Acclimation

I am taking a trip to boulder in august and as part of the trip am taking a day and a half camping/climbing trip up to RMNP and Lumpy (climbing @ lumpy, camping and hiking @ RMNP). Depending on the weather we will have a day or two in boulder before going to Lumpy. I am wondering what the effects of acclimatization will be like on my climbing. Should I be concerned about altitude sickness? and if I should, what can I do to prevent/stop it?

Thanks,
Brooks

i wouldnt worry too much, you only have todo the sme things with half the oxygen!! lol no, seriously, if your driving out here from ia, i would think that would be enough time to acc. . maybe a day if not. have a blast at lumpy!!

You should be fine, Lumpy is only around 8 or 9 thousand feet, just drink plenty of water.

Well, sometimes people just don't wake up; especially from the mid-west. Our local nursing homes are just filled with those poor souls, dirty little secret the Chamber of Commerce wants to keep quiet. Just don't fall asleep above 7000' and you should probably be ok.
If you do get a little dizzy/drowsy, start jumping up and down immediately and bray like a donkey, that seems to help.

don't push yourself too hard on the approach if it is steep. For climbing, its not high enough to make much of a difference, you'll really only notice it hiking or scrambling quickly.

Jack Ziegler wrote:don't push yourself too hard on the approach if it is steep. For climbing, its not high enough to make much of a difference, you'll really only notice it hiking or scrambling

What he said. +1

the steep hike in to your boulders will be the only challenge to your lungs. plenty of water before and during, then pull hard and hit the mats correctly.

People of all ages and athletic prowess can get Altitude Sickness, and even Pulmonary Edema at elevations around 8 or 9k if they come up too quick. Being young, and giving yourself a few days to acclimate on the way or in town here (Boulder) is probably plenty, but it WILL affect your stamina, ie you'll get pumped way faster. If you want to be hardcore, you can start training now by hiking or walking with a big water bottle, fill your mouth and hold it for as long as you can while moving, only breathing through your nose. Drink the water as soon as the burn is too much and repeat. You can also run on a treadmill breathing through a snorkel with your nose taped shut. As well, eating LOTS of chlorophyll and some black strap molasses can help your body produce more RBCs (red blood cells). OR you could get some body building supp. like HemoRage or something that is a RBC multiplier (if you're really feeling serious). Don't sweat it too much though, if your cardio is decent already, you'll be fine.

I agree w/ Evan. As far as actual altitude sickness, there's really no way to predict who will or won't get it and you don't have to be at a ridiculous altitude to have it happen.
That being said... I'd cast my vote w/ all the previous posters. You may feel a little sluggish on the hike and get pumped a little more quickly than usual but a couple days in Boulder will help take the edge off before you head up to the Estes area.
Have a great trip.

Even living at 6K, I get totally destroyed on 14ers at around 12.5K. If you are a runner you will do a lot better than others who don't have a lot of aerobic fitness like myself. In three days your body will make more red blood cells, so if you are here a week you should see a vast improvement by the end.

what about going from sea level to 14+ in 2 days?
What can I do?

Chad F wrote:what about going from sea level to 14+ in 2 days? What can I do?

If you're really gonna do that, you might consider some acetazolamide starting a couple days before. Though some dispute it, most sources say it helps the process of acclimatizing. You need a prescription, as a doctor should ask about any sulfa allergies or kidney problems. With a schedule like that, you must not have much extra time. It might increase your chances of success, and you might not waste a trip. But really, I can't imagine a more perfect setup to get AMS. You should get to 8000-8500 feet after flying in or whatever and sleep a full 8 hours. I'm from South Carolina, so I'm in the same boat. When I've gone over 14 on a time budget, I always sleep at a trailhead ot something at 8k one night, bivy/camp at 10-12k another night, and then go after it, reasoning that I'll be up and down from 14 quickly enough. I've always taken acetazolamide in those cases, and have yet to get a headache. If at any point, even at 8k, you get a headache, you're done going higher.

Altitude sickness can affect anyone without regard to fitness at any altitude over 8000 ft, if you ascend faster than your personal physiology allows. I've heard anecdotally that younger, fitter guys tend to be more likely to get it just because they naively think they are fit enough to ascend faster or that they have something to prove. The hurry gets em. Your fitness has absolutely nothing to do with it, seriously.

