Great info. One of the critical factors that should also be mentioned right at the top is hydration. Staying well hydrated helps avoid the symptoms and helps the body acclimate to altitude. Maybe worth noting too that blood oxygen levels naturally drop a few percent when sleeping, so if you are having a hard time when awake, trying to sleep it off (without descending) could be risky. (That's my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong).
First time hiking on a high elevation - I went to Mt. Baldy Summit (10k ft elevation) last Sunday. Before reaching the summit, I start having this massive headache (like a hangover) and wanted to throw up. My hiking pace went from normal to really slow like tip-toeing lol. Some hikers noticed and asked if I'm ok. Thank goodness I reached the summit. From there I ate granola bars and slept for 2 hours. Thinking sleeping would take out the headache but it gets a lil bit worse when I woke up. Despite the situations, I still managed to descend.
Great information. When I climbed Kilimanjaro I was worried about cold and altitude. I was ok with both but got the worst case of diarrhea ever. I took Diamox and had no bad side effects, so I'm a believer. Thanks again for your great videos.
About 3 years ago I camped at 5000'. I live at about 30' above sea level. Yes, feet. not meters. I kept waking up with headaches all night (something I never experience). Ibuprofen didn't help. The next day I decided to postpone my hike because I felt so bad. Once I started moving around I felt better. Decided to look for a "level route" and set out for about 4 miles. I felt good. I was well hydrated. When I got back to my campsite and stopped, I almost immediately vomited. Decided to lay down and headache immediately returned. After about 5 minutes of lying there and realizing no one would come looking for me until my permit expired I made the decision to leave and get to lower elevation. Upon getting lower than 3000' I immediately started to feel better a bit. I stopped at a hotel for 1 night before continuing home as I still felt wrung out. Everyone swore there was no way it could be altitude related. Fast forward to this year. Out backpacking and the first 3 weeks were great. 4th week was great. 5th week I camped at 4400' and had a slight headache that night that kept waking me up. Again, ibuprofen was no help. Am I just a "wuss?"
I live at about 5000ft elevation, I travel for work a handful of times a year for a week at a time (note: this might not be long enough for my body to fully adapt to sea level though). After probably 30+ business trips to sea level cities and then back to my home city of 4700ft I've only gotten altitude sickness one time. I was absolutely destroyed for the entire following day, thought I had a massive flu. But then the next day I was back to 100%. In my experience and talking to friends/family who also live here it seems you can just get really unlucky.
I was in the Himalayas for a month post college. Got it real bad around 12.000 feet. We had some meds I took. After that I acclimated and felt great afterwards even though we went much higher. Other people got it worse later in the trip. I generally avoid altitude though as it always seems to nail me. After that trip when I came back down to sea level I could run ten miles like it was walking to the store.
born and raised at sea level for 31 years. im heading on my first backpacking trip. its 8 days long. and the highest peak is 1,030 meters. i should be perfectly fine right, thats not high enough to effect the body? this was an awesome video. it really helps make sense of peoples mountain climbs. ive allways wondered why people go up and down Everest like 5x before they even attempt to the summit. thanks for another awesome video.
Yeah you might feel a little extra breathing happening but you certainly will not get sick from altitude! Sound cool what’s it called? Thanks for watching and commenting man!
@@ChaseMountains Doing a section hike of the Appalachian Trail through The Appalachian Mountains , hoping we can do all 3,500 km together over the next couple of years. no problem at all man ive been really loving your channel
@@ChaseMountains not right now, but it's a topic I haven't covered much on my channel yet, so I want to be able to refer people to other informative videos on the topic!!
Good advice, but impractical on Kilimanjaro, where the routes and camps are all pre-set - even on the routes where acclimatization is supposedly “built in” to the profile, you’re generally camping about 2K feet higher than the night before, and no one is taking extra rest days after 2 of their hiking days.
Yes, its impractical. But these are the rules based on the science. There are companies on Kili offering more reasonable acclimatisation profiles, you just have to shop around.
Not so. Acclimatisation process causes loss of water by increased urination, and that water should be replaced. This is not a two way function, though: drinking a lot of water DOES NOT help with the acclimatisation process, it happens regardless. Drinking 4-5 liters per day is a complete and endlessly repeated misunderstanding of the acclimatisation process. Kudos to the Author here for not including the bad advise of drinking a lot of water into this video, as it is patently false.
I live in Reunion island and we often change altitude throughout our lives from 0 to 3000m before the island is basically a volcano that created it. Never heard that there was a sickness due to altitude. No one does anything when one goes from 0 to 1500m to sleep in the higher parts of the island xD
When I fly out west to go skiing, I take on an 11,000ft elevation increase overnight. I’m committed to the elevation and I cannot leave until I fly home. I ski 5 days straight and it’s exhausting, any recommendations? 3 gallons of water a day and stopping to use the bathroom every other run isn’t cutting it.
Chase I tried mont Blanca last year and the altitude sickness finished me at the gouter hut, where abouts could I acclimatise in the Chamonix area safely
I'm planning to go to annapurna circuit on March 2020. The main goals are to go to Tilicho Lake first and then to Thorung La Pass. I was thinking to take jeep to Manang and start trekking from there (to save time, because can't leave my job for too long). Is it safe for us to sleep in Manang? Or should we start lower, say at Chame or Pisang? And how many days does it take for us to acclamitized at Manang?
Well, put it this way, I had the unfortunate experience of trying to revive a man using CPR last year when I was in Tiicho. He had apparently taken a Jeep all the way to Manang, then began the hike up to Tilicho (probably the next day) He didn't make it unfortunately, he died at some stage during our attempt to revive him. Whatever decision you make is up to you, but my recommendation is to Jeep to Chame and walk from there, then I'd highly recommend staying 2 nights at Manang before moving up the Tilicho valley. It's really not worth dying over a couple of extra days of work my friend! Stay safe!
Nepalese from Pokhara die by dozens every year after coming up to Manang and Khagshar on jeeps, then attempting to trek to Tilicho Tal. That should teach something. Should.
Started in Besisahar , stayed three nights in manang ( included two day of hike high and sleep lows ) , then two further days to Thorang la and it went well
I’m moving to Vegas soon. I planned on training in the mountains three days a week at about 8000 feet, but I would be sleeping in the city, which is 2030 feet. Would that be ok for my body? I’d also like to be hiking up to the 11,000 peak for fun. How often would you recommend?
Hahah dude as often as you can! I don't think you'll have any problems at those altitudes, usually doesn't kick in until you spend a night above 10'000 feet
Chase Mountains I misunderstood. Not gonna lie I smoked before watching this the first time, so I listened again, you literally explained it in the video. 🤦🏻♂️
The medical literature recommends only raising sleeping altitude by 300 meters per night. Guides (like you) like to cut corners to sell (non refundable) trips to gullible clients. Also that is for above 2,500 meters not 3,000 meters. Bad advice.
What personally helped me, and probably saved me is the homeopathic remedy called Coca. Experienced naturopaths suggested and I am so very grateful because this allowed me to enjoy more at higher altitudes, incl. skiing.
Great info. One of the critical factors that should also be mentioned right at the top is hydration. Staying well hydrated helps avoid the symptoms and helps the body acclimate to altitude. Maybe worth noting too that blood oxygen levels naturally drop a few percent when sleeping, so if you are having a hard time when awake, trying to sleep it off (without descending) could be risky. (That's my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong).
First time hiking on a high elevation - I went to Mt. Baldy Summit (10k ft elevation) last Sunday. Before reaching the summit, I start having this massive headache (like a hangover) and wanted to throw up. My hiking pace went from normal to really slow like tip-toeing lol. Some hikers noticed and asked if I'm ok. Thank goodness I reached the summit. From there I ate granola bars and slept for 2 hours. Thinking sleeping would take out the headache but it gets a lil bit worse when I woke up. Despite the situations, I still managed to descend.
