RE: For you high country hunters - a question
 

txhunter---got it right as far as I know. Good luck. Believe it or not the rolaids do help. cb

RE: For you high country hunters - a question
 

I got it once for no apparent reason. Felt suddenly very tired, indefinite feeling of not being well (probably at about 10000 feet trying to hike up to the top of Jicarilla Peak SW of Taos, New Mexico). Girl friend who was hiking with me in the mountains had no effects. I have climbed higher, slept higher (slept at 12,200 foot three nights out from Tulsa, Oklahoma), worked harder at altitude and never had another problem. I try to drink lots of water, avoid coffee and alcohol to be sure the problem doesn't recur, but so far no additional bouts with that unpleasant malaise.

RE: For you high country hunters - a question
 

Again ditto txhunter,the Diamox works,and I had no ill effects from taking it.I hunted Co. last year and spike camp was at 11,000ft.

RE: For you high country hunters - a question
 

I will just echo what some others have said. Drinking lots of water is the most important thing you can do. The higher you go, the drier the air is. This means you will become dehydrated. The dangerous part is that you will probably not feel thirsty. If you wait to drink water until you are thirsty, it's already too late. I am at 14,000' and above no less than 10 times each summer. I do a lot of hiking and mountain climbing. I learned the hard way. I now have a hydration pack system that allows me to drink while walking. I don't like to stop much, so it's the best thing I've found for staying hydrated.

You can take some stuff to help with the side affects. Before I moved to CO I used to take Bonine pills when I would come out. They are essentially motion sickness pills, but help the symptoms of altitude sickness as well.

RE: For you high country hunters - a question
 

Some decent advice here...although I would not recommend you totally avoid caffiene. Caffiene is a vaso dilator (up to a certain point) which will allow your vessels to pump more (oxygenated) blood to the tissues....which is what you want. However, that certain point is reached at about the 5th cup of coffee...at which time the excess caffiene will tend to act as a vaso constrictor and will inhibit O2 transfer. Smoking is a no-no because the CO will also inhibit O2 transfer.

I hear what you are saying about blood becoming acidic...does this via exercise....cutting wood, putting up camp, exertion at a level you are not accustomed to, etc...all this produces a bit of lactic acid which, among other things, inhibits the ability of oxygen to adhere to hemoglobin---and a subsequent decrease in available O2. Rolaids is ok; alka seltzer might be better. However, as someone else said, if you are concerned enough, talk to your doc about diamox....good stuff.

You can also get off your can and exercise. Doesn't have to be dramatic, maybe 30 minutes or so, 3-4 times a week at an age predicted max heart rate. (220- age) X .65 and .85

220-20 = 200. 200 X .65 = 130. 200 X .85 = 170. In other words, for a guy who is 20, his heart rate should be between 130 and 170 for the entire 30 minutes. Substitute your age for the 20. As you get into better shape, your body will begin to process O2 much more efficiently...thereby making altitude sickness less of an issue. Don't neglect the strength training aspect either. Your best bet is to seek out a gym whose trainers are certified by either NSCA or ACSM. If they haven't heard of either of those two groups, move along until you find one certified by same. Once you get on a program, stick with it and ignore advice given by other folks such as the 'biggest dude in the gym'.


Forgot to add that the more you exert, the harder you breathe...which uses more oxygen and uses more water vapor which escapes (dehydration) during heavy breathing. Additionally, the cooler air does not allow us to feel as much sweat; most of us assume that we don't need to drink as much.

If you know you are going to do some work outside, take the time to down some fluids at least 30 minutes before as this will give your body a better chance to build up more interstitial fluid and give you the edge on dehydration. As many folks have mentioned, (powdered) gatorade isa goodidea as it also contains minerals lost during sweating

RE: For you high country hunters - a question
 

I have always heard to avoid caffeine totally until you are adjusted to the altitude. I assumed that any benefit from vasodilation might be counteracted by its diuretic effect (makes you pee more). In other words, if you need to drink more to stay hydrated at altitude, any caffeine makes you have to drink even more to stay ahead of the game. Anyway, caffeine is not a big deal to me (I don't drink coffee) so I don't usually drink any anyway.

RE: For you high country hunters - a question
 

When we were kids we hiked into clouds peak wilderness and camped near 10,000ft. We lived in the Black hills, but my two brothers and I were pretty sick. My little brother turned into "MOUTH ST. HELENS" as we put it. My older brother and I were only sick for one night. I have had the opposite more often, going to lower elevation and playing sports you never get winded.

RE: For you high country hunters - a question
 

DON'T DRINK COFFEE? How do you function?

"I ain't never met no one from texas I couldn't shade!" Rooster Cogburn

RE: For you high country hunters - a question
 

I tried it a couple of times, but just never could get the hang of it. Love the smell, just don't care to drink it. Besides when I go to the mountains, I have plenty of energy! That is until theelk is down! My brother drinks it from day one in the mountains, but he doesn't have any trouble with altitude.

RE: For you high country hunters - a question
 

i have to agree with big bulls. And just b/c i have gotten mtn sickness before and the stuff that works is water, A LOT OF SLEEP, and some sniker bars here and there , along with a sip of pepsi here and there. being that i live in colorado and i have been here for my whole 15yrs of life i was suprised that i did get sick b/c i have been goig up to the mtns since i was 2 months old. But the sings of mtn scikness for me was getting very lite headed and my reactions got a slow my mind couldn't react to stuff as fast(it would be like watching a movie but not on a tv threw the negitives very slowly) i got extrely warm and i started to sweat on a 20 degree day and all i had on where some long underwear a t-shirt and a jacket with snowpants on.but with what i have mentioned be4 i did go back to camp and sleep the whole day and drank a lot of water and had a snikers he and there. But the thing that worked for me was the candey bar that i ate it seemed to have revied me faster.(and if you carry a back pack on you aalways have some kinda candy in there b/c that is the fastest way to get nrg but lose it at the same time. But Just be extremly careful up in the mtns and drink a lot of water and a long with other stuff i said precioulsy