It might make you huff and puff a bit, but you're 14. You should be able to come here and run circles around us.

If you want to get really aggro about it, cut out red meat and alcohol for three days before getting high. There is some evidence that no red meat for several days also helps with the production of RBs.

Once there, really concentrate on your exhales, I mean really empty your lungs. This will make every breath count.

After your trip, post a TR about your most awesome trip to altitude!

If you go sea level to 14 fast just be aware that you can get serious altitude sickness regardless of age, fitness or any other voodoo stuff you do. If you're up and down fast you will *probably* just feel like crap up high but there is no guarantee.

Chad F wrote:what about going from sea level to 14+ in 2 days? What can I do?

I do that all the time, since I live at sea level and weekends are only two days long :).

I've found if I just drive up and climb to 14+k in the same day I end up out of breath and with a pretty splitting headache on top, but it goes away as soon as I head down. If I can get up to between 7k and 10k the night before and get some sleep I'll just get a little out of breath near the top, but no headache. If I try to sleep higher than 10k on the first night I'll get a headache while sleeping and not sleep well. So for me it works well to just sleep at the trailhead the night before. Everyone's different though so you'll have to figure yourself out for yourself. Oh, and drink lots of water!

Have fun, RMNP is awesome!

Chad F wrote:what about going from sea level to 14+ in 2 days? What can I do?

i've seen a variety of reactions to this situation. best case was a serious headache and a complete inability to sleep. worst case was vommitting and a series of decisions that led me to believe the person's sense of judgment was impaired. it's totally possible that you'll experience nothing more than fatigue. but, i would tell my friends it's a really bad idea.

Chad F wrote:what about going from sea level to 14+ in 2 days? What can I do?

diamox

My hiking partners, and I (we've done this particular hike at least ten times, and it never really felt any better each time) would go from an elevation of 2028' (in Vegas) to Mt. Charleston peak at 11,916' in about about a 5-6 hour time frame, and we'd all seem to do "okay" until the last few switch-backs at about 11,500'. That's where we'd really start to feel the misery of not being acclimated ; you know.... where we'd get all quiet, and disturbed looking, like zombies, slowly making that last push to the summit like we were on Everest, or something. ; ) Depending on how dehydrated, and hungover some of us were, we'd at least suffer a throbbing headache, and sometimes we would puke. The good thing is as soon as we dropped elevation below from where we first started feeling symptoms, it would almost instantly subside like it never happened.

One time I took Ginkgo Biloba (after hearing that it may prevent AMS) for about a month before a hiking, and climbing trip in the Winds/Cirque Of The Towers, and although it may have been psychological, I felt it worked for me a bit. I was so pleased that I didn't feel much of a difference on my body with gaining altitude at all on that trip. It probably helped more that we slept one night at a campground at 9080' before we hiked in, and slept another night at 10,000', or so before climbing (Pingora 11,884', and Wolf's Head- 12, 165'), and that I stay hydrated, as there were plenty of water features around to filter water. I also trained at the gym on the stair-master with my heavy pack full of gear for 3x/wk. for 2 weeks prior to trip; what a pain in the ass, that was! I got to hand it to athletes that are consistant with their work-outs, and have that drive most, or all of the darned time. Feels like a freakin' job to me sometimes! Anyway, this thread is inspiring, and good luck with your acclimatizing, stay hydrated, and have fun! : )

EDIT: Evan, and/or other experts in the matter; whatcha think about Ginkgo Biloba? (I just like sayin' it).

Cory has it, live near the beach and heading to whitney/russel.

is diamonx expensive? Will your doctor readily prescribe it to you?

Ginkgo helps with vasodilation, more blood equals more oxygen if your physiology is working correctly, so therefore it must help with altitude issues right? Not if you don't have the RBC's to carry that O2. Short answer, it sure cant hurt, long answer, it's complicated slightly. Many people take ginseng to help with altitude gains, I use it regularly and it seems to help. Rhodiola is also know for it's adaptogenic properties (helps with stressful physiological situations), and since it grows at higher elevation, many people associate that with it helping altitude sickness, which it certainly can, the Russians gave it to their cosmonauts and olympians for decades.