Alpine72, did you have full filtering glacier glasses (Euro cat. 4) or like me, you used the more versatile mountaineering and driving glasses (Euro cat. 3) ?
I was not expecting that much snow on Aconcagua and with the sunny weather, the altitude and the latitude, my cat. 3 glasses were truly not enough. Pro : I have dark eyes.
Anyway I felt insolation stiking through the openning of my baclava (around the eyes). At one point, on the summit I wanted to take a picture but when looking at the view through my camera, my vision was totally blurry...
Diamox ? have never used, thinking it was more something for emergency cases and to help going downward in case of AMS, HAPE and HACE.

Wasn´t aware there was a Diamox ban on Aconcagua. My due diligence and consultation with my doctor was specific. Start taking two days prior to ascent. If using it as a treatment for an allready occuring form of AMS then it seems likely that it´s to late and your expedition is allready over. Like I said the other 2 non Diamox males didn´t make it past Nido but mabye I was lucky? My highest preveious peak was Rainier a far cry away. Anyways other than the blurred vision which looking back now is almost certainly from dehydration I feel the medication worked out fine. Need to be more disciplined in the future with fluid intake next time. BTW, I used my full glacier glasses or my snow googles for the ascent. Not sure how soon I want to go back and do another 22,000ft peak however. Next South American peak will probably be Husacarn but not any time too soon however. Gone play closer to home for awhile and try for Robson and Exum ridge on Teton later this year.

Alpine72, you might be interested to read about <A HREF="http://www.summitpost.org/show/mread.pl?f_id=3&t_id=2487&page=2">my experience</A> with Diamox on Aconcagua. We both were lucky not to have worse problems. I will also be more disciplined about drinking more in the future.

Your kidney stone right? I was thinking about that during my trip, I guess we will never know what would have happened had we not taken Diamox. I have a small feeling it lifted my O2 count just enough but...... It sounds so easy to drink lots of water on paper but when your at high camp and half your afternoon and early evening is spent melting snow as is it´s a little challenging. Did you enjoy that drink from the penetentie field just above camp Canada on the way down? Fresh water had never tasted so good. Anyways we made it, which this year seemed to be a rarity from talking to group after group coming down without summits. I think for now we should give each other a pat on the back for a job well done. What an experience it was.

Yo... take it easy amigo... especially with those who died. You never know what were their constraints, motivation, etc. Press wrote he was a guide, actually working for a local company... (when I talked to him he was alone - but may be he was catching-up a group somewhere higher ?) As far as I'm concerned, I just have some aspirine and a wide-scope anti-bio as drugs in my emergency kit. Thus, for the strategy and risks involved using such or such drug, I leave it to you guys, sounds you have better chemistry background than I do.

Thanks Peter. You go ahead and be irritated by my climbing idea´s FYI our trip involved 6 months of planing and research. Diamox in my case was not a compromise to aclimatization but an extra boost to help feel confident that my O2 levels would have been a little higher. We had almost a full week before even going beyond de Mula´s not that I feel the need to justify my climbing stradegy to anyone beyond myself or those that I share the mountains I climb with. Other than forcing myself to drink more water I don´t think I´ll do anything different for the next high peak.

Bird, we will be heading down that way in mid August. I will email you allthough we may allready have a couple rope teams put together for that trip.

I have to agree with Peter's assessment. Alpine72 don't take this as criticism of other people's strategies including yours. It just happens to be closer to mine. Everones body works differently. I just felt Peter's words were good advice to anyone to follow untill you find out for yourself what works for you.

Peter, I agree with everything you said about AMS, paying attention to your body, and descending when in trouble. Absolutely. But who are you to judge other people for using Diamox proactively? Many climbers do so. It is prescribed by doctors to help people acclimatize faster/better. And the drug works amazingly well. It helps people to sleep better at night at high altitude, and therefore be more alert while climbing. That can help to reduce fatal accidents.

