Weekend Trip at Elevation

Hey Everyone,

I am planning a trip to climb the Harding Route on the Keeler Needle at some point this August. I live in the Bay Area and won't be able to get more than a weekend off of work to zip over to the East Side and bag the route. I'm confident in my overall fitness level for completing the route but I'm concerned about heading from 0ft to 14,000ft over such a short time span. I don't want altitude sickness to ruin the climb. I do have several weekend trips to the Sierra planned in the weeks leading up to the climb. Any training or other suggestions for minimizing this risk would be great!

Thanks!

Diamox, by prescription. It keeps me from getting any nausea or headaches, but I'll still experience shortness of breath.

Best thing since the Spring Loaded Camming Device.

Everybody's different wrt altitude sickness. If you can sleep at altitude the night before a major climb/hike it usually helps a lot. Try out your travel/sleeping schedule on the earlier weekend trips, with a less committing climb or hike that still takes you to high elevation, and see if you have any problems.

Diamox for 14ers?

bobbin wrote:If you can sleep at altitude the night before a major climb/hike it usually helps a lot.

You'll definitely feel tired, nauseous, or have a headache (or all three). But other than that, you'll likely be just fine.

I'm assuming you're going to hike up one day, then climb the route the next. If you climb the route, and decide to hike out, and drive back to S.F. (all in the same push) you'll feel absolutely wrecked. Drive safe.

edit: You could apply your anticipated game-plan to something like the Red Dihedral on The Incredible Hulk. Its an easier hike, lower elevation, and shorter/easier climb. It might be a good litmus test (or at least some training) for The Harding Route; give you a good idea of where you stand.

diamox...admitting you are a weakling..

Yeah, getting sleep at altitude helps.

I'd recommend against the acetazolamide (Diamox) myself for something like a 14'er. It will help for sure, but it also has some uncomfortable side effects for some. If you decide to go there, make sure you try it down low so you know how it effects you first. Whenever I go on an expedition above 14, I always have Diamox with me... but I've never taken it and likely wouldn't unless the altitude effects were becoming extreme. And that hasn't happened to me yet.

Your best thing is cardio that pushes you into the training zone mixed with nights slept above 8k. You do that and you'll do great at altitude in my opinion.