SummitPost.org

I did Grizzly Peak today via the Loveland Pass route and it could have ended real bad. This is now my 3rd day in CO and yesterday I did Grays and Torreys and felt really good. I also felt really good and strong on my way up Grizzly today. I had no headache, I was well hydrated and I was making good progress until I got pretty close to the summit. I did see some weather moving in but it was moving over to Grays and Torreys and the skies over Grizzly were still clear. I decided I was going to try to get to the summit quickly, take a picture and go back down immediately. I guess I was pushing it real hard and maybe 50 feet below the summit I completely hit the wall and turned into a dribbling mess. I guess I was hyperventilating and my fingers and face had this sensation of electricity going through. I got kind of scared and rested a little bit, then started to move down again slowly but I felt really bad still and got very scared. I never felt anything like this so I took out my cell and found that I had good reception. I called 911 and they put me through to a mountain rescue team. They told me to stay where I was and they were going to come up there to get me down. By that time crappy weather was moving in and I felt a little bit better, so I moved down to the sattle just below Grizzly. I did not have any headache or nausea and was hydrated well, so it was kind of weired to me. I drank some more water and ate a Clif bar, when it started to hail. I started to feel a little better and took all my energy to try to make it back towards Loveland Pass where my car was. I made it over two more false summits until I finally met the mountain rescue team. I was very glad because I started to feel really crappy again. They took my pulse, pressure and I believe some kind of oxygen value with a sensor on my finger and those values were actally quite okay but my breathing was very hard. They put me on oxygen and made me get my breathing rate down. Finally, I was well enough and we started walking down slowly the last bit to Loveland Pass. Back at the car I felt okay, maybe a little bit beat up, but all my value were back at normal too, so I told them that I did not need an ambulance and drove down to Georgetown where I am now.
This whole episode really scared the hell out of me and the strange thng to me is that it probably was not AMS (according to the medic rescue guy), but some kind of hypoxia. I really have to thank Joe's Summit County Rescue Group and all the guys on his team. Thanks guys!
I decided to write about this because I hope it will make think about everythng and help me get over this. A trip report should follow once I get back home.
Did anybody ever have an encouter like this as well?

Matt

mstender wrote:I did Grizzly Peak today via the Loveland Pass route and it could have ended real bad. This is now my 3rd day in CO and yesterday I did Grays and Torreys and felt really good. I also felt really good and strong on my way up Grizzly today. I had no headache, I was well hydrated and I was making good progress until I got pretty close to the summit. I did see some weather moving in but it was moving over to Grays and Torreys and the skies over Grizzly were still clear. I decided I was going to try to get to the summit quickly, take a picture and go back down immediately. I guess I was pushing it real hard and maybe 50 feet below the summit I completely hit the wall and turned into a dribbling mess. I guess I was hyperventilating and my fingers and face had this sensation of electricity going through. I got kind of scared and rested a little bit, then started to move down again slowly but I felt really bad still and got very scared. I never felt anything like this so I took out my cell and found that I had good reception. I called 911 and they put me through to a mountain rescue team. They told me to stay where I was and they were going to come up there to get me down. By that time crappy weather was moving in and I felt a little bit better, so I moved down to the sattle just below Grizzly. I did not have any headache or nausea and was hydrated well, so it was kind of weired to me. I drank some more water and ate a Clif bar, when it started to hail. I started to feel a little better and took all my energy to try to make it back towards Loveland Pass where my car was. I made it over two more false summits until I finally met the mountain rescue team. I was very glad because I started to feel really crappy again. They took my pulse, pressure and I believe some kind of oxygen value with a sensor on my finger and those values were actally quite okay but my breathing was very hard. They put me on oxygen and made me get my breathing rate down. Finally, I was well enough and we started walking down slowly the last bit to Loveland Pass. Back at the car I felt okay, maybe a little bit beat up, but all my value were back at normal too, so I told them that I did not need an ambulance and drove down to Georgetown where I am now.
This whole episode really scared the hell out of me and the strange thng to me is that it probably was not AMS (according to the medic rescue guy), but some kind of hypoxia. I really have to thank Joe's Summit County Rescue Group and all the guys on his team. Thanks guys!
I decided to write about this because I hope it will make think about everythng and help me get over this. A trip report should follow once I get back home.
Did anybody ever have an encouter like this as well?

Matt

It sounds like AMS to me. You were exposed to hypoxic conditions, hyperventilated (aggravated by your "final push") and experienced typical AMS symptoms: tingling sensations, fatigue, lack of energy, ... what was your O2 saturation when they put the sensor on your finger?

SoCalHiker wrote:what was your O2 saturation when they put the sensor on your finger?

I believe the guy said "98". He thought it wasn't AMS based on that but he was not a doc but a nurse.

mstender wrote:

SoCalHiker wrote:what was your O2 saturation when they put the sensor on your finger?

I believe the guy said "98". He thought it wasn't AMS based on that but he was not a doc but a nurse.

That's a normal saturation, but how many feet have you already descended by that point?

SoCalHiker wrote:

mstender wrote:

SoCalHiker wrote:what was your O2 saturation when they put the sensor on your finger?

I believe the guy said "98". He thought it wasn't AMS based on that but he was not a doc but a nurse.

That's a normal saturation, but how many feet have you already descended by that point?

That's what the guy said too.

By the time they took the measurement I had not really descended anything in altitude, so I was still at about 13,000 ft (summit is at 13400 ft), since you have to hike along a ridge at about the same altitude for about 2 miles and you have to go up ad down a couple of false summits. They drop in altitude down to the pass at 11900 ft where my car was really was on the last bit (< 1mile) that I walked together with the rescue team. By the time I got back to the car I was totally back to normal in terms of breathing, pulse, pressure and saturation was 100.

I am just really worried now for what I had planned for the next couple of days. The rescue medic told me to rest a day, then I could go back to hiking, just take it easy and go slowly.

mstender wrote:

SoCalHiker wrote:

mstender wrote:

SoCalHiker wrote:what was your O2 saturation when they put the sensor on your finger?

I believe the guy said "98". He thought it wasn't AMS based on that but he was not a doc but a nurse.

That's a normal saturation, but how many feet have you already descended by that point?

That's what the guy said too.

By the time they took the measurement I had not really descended anything in altitude, so I was still at about 13,000 ft (summit is at 13400 ft), since you have to hike along a ridge at about the same altitude for about 2 miles and you have to go up ad down a couple of false summits. They drop in altitude down to the pass at 11900 ft where my car was really was on the last bit (< 1mile) that I walked together with the rescue team. By the time I got back to the car I was totally back to normal in terms of breathing, pulse, pressure and saturation was 100.

I am just really worried now for what I had planned for the next couple of days. The rescue medic told me to rest a day, then I could go back to hiking, just take it easy and go slowly.

Yeah, sounds like a good advice. You can't predict what's going to happen next time. Just hydrate well and don't "push".

Panic attack?

Electrolyte imbalance? Had you been eating and/or drinking something other than water as you hiked?

You were gassed out ("bonked"?) Might be also a combination with AMS. Also, the stress of being solo in an unknown route really contributes to increasing you heart rate more than if you were with a group that has been there before and knows the route well doing the same identical route and effort you were doing. That factor cannot be underestimated.

So, I actually went back to the hills after a rest day, that I spent eating and hydrating to get my energy back. I went to Quandary the next day and yesterday I did Bross, Lincoln and Cameron; everything went perfect and I felt good, even though I took it easy and slowly at the beginning on Quandary to see how my body would react. Today I wanted to go back to Grizzly but the weather was terrible with rain already in the morning so I am going to give it another go tomorrow.

I actually went back to Grizzly Peak and summited on Aug 10 in beautfiful conditions. I took it easy and made sure I was eating and drinking well. This was my favorite peak on my entire CO trip.

I'm no Doctor but it sounds like whatever made you feel bad may have set off a panic attack which would include hyperventilating, the sensation you had in your face, and of course being scared. Panic attacks can also quickly lower blood sugar which may have factored in but eating likely helped it. Sometimes it can happen in reverse where a drop in blood sugar can set off a panic attack where you feel like you are in deep trouble and thus the panic.

I've found that the moment I start pushing myself past the limit of my breathing I start feeling bad pretty quickly. Try matching your pace to your breathing rather than the other way around. Anytime I try to make a "push" I tend to feel pretty terrible after doing it.