MOUNTAIN WISDOM – LESSONS LEARNED
If you are considering a big game hunt in Colorado or any other Rocky Mountain state then here are some tips that might increase your enjoyment of the trip.
MOUNTAIN AIR: Mountain air is very different than what you may be used to. It is thin and dry. There is simply less air to breathe than you may be accustomed to and the relative humidity is low. The low humidity has several negative effects that your body may not be accustomed to. The dry air creates some extreme temperature variations. It’s common for night time lows to be in the teens and daytime highs to be in the 60s. This means that you can be hypothermic in the morning and experience heat exhaustion in the afternoon of the same day. Short afternoon storms are common and these often drop the temperature by 30 degrees. When combined with some wind and some sweaty clothes, that can be deadly if you don’t react properly.
HYPOTHERMIA: Hypothermia use to be called exposure or freezing to death. Essentially any time that your core temperature drops too low, your body automatically reacts to try to keep the core warm by redirecting blood and the warmth that comes with it, from your limbs and brain, to the core. So your body starts robbing your brain of oxygen. Seventy-five percent of your blood goes to your brain through your neck. If your toes get cold, put on a hat and something to keep your neck warm. This retains warmth that can be shared with all body parts. The first signs of hypothermia are uncontrollable shivering. Then it progresses to slurred speech, cold fingers and toes, weakness, dizziness and eventually coma a death. It can occur at relatively warm temperatures when you are sweating, and weather conditions conspire to drop the air temperature rapidly. It happens every year on the slopes of Pikes Peak when unprepared tourists get caught in an afternoon storm above timberline and don’t have the right clothing. Being prepared with the proper layering system of clothing and using the extra layers when necessary, is the best way to avoid hypothermia.
LAYERING: Experienced mountain hikers dress in many thin layers and don’t use one big coat, so they can adapt their clothing to a changing environment. When you sit down to rest, put on a jacket or sweater right away. Don’t wait to get cold. It’s too hard to warm up again. Try to avoid cotton clothing. It's deadly in cold wet weather because it soaks up water like a sponge and encourages hypothermia. Wool and wool/synthetic blends, polypropylene and polyester fleece are best because they keep you warm even when wet. I wear a set of polypropylene long johns, wool trousers, a long-sleeved synthetic shirt, a ball cap, gloves, wool socks, gaiters and good boots. I also have in my pack a bandanna (the only cotton that I carry), a fleece hoodie, a knitted watch cap, vest with synthetic insulation and a Gortex/Nylon parka with a hood, extra gloves and extra socks.
DEHYDRATION: With every breath, you humidify the air that you breathe. So you are constantly losing body moisture and you don’t realize it and dehydration is a very real concern. Also your perspiration evaporates so rapidly that you often don’t realize that you are sweating. One more thing to consider is that when it's cold you often don't think of drinking when you should. All of these factors can lead to dehydration, which can cause a host of medical problems and it's often a contributor to altitude sickness. I use to have problems with leg cramps because I didn't drink enough of the right kind of fluids. Now I drink at least a quart of Gatorade or EcoDrink every day when hiking and the problem has vanished.
HEAT EXHAUSTION: Heat exhaustion (hyperthermia) results in headache, dizziness, weakness and fainting. It can also progress to coma and death (heat stroke). It’s more common in high humidity environments but it happens in the mountains too. Mostly in people who have big body mass and high thermal inertia. In other words if you are over-weight, then you are more susceptible to heat exhaustion. I’ve also seen it in people who were not over-weight but they were big people. They have big bone and muscle structures so they don’t dissipate heat readily. If you start feeling like you are going to faint, then sit down in the shade, drink some water, rub a wet bandanna on your neck and head. Dunk your head in a stream if one’s convenient. Rest for a while and you most likely will recover quickly. Then don’t over exert yourself until it’s cooler.
FROST BITE: Frost bite occurs when body parts freeze. The lymph and blood freeze first but eventually body tissues also freeze. This causes damage that may never heal properly and cannot be regenerated. Frost bite will occur first in extremities; toes, fingers, ears, nose, and cheeks. The best way to prevent frost bite is to keep those areas warm and dry and protected from the wind. I carry extra socks, an extra pair of gloves, a fleece hoodie, and a bandanna. I use to carry a balaclava and that works great but a bandanna has so many other uses that even if I carry a balaclava, I still carry a bandanna. I use the bandanna to keep the wind off of my face and I cover my ears with a knitted watch cap and hood.
ALTITUDE SICKNESS: The two most serious types of altitude sickness are HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema) and HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema). HAPE is fluid in the lungs and you can self-diagnose it when you feel gurgling in your lungs or pain in the chest. If your breath is condensing and your friends aren't condensing, then you may have fluid in your lungs. HACE is fluid on the brain. You can self-diagnose it when you get dizzy and stay dizzy for more than a couple of minutes. If one of your hunting partners goes unconscious or doesn't wake up in the morning, you need to transport him to lower elevation immediately to save his life. The only effective field remedy for HAPE and HACE requires an item called a Gamow Bag and you won't have one. So DECEND! DECEND! DECEND! Get to lower elevation immediately if you want to live. Fortunately HAