do was to descend about 500 - 1000 ft ( and it was well within reach for them). The boy would have definitely been saved.
|
|
|
|
|
reno
May 9, 2005, 10:02 AM
Post #10 of 11
(2973 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Oct 30, 2001
Posts: 18283
|
In reply to: If you dont acclimatise you will get altitude sickness. Worse forms of AMS include pulmonary edema or cerebral edema.
I suggest we talk about probabilities, not absolutes. I acclimated to elevation on one mountain trip, still got AMS. Did another mountain, similar height, in a day, with no symptoms. Acclimatizing is a sound idea, generally speaking. Most professionals or veterans would not recommend skipping it. But it's not a guarantee of anything.
In reply to: Speaking of altitude stories - here is one i remembered right now. In a summer camp of school kids, one of the kids had a hacking cough in the night. The camp was at very moderate altitude - around 8000 ft. The instructors did not recognize pulmonary edema and when the boy woke up the next day, he was forced to go about doing his daily chores as usual. The boy died within a few hours. The entire tragedy could have been averted had the instructors been well trained. All they had to do was to descend about 500 - 1000 ft ( and it was well within reach for them). The boy would have definitely been saved.
Again, a probability statement would be better than an absolute. You can certainly say "the boy probably would have been saved," but as you don't know for certain (i.e., you can't go back and change things to see how it would have turned out,) you can't make absolutes.
Sure, I'm nitpicking, but it's 3 am, I'm at work and bored, and I've nothing else to do.
|
|
|
|
|
graniteboy
May 11, 2005, 10:42 PM
Post #11 of 11
(2973 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Dec 1, 2001
Posts: 1092
|
Once, we were coming down the arista del sol (Ixtachiuatl) in Mexico, and these 2 colorado climbers coming the other way told us "there's some guy down there at the hut with altitude sickness"....we kept descending,, found the poor bastard, he was pretty damned sick....we started carrying him out... once we got him carried to within a mile of the trailhead, the 2 previously mentioned "climbers" came up from behind, having bagged their summit, and started addressing the victim by his first name....He was their climbing partner!!!! They had abandoned him so they could top out on this weakly little frikkin 17,000 ft Mexican Volcano. Turns out, they were Both Emergency room nurses. What a bunch of dumbasses.
Moral to story: be careful who you climb with. And be prepared to beat the living hell out of your partner if they do something like this to you. (after you recover, of course).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
