We Don't Talk About Altitude Sickness Enough

[albertanskigirl]

So I guess the lesson for this is:

we should all ski in Alberta/interior BC more because our lifts top out at max 9500 feet?

 

[Chris Walker]

Scary topic. I read that story the other day and it is just heartbreaking. I can only imagine how her friends must feel. I really had no idea altitude sickness could be deadly at that altitude. I think the Conundrum Hot Springs are not much more than 11,000 feet (3,350 meters). That's high but I am surprised it was enough to result in loss of life.

I feel fortunate altitude sickness has never happened to me. My son is affected sometimes and it is utterly unpredictable. Most days we zip straight up to the top and ski hard all day and he's fine. Other times he gets green around the gills in the base area. Usually just going in to rest and have some water allows him to recover, but a couple of times we've had to cut the day short and get him down the hill right away. Amount of sleep, hydration, quality of breakfast, etc. have all proved very poor predictors of if it will happen.

 

[Tricia]

I really had no idea altitude sickness could be deadly at that altitude.

A few years ago, @Pequenita was attending the Mother's Day festivities with all of us and suffered pretty bad AMS. I can't remember the details, other than she was sick, and then someone (@jimmy ??) took her to lower elevation. I'm not sure if that impacted the decision to not attend the past year or two but, maybe?

 

[albertanskigirl]

We were visiting SO's family in Colorado this summer, and we stay in Evergreen, which is at about 8000 feet or so. We've never had any issues there or in Summit County (Silverthorne/Frisco) with the kids. However, we went to for a hike to Chicago Lakes this summer, and as soon as we got above the lakes (maybe 12000 ft or so), both the kids started complaining about headaches and nausea. We had lots of water, they were eating, well rested etc. It was clear what the culprit was, so we immediately started descending back to Echo Lake. Anyway, we were pretty surprised because they've been at high elevation before, and are regularly above 10000 feet, but just a little bit more, and they were done. You just can never tell when it will hit you, and it's good to be prepared. I'm pretty cautious, and I think, at the first sign, you need to get down right away because altitude sickness can get bad quickly.

 

[Jilly]

I love Mother's Day at A Basin, but can't wait to see Denver on Sunday night. When we skied Snowbird and Alta years ago we stayed in Salt Lake.

Tricia mentioned the " Breathe" to me, but I couldn't find it in Canada at the time.

 

[Tico]

Diamox, coca, and many "natural" altitude remedies have a similar result, if different mechanisms (Diamox makes kidneys dump bicarb, making slightly acidic blood, requiring increased co2 elimination, coca is a cns stimulant, etc. Both are diuretics). They work by increasing respiratory rate and heartrate, to a degree. It's important that if you use these to be aware of any heart, lung, or kidney issues you have, as well as the availability of water. I dislike Diamox, as the side effects are very similar to ams. I find clients can generally go from sea level to 18 or 20k ft in a week or so without it.

Carrying a corticosteroid like Prednisone or dex, as well as niphedipene, is prudent if going quite high fast or you can reasonably expect to be "stuck" up high. Your family doc shouldn't have a problem giving it to you. But in the states it's generally pretty easy to just descend, which is the gold standard care for altitude illnesses.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Hydration is important, but you can overdo the water and dilute electrolytes. Throw in some chocolate milk.

 

[Pat AKA mustski]

So we booked our trip with the kid..and it does occur to me that he can't really tell us what's wrong with him. Sooo...have to keep an eye on him..and we're doing a staged altitude approach to try and get him acclimatized properly..few days in Denver, few days higher up but in the valley, then up to base elevation. Fingers crossed..

The first time we took our little to altitude, his pediatrician recommended an aspirin regimen the week before. I don't know if that is still recommended (1 baby aspirin a day for a week before) my "little" is 20 and over 6 ft now.

 

[Tricia]

Hydration is important, but you can overdo the water and dilute electrolytes. Throw in some chocolate milk.

For that reason I carry pedialite dry packages with me. I can mix them with free water at the ski area (or wherever).

 

[Monique]

Hydration is important, but you can overdo the water and dilute electrolytes. Throw in some chocolate milk.

I like to carry pickles for this purpose.

 

[crgildart]

^^^^ I love pickles. Will have to remember to pack one in my ski day lunch from time to time.. especially if I'm going someplace higher than usual. Only thing other than being more easily winded the first hour or two above 5K and especially up around 10K is I hydrate the same as I do playing in the hot sun at the beach... and l can drink a gallon of water in 6 hours but not have to pee at all all day until I stop playing/skiing/whatever but keep adding fluids to be sure I don't dehydrate

 

[mdf]

I had a stretch of working at the top of Haleakala on Maui several years ago. It is "only" 10 kft, but we would go from our condo at sea level (literally!) to the top in a couple of hours. Anytime people did something dumb they would blame it on "altitude brain." Fortunately, it never bothered me, but I had a co-worker who developed a dry cough midway through every shift. It would go away like clockwork when we descended through 7 thousand feet at the end of the day.