Great information. When I climbed Kilimanjaro I was worried about cold and altitude. I was ok with both but got the worst case of diarrhea ever. I took Diamox and had no bad side effects, so I'm a believer. Thanks again for your great videos.
About 3 years ago I camped at 5000'. I live at about 30' above sea level. Yes, feet. not meters. I kept waking up with headaches all night (something I never experience). Ibuprofen didn't help. The next day I decided to postpone my hike because I felt so bad. Once I started moving around I felt better. Decided to look for a "level route" and set out for about 4 miles. I felt good. I was well hydrated. When I got back to my campsite and stopped, I almost immediately vomited. Decided to lay down and headache immediately returned. After about 5 minutes of lying there and realizing no one would come looking for me until my permit expired I made the decision to leave and get to lower elevation. Upon getting lower than 3000' I immediately started to feel better a bit. I stopped at a hotel for 1 night before continuing home as I still felt wrung out. Everyone swore there was no way it could be altitude related.
Fast forward to this year. Out backpacking and the first 3 weeks were great. 4th week was great. 5th week I camped at 4400' and had a slight headache that night that kept waking me up. Again, ibuprofen was no help.
Am I just a "wuss?"
I think you have pretty low tolerance for some reason. I hear genetics plays a big role.
I live at about 5000ft elevation, I travel for work a handful of times a year for a week at a time (note: this might not be long enough for my body to fully adapt to sea level though). After probably 30+ business trips to sea level cities and then back to my home city of 4700ft I've only gotten altitude sickness one time. I was absolutely destroyed for the entire following day, thought I had a massive flu. But then the next day I was back to 100%. In my experience and talking to friends/family who also live here it seems you can just get really unlucky.
I was in the Himalayas for a month post college. Got it real bad around 12.000 feet. We had some meds I took. After that I acclimated and felt great afterwards even though we went much higher. Other people got it worse later in the trip. I generally avoid altitude though as it always seems to nail me. After that trip when I came back down to sea level I could run ten miles like it was walking to the store.
This is solid content! Great info, great edit! Glad I found you!
Backcountry Forward thanks man, likewise! Good to see a fellow hiking youtuber! Where are you based?
Chase Mountains Alberta, Canada. The Rocky Mountains are my playground!
born and raised at sea level for 31 years. im heading on my first backpacking trip. its 8 days long. and the highest peak is 1,030 meters. i should be perfectly fine right, thats not high enough to effect the body?
this was an awesome video. it really helps make sense of peoples mountain climbs. ive allways wondered why people go up and down Everest like 5x before they even attempt to the summit. thanks for another awesome video.
Yeah you might feel a little extra breathing happening but you certainly will not get sick from altitude! Sound cool what’s it called?
Thanks for watching and commenting man!
@@ChaseMountains Doing a section hike of the Appalachian Trail through The Appalachian Mountains , hoping we can do all 3,500 km together over the next couple of years.
no problem at all man ive been really loving your channel
Great tips, think im ready to climb K2 now
Awesome video! Super informative and I love the editing with the cartoon guy! 👍
amandaoutside ahhh thanks Amanda!! Love your vids too! Are you doing research for a high altitude hiking video???
@@ChaseMountains not right now, but it's a topic I haven't covered much on my channel yet, so I want to be able to refer people to other informative videos on the topic!!
Ur info is so practical
So many other vids have tips we already know
Keep iy up bro!
Mount Adam’s @ 12,000 was no prob.
Mount Shasta a year later and I had a headache at 10,000. Ibuprofen helped.
Thanks for the short and succinct video!
I'm going from 3800 ft to 8500 ft to live and work. Should I be concerned about getting altitude sickness?
Thank You for the Information.
Good advice, but impractical on Kilimanjaro, where the routes and camps are all pre-set - even on the routes where acclimatization is supposedly “built in” to the profile, you’re generally camping about 2K feet higher than the night before, and no one is taking extra rest days after 2 of their hiking days.
