It's all good.

Yury wrote:

WyomingSummits wrote:

MoapaPk wrote:-You can run 4 miles in 40 minutes; OR
-At the gym, you can go 30 minutes on an elliptical trainer set at 20% incline and intermediate resistance; or
-you can walk on a treadmill set at 15% incline and 3 mph, for 30 minutes.

That list should be the minimum physical requirements. I can do those with ease and still sometimes feel worked depending on the terrain/load being carried.

WyomingSummits,

-You can run 4 miles in 40 minutes; - Many years ago I was able to do this. I doubt I can do it now.
or
-At the gym, you can go 30 minutes on an elliptical trainer set at 20% incline and intermediate resistance; - I have no experience using elliptical trainer.
or
-you can walk on a treadmill set at 15% incline and 3 mph, for 30 minutes. - I doubt I can do this. Typically I use 2.4 mph in a gym with 15% incline.

Does it mean that I am not allowed to hike in the mountains in case I do not meet these requirements?

Not at all. I was talking about minimum requirements in regards to a guided trip that Moapa referenced. Especially in a paid guided group situation, a minimum should be expected so some couch potato doesn't ruin the summit opportunities of others who came prepared. We If someone wants to go climb a peak in lesser shape on their own, they are more than welcome! Lord knows I have!

Yury wrote:

WyomingSummits wrote:

MoapaPk wrote:-You can run 4 miles in 40 minutes; OR
-At the gym, you can go 30 minutes on an elliptical trainer set at 20% incline and intermediate resistance; or
-you can walk on a treadmill set at 15% incline and 3 mph, for 30 minutes.

That list should be the minimum physical requirements. I can do those with ease and still sometimes feel worked depending on the terrain/load being carried.

WyomingSummits,

-You can run 4 miles in 40 minutes; - Many years ago I was able to do this. I doubt I can do it now.
or
-At the gym, you can go 30 minutes on an elliptical trainer set at 20% incline and intermediate resistance; - I have no experience using elliptical trainer.
or
-you can walk on a treadmill set at 15% incline and 3 mph, for 30 minutes. - I doubt I can do this. Typically I use 2.4 mph in a gym with 15% incline.

Does it mean that I am not allowed to hike in the mountains in case I do not meet these requirements?

We had a menu from which people could choose one of 4 options -- two involved local hikes as benchmarks. People could contact me if they felt they couldn't meet these requirements, but were still able to hike long distance. The main intent was to make people think about their fitness, and be quantitative. Another local meetup has a simple "what is your fitness level, on a scale of 1-5?" They get an awful lot of 5s. I think of "5" as someone like Bob Burd.

I've heard taking iron supplements help a lot with altitude sickness, any truth to this?

Unfortunately none at all. Iron is part of hemoglobin, but doesn't give you more boxcars to carry the oxygen (red blood cells) in case that's what you were indirectly referring to. Those are made over time while you acclimate.

There's a lot if good information in this thread as well as within some of the linked articles throughout the thread. Additionally, I found these interesting:





Time and gradual acclimatization are the keys. Maybe start at an altitude you know from experience you tend to do well at, and then shoot to spend a minimum of a day (more time/more gradual ascent would be even safer & possibly necessary) of easy hiking or sticking around camp before ascending significantly/moving to the next altitude zone. In addition to rough charts and some explanation of the processes, some discussion of genetics can be found here:
http://anthro.palomar.edu/adapt/adapt_3.htm

Go slow to keep your heart rate low. Take small breaks if playing turtle moves into speedy rabbit heart rate territory (stay aerobic, not anaerobic). Being in great shape can make maintaining a low heart rate easier. Breathe. Stay hydrated. Eat carbs. Call it a day and/or descend if necessary.

Edit: Now if you are looking for easy shortcuts aside from a diamox prescription, I find that ibuprofen and caffeine help me feel better, but then I have to be careful not to go too fast due to masking symptoms and feeling good. I have to continue concentrating on hydration with water and Gatorade type products, keep my heart rate from going too high, and watch out for HACE/HAPE/severe AMS symptoms that would strongly suggest a need to descend.

jesu, joy of man's desiring wrote:Google "Lady Gaga altitude sickness Denver concert"


^^^^^^
Even the strongest succumb to this devastating illness

Can't






resist






the






urge






to









google.




Yeah, old Gags seems to have forgotten her humble beginnings. Had she remembered to incubate longer, she could have avoided all that unnecessary medical (or was it media) attention. Allow me to illustrate:



.
.
.


By the way, it is beating a dead horse at this point, but I stumbled across some pace at altitude analysis by SP member, Ze, that explains in more depth what several of us have been suggesting about maintaining a steady tortoise pace rather than taking the approach of the hare. It is amazing how slow I have been to embrace this concept in my own hiking; I suppose on shorter hikes to high altitude it was possible to get away with wasting energy and feeling some AMS because I would ascend and then descend quickly, but that hare approach has consistently failed me on endurance hikes. Duh.http://hikingscience.blogspot.com/2010/08/why-moving-little-too-fast-can-cost-you.html?m=1

http://anthro.palomar.edu/adapt/images/ ... onse_3.gif

The author of this figure is an anthropology prof. Any similar refs from medical journals?

^^^Yeah, I noticed that, and wouldn't mind seeing what research others may find. My own interest in researching is waning. As far as what I've personally experienced and what works for me, I'll be pleasantly surprised if someone comes up with anything earth shattering or helpful not already discussed or linked in this thread. Of note, I did find conflicting reports of antacids being helpful or not of any help in some AMS/HAPE/HACE scenarios.

She had altitude sickness in Denver? which is at 5500 ft right? Who the heck gets altitude sickness at 5500ft? Isn't a plane pressurized to 8000 ft?

Ed Viesturs attributes his slow approaches to his summit success. He mentions in "no shortcuts to the top" that the longer he went in his climbing life, the more value he saw in making the approach slow and comfy. He'd be on trips with young hot shots flying by him on the approach....only for him to smoke them on the peak.

WyomingSummits wrote:http://acli-mate.com/living-at-altitude-the-pros-and-cons-of-a-high-altitude-lifestyle/

Some interesting comments here. Not many quotes, and the site is trying to sell you something, but interesting none the less. Seems as if TRUE acclimatization at high athletic levels can take over a year....which I've suspected for a while. I live at 5k and my first peak of the summer season can thrash me if I show up in what would be considered good shape at sea level. It's what flatlanders with their first altitude experience can't understand until they experience it.....lack of oxygen is the great equalizer!

funnyman7878 wrote:She had altitude sickness in Denver? which is at 5500 ft right? Who the heck gets altitude sickness at 5500ft? Isn't a plane pressurized to 8000 ft?

Putting on a long song and dance show at moderate altitude is different than sitting in an airplane. I suspect there is some truth to her being Born This Way.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl0N7JM3wZk[/youtube]



Google Denver and altitude sickness and this informative site that supports other information in this thread is near the top of the results:


http://www.altitudemedicine.org/index.php/altitude-medicine/learn-about-altitude-sickness
Note the menu that provides links to additional pages of information within the site. Around 5,000 feet is described as the beginning of high altitude and 5,000-8,000 feet is viewed as useful territory for acclimatization as well as sleep and recovery.