Posts: 10,165
Threads: 343
Joined: Apr 2009
So, I just want to emphasize things as this is the advice we've been given by the medical community for staff and visitors at the summit.
Supplemental oxygen will make you feel better at altitude. However, if you have altitude sickness, it will help relieve your symptoms but will not treat you and it can end up being fatal if you do not get to lower altitudes as quickly as you can. Due to the nature of the illness, you may not realize you are suffering symptoms which makes it doubly serious which is why you should always use the buddy system.
Pumping oxygen into your lungs will make you feel better, but it's the partial pressure at the altitude that causes problems, not the amount of oxygen.
Voyager - there's a massive difference between 7-8 thousand feet and 13 to 14,000 ft. Please don't underestimate it.
Posts: 1,858
Threads: 46
Joined: Apr 2015
Go Voyager Go! Just don't forget the GoPro so we can all see!
Posts: 1,064
Threads: 10
Joined: Aug 2016
Good explanation Tom. Sounds like the effect is similar to the bends, but from a different direction. So it's really quite simple....acclimate, or "decompress" on your way up, and if you have trouble head back down as soon as possible. And don't mess around with quick fixes.
And I can confirm from my experience that skiing at 9000' Mt.Rose is nothing compared to Mauna Kea.
Posts: 71
Threads: 4
Joined: Aug 2003
Tom K, do you know where the Saddle Quarry rain gage is located? It has received upwards of 50" since Nov. 23rd.
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/hi/nwis/uv/?site_no=194117155174801&PARAmeter_cd=00045
Posts: 1,431
Threads: 12
Joined: Oct 2016
quote:
Originally posted by djs
Tom K, do you know where the Saddle Quarry rain gage is located? It has received upwards of 50" since Nov. 23rd.
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/hi/nwis/uv/?site_no=194117155174801&PARAmeter_cd=00045
No way. Really?
It's at 4200 ft.elevation.
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/hi/nwis/nwismap/?site_no=194117155174801&agency_cd=USGS
Posts: 71
Threads: 4
Joined: Aug 2003
Thanks Durian Fiend! I guess I didn't click on all the links in the webpage before
Posts: 93
Threads: 6
Joined: Dec 2014
Altitude sickness -- even elite athletes can get it by going to high elevations too quickly. Pausing for an hour on the way up is really not enough for someone sensitive to altitude, but if you only stay a short time, it's probably okay. To truly acclimate to very high altitudes takes many days, a big part of the reason high altitude hikers take their time on the way up a mountain. Your body has to make lots of new red blood cells to effectively carry oxygen throughout your body in the thinner air (oversimplified explanation) and that takes time. To assist the body in the effort, drink plenty of liquids.
I have taken Diamox and it gave me the weirdest dreams and scariest nightmares. It would be unusual to take the drug for a one-day trip up a mountain because you have to take it for a few days in advance. If you are super sensitive to elevation and you know it, consult your physician before venturing to great heights. The effects can be fatal. I had a brush with high altitude cerebral edema at 19,000+ ft. and would not want to repeat it.
Posts: 10,165
Threads: 343
Joined: Apr 2009
Great advice, KiminPL, thank you. Just curious, 19K feet sounds you were in the Himalayas, or, perhaps more likely, the Andes?
Our own rules are 30 minutes acclimation at 9,000 ft if you are up for eight hours, any longer you must acclimate overnight (roughly 24-hours). For new visitors, we often suggest 48 hours just to be sure, and it has made a big difference in that fewer people have altitude sickness.
For the 30-minute rule, remember this is aimed at people who work at the summit most weekdays, so they already have an acquired acclimation.
There are some observatories in the Chilean Andes that have staff work at around 16,000 ft (maybe higher, I forget), but they actually pressurize the control rooms so staff are breathing air with partial pressures that humans can handle. Just like being in aircraft that pressurize the cabin air to the equivalent of 6-8000 feet altitude. Most people can handle that. Pressurize it to 13-14,000 feet and you'll end up with brain-fuddled pilots and passengers becoming ill.
Posts: 5,640
Threads: 101
Joined: Dec 2008
19,000 ft? Kilimanjaro, I would guess.
Posts: 10,165
Threads: 343
Joined: Apr 2009
True, didn't think about that.