I used it on Aconcagua with a short timeline and summited successfully and 50% of climbers overall do not reach the summit. Were it not for the side affects of causing kidney stones, I would recommend Diamox for everyone. I really don't give a shit if some climbers think it is not a pure way to climb a mountain. I climb for my own pleasure, not to impress anyone else.

I don't see this drug as being any different than taking aspirin, ant-acids, decongestions or any other medication that makes you feel better / more comfortable. I took all of those at one time or another on Aconcagua. I guess I'm a really lousy climber.

I wonder if climbers that do some of the highest peaks in the world should try them without oxeygen first as well?? Sorry but I think your argument is weak and I allready explained that my blurry vision was probably caused by dehydration and by posting my experience was an awareness post. BTW. Rather than being smug and suggesting I didn't know about Diamox and glacouma you should have asked. You are telling me nothing new with that one Peter.

Alpinist put up a very informative report about his kidney stone experience which I much appreciated and took to heart when I was there. Nobody said "Oh you shouldn't be climbing a mountain that high if you need Diamox" I added my experiences to share with this forum as well and add my feelings about how I felt and my experience with Diamox not to have some little smart @ss like yourself pretend they know it all and try and belittle my acheivment.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed and commented in a positive way. I am glad these ridcoulous comments seem to be the exception rather than the norm around here. Sorry if it seems like I am getting a little worked up here ,but to suggest that someone has no buisnees climbing mountains with the use of a proven medication used by many climbers and prescribed by my own MD is simply just a ridculous comment. To say it about ones self is one thing but to try and make an example of a mountaineer you don't even know based on your own personal prefrences and by deciding for them what peaks they should and should not be climbing is just crap.

Peter,

<i>Do I really judge?</i> Maybe not, but the following remarks were pretty insulting.

<i>"...can´t believe some of the stuff I read there..."</i>

<i>"The infrastructure on Aconcagua makes it too easy for people to be ignorant and dumb."</i>

<i>"Need to be more disciplined in the future with fluid intake next time [...]" irritates me. "</i>

I understand and completely agree with your basic point that climbers should <b>not</b> use Diamox (or any other drug) as a replacement for proper acclimatization, or as a treatment for AMS instead of descending. Where we disagree is on the use of Diamox to help one to sleep better even when you are properly acclimatized. Diamox is recommended by the <A HREF="http://www.ismmed.org/np_altitude_tutorial.htm">International Society for Mountain Medicine</A> and also prescribed by medical doctors.

This is from the ICMM:

"Certain normal physiologic changes occur in every person who goes to altitude:
- Hyperventilation (breathing faster, deeper, or both)
- Shortness of breath during exertion
- Changed breathing pattern at night
- Awakening frequently at night
- Increased urination
If periodic breathing symptoms are troublesome, a medication called acetazolamide may be helpful."

Just because I took Diamox does not mean that I did not allow enough time to acclimatize on Aconcagua. My previous experience taught me how much time I would need to safely reach the summit. I took Diamox as an added measure of comfort and to sleep better at night, and I must say that it helped. I respect your decision not to use Diamox, but you should not criticize those that do. If used properly, it can be perfectly safe.

<i>I was missing lessons learned out of the Swiss climber's death.</i>

I don't think we know enough about the specific situation to learn any lessons, except for the obvious; that he should have descended sooner/faster. Certainly, we don't know that he was taking Diamox. Someone stated that he was a professional guide. Obviously, beginners are not the only ones that die in the mountains. William can tell you a story of another guide that collapsed high on the mountain from AMS. Who knows, perhaps these accidents would have been avoided had these people taken Diamox..

<i>I was a bit shocked about the general acceptance of drugs in the mountains.</i>

I must say I am surprised at this comment considering you are from Austria. I have never climbed in Europe but have read other climbers comment that mountain huts in the Alps are like virtual pharmacies.

I agree with you on many points except for your opinion that drugs should universally not be used in the mountains. I believe they can be taken to make one feel more comfortable, but as I said, not as a replacement for acclimatization, and not as a substitute for descending when you have symptoms of AMS.

Cheers,

George