Yes, its impractical. But these are the rules based on the science. There are companies on Kili offering more reasonable acclimatisation profiles, you just have to shop around.
Like your videos. Drinking loads of water is imperative. Diamond dehydrated requiring even more water
Not so. Acclimatisation process causes loss of water by increased urination, and that water should be replaced. This is not a two way function, though: drinking a lot of water DOES NOT help with the acclimatisation process, it happens regardless. Drinking 4-5 liters per day is a complete and endlessly repeated misunderstanding of the acclimatisation process.
Kudos to the Author here for not including the bad advise of drinking a lot of water into this video, as it is patently false.
I live in Reunion island and we often change altitude throughout our lives from 0 to 3000m before the island is basically a volcano that created it. Never heard that there was a sickness due to altitude. No one does anything when one goes from 0 to 1500m to sleep in the higher parts of the island xD
above 3000 M upward is the issue not below
Great info and tips!
When I fly out west to go skiing, I take on an 11,000ft elevation increase overnight. I’m committed to the elevation and I cannot leave until I fly home. I ski 5 days straight and it’s exhausting, any recommendations? 3 gallons of water a day and stopping to use the bathroom every other run isn’t cutting it.
Beautiful content! But do change the mic system,to cut out the room booming kind of sound.Hope u grow!
Thanks friend! Yes I'm using a 7 dollar mic in an empty room (learning every time) hahaha 😂😂😂
Chase I tried mont Blanca last year and the altitude sickness finished me at the gouter hut, where abouts could I acclimatise in the Chamonix area safely
I'm planning to go to annapurna circuit on March 2020. The main goals are to go to Tilicho Lake first and then to Thorung La Pass. I was thinking to take jeep to Manang and start trekking from there (to save time, because can't leave my job for too long). Is it safe for us to sleep in Manang? Or should we start lower, say at Chame or Pisang? And how many days does it take for us to acclamitized at Manang?
Well, put it this way, I had the unfortunate experience of trying to revive a man using CPR last year when I was in Tiicho. He had apparently taken a Jeep all the way to Manang, then began the hike up to Tilicho (probably the next day) He didn't make it unfortunately, he died at some stage during our attempt to revive him. Whatever decision you make is up to you, but my recommendation is to Jeep to Chame and walk from there, then I'd highly recommend staying 2 nights at Manang before moving up the Tilicho valley. It's really not worth dying over a couple of extra days of work my friend! Stay safe!
@@ChaseMountains Thanks for your insights. I'll try to convince my friends to start from Chame and stay for 2 nights at Manang. Cheers from Indonesia!
Nepalese from Pokhara die by dozens every year after coming up to Manang and Khagshar on jeeps, then attempting to trek to Tilicho Tal. That should teach something. Should.
Started in Besisahar , stayed three nights in manang ( included two day of hike high and sleep lows ) , then two further days to Thorang la and it went well
I’m moving to Vegas soon. I planned on training in the mountains three days a week at about 8000 feet, but I would be sleeping in the city, which is 2030 feet. Would that be ok for my body? I’d also like to be hiking up to the 11,000 peak for fun. How often would you recommend?
Hahah dude as often as you can! I don't think you'll have any problems at those altitudes, usually doesn't kick in until you spend a night above 10'000 feet
Chase Mountains I misunderstood. Not gonna lie I smoked before watching this the first time, so I listened again, you literally explained it in the video. 🤦🏻♂️
@@Trainbydayjrpodcastbynight lol yeah it's cool I forgot that I mentioned it in the video anyway 🥴
About to live at 8,400 ft. I have been living at 5,400 for the past 4 years think it will give me altitude sickness?
The medical literature recommends only raising sleeping altitude by 300 meters per night. Guides (like you) like to cut corners to sell (non refundable) trips to gullible clients. Also that is for above 2,500 meters not 3,000 meters. Bad advice.
What personally helped me, and probably saved me is the homeopathic remedy called Coca.
Experienced naturopaths suggested and I am so very grateful because this allowed me to enjoy more at higher altitudes, incl. skiing.