Altitude sickness...
Not sure if this is the correct category but... Arrived 5 days ago. Alpine, AZ. 8100 ft. Didn't take long to crash and burn. Drowsiness, dizzyness and worst of all a heavy dark blanket of depressi...
Forum Discussion
2milesup wrote:
I worked at the hospital in Vail (8150 ft) for several years, and can say that what you're feeling is perfectly normal. Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS)can be very mild for some and life threatening for others. We would often see folks who have been coming to the mountains for years but "never felt this way until this trip," then would be fine the next time they came out. AMS can be pretty unpredictable. ...
Agreed on that! From what I've seen with myself and others, AMS can affect the fit or the unfit, the young or the old, and not necessarily in the same way every time.
I often use a "climb high sleep low" strategy. Example: dayhike at 10-11K feet near the top of Tioga Pass, camp down near Mono lake at 6-7K feet.
Here is some good info from the National Library of Medicine:
link
Take AMS seriously. If in a group, keep an eye on each other. If alone, know what symptoms to watch for and descend or seek medical treatment as appropriate.