 

[eok]

I had a stretch of working at the top of Haleakala on Maui several years ago. It is "only" 10 kft, but we would go from our condo at sea level (literally!) to the top in a couple of hours. Anytime people did something dumb they would blame it on "altitude brain." Fortunately, it never bothered me, but I had a co-worker who developed a dry cough midway through every shift. It would go away like clockwork when we descended through 7 thousand feet at the end of the day.

Our house is at around 3500ft elevation. Doesn't seem like much. However, when we go to visit folks in Central 'Cali (it's below sea level there) for several days, we often end up feeling a bit funky (low energy, sometimes vague headache) for the first couple days when we return home. No, no, we're not hung-over. Anyway, from our experience, just going from below sea level to moderate altitude can have some effects too.

 

[skibob]

I used to suffer terribly. Try skiing with a pounding headache and no sleep. Awful.

Then I discovered . . . sugar. No really, for me, in addition to paying attention to hydration, keeping up with sugar. Sugar before bed. Sugar if I wake up and can't get back to sleep. Sugar every few hours on the slopes. Its really not about getting a lot of sugar. Its about getting it regularly. If I am sure to get a little sugar every few hours thos first few days, no trouble at all.

 

[Dave Petersen]

I thought I had altitude sickness this past March when we were in Breck for a week, which surprised me because we go out there quite a bit. Went to the doctor in Breck and it turned out I had the flu (which sucked because I did get a flu shot).

Missed out on skiing the last 3 days of my trip.

 

[Eleeski]

Maybe we are talking about altitude sickness too much. Blaming the flu, poor conditioning, too much skiing or other normal issues on the altitude may not be fair. Do the things you should (drink water, avoid excess alcohol, train beforehand, etc) and enjoy the ski resorts.

If you are doing Everest or something truly high, pay attention. Ski resorts are a long way from Everest.

Eric

 

[eok]

Concerning the initial post for this tread:

Some details on the Conundrum Creek trail in the Aspen area: http://www.protrails.com/trail/742/aspen-snowmass-conundrum-hot-springs . Summary: start-end elevation is 8,765' - 11,222' for a net elevation gain of 2,457'. No details on exactly where the young hiker was on the trail before falling ill.

This table lists US ski resort elevations: http://www.onthesnow.com/united-states/statistics.html .

 

[jimmy]

Very sad story about the lady on Conundrum.

A few years ago, @Pequenita was attending the Mother's Day festivities with all of us and suffered pretty bad AMS. I can't remember the details, other than she was sick, and then someone (@jimmy ??) took her to lower elevation. I'm not sure if that impacted the decision to not attend the past year or two but, maybe?

That's right @James and I got her out of there and down to Silverthorne. The interesting thing was the lower we went the symptoms lessened. We hung around the Outlets for a bit and while she was far from fine, we knew she was going to be ok. I think if you get symptoms, go down, go down now.

I've been lucky in Summit County, except for that one December at Copper. Nice long après sKi at the base, then we drank all the wine and cleaned out the liquor cabinet @SBrown s condo before heading back to Dillon. I thought I was going to die the next day at ABasin. I don't feel the same pressure in Utah as Summit county, probably because we are not sleeping at 9000 ft. I think the parking lot at Abasin is as high as the top of the supreme chair at Alta.

 

[SBrown]

Very sad story about the lady on Conundrum.



That's right @James and I got her out of there and down to Silverthorne. The interesting thing was the lower we went the symptoms lessened. We hung around the Outlets for a bit and while she was far from fine, we knew she was going to be ok. I think if you get symptoms, go down, go down now.

Yes yes yes yes yes

 

[Monique]

If you are doing Everest or something truly high, pay attention. Ski resorts are a long way from Everest.

Eric

Except that the article initiating this thread was about a person who died hiking at an elevation lower than the top of the lifts at Breckenridge. So yes, pay attention, even if you're "just" at a ski resort or doing some other high alpine activity.

That's right @James and I got her out of there and down to Silverthorne. The interesting thing was the lower we went the symptoms lessened. We hung around the Outlets for a bit and while she was far from fine, we knew she was going to be ok. I think if you get symptoms, go down, go down now.

Several years ago, a relative was visiting us in Breck. At the time, we slept at 10.7k feet. She felt sick the whole time, but insisted she just had a cold, even though we repeatedly suggested leaving. And she insisted on continuing to drink her normal amount of alcohol.

So we're driving down I-70 ... and almost with every mile, she comments on how much better she's feeling. Around Georgetown, she's starting to feel like herself. /facepalm