Acclimatizing at Aconcagua

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Abdullah

 
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Acclimatizing at Aconcagua

by Abdullah » Mon Oct 31, 2016 11:01 am

Hi,

I'm looking forward to doing Aconcagua this season. I'm 29 years old. I've been up to 6000 meters altitute in the past. But that was more than four years ago (and that's still roughly 1000 meters less than aconcagua).

Do you think I would acclimatize well with Aconcagua given my experience.

Looking forward to hearing from anyone who could advice.

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OPHIRTODD

 
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Re: Acclimatizing at Aconcagua

by OPHIRTODD » Fri Nov 04, 2016 3:00 am

Hi Abdullah,
You've asked a question that is impossible to answer, but the fact that you had a good experience on your previous trip to 6000m is a good indication that you'll do fine on Aconcagua.

Every trip high is something of a roll of the dice, but only a small, small percentage of people have some predisposition to not acclimating well. If you felt good at 6000m, you're almost certainly NOT in that small percentage of folks.

Take your time. Some teams push high fast, but just take it easy and give yourself time to acclimatize. Shoot for 1000 - 1500' of elevation gain on average per day. Have some Diamox handy and unless you have some contraindication why not to - take it as needed or even as a prophylactic. Eat and drink plenty and you'll have a great time. It's a super trip - one of my favorites!

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Norris

 
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Re: Acclimatizing at Aconcagua

by Norris » Sun Dec 04, 2016 2:07 am

Late post for this thread, but regardless: be aware that on Aconcagua, all climbers have to be examined by a doctor at basecamp, and they take your blood pressure, measure your oxygen saturation and can turn you around if they don't like the numbers they see. They also have a ridiculous "no Diamox" policy, perhaps because they may have seen a high correlation between climbers getting rescued/evacuated and Diamox use. It's a stupid policy, but if you use Diamox I would lie about it if asked by the doctor at base camp. One way to improve the odds of success on Aconcagua, if you have the time, is to go on a trekking / peak bagging excursion in the Vallecitos region before starting your Aconcagua climb. It adds 4 - 5 days but is well worth it in my experience.

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markhallam

 
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Re: Acclimatizing at Aconcagua

by markhallam » Mon Dec 05, 2016 10:05 pm

If you are fit & healthy and able to follow the UIAA guidelines you are unlikely to have any serious problems (which advise that above 3000m you raise your sleeping height by no more than about 300-400m per day and have days rest every 3rd day). In 2011 at the age of 50 I followed these guidelines fairly closely - being un-guided I could follow my own program of acclimatisation - and I experienced nothing worse than shortness of breath - and a bit of 'periodic breathing' at night, which responded to half a Diamox... speaking of which you don't need to take Diamox to acclimatise but it can make you more comfortable. Don't even think of taking it instead of acclimatising.
I did notice that a lot of guided groups seemed to pay no or little heed to UIAA guidelines - and many of their clients either suffered unnecessarily or didn't summit - or both. For example one party of 6 led by a guide plus assistant entered the national park on same day as me - and went for the summit 4 days before the first day I felt I would be ready to try for the summit (when I did summit). Not one of them summited - and that included a really fit young woman who went like a train at all the lower elevations - but she hit the wall at 6000m.
So if you are looking for a guide I'd go for the one with the most flexible program - that gives you more options in event of bad weather also - at least one third of the days the viento blanco is blowing - and you don't want to be making a summit attempt in that! (some did when I was on the mountain - with tragic consequences)
I agree with Norris - Vallecitos is a great place to acclimatise - though I didn't go there before Aconcagua - but went there this year and had a ball.
If you are interested to read more about high altitude and expedition medicine here is the link to an article I wrote:
http://www.summitpost.org/expedition-medicine/675753
Best of luck!
Mark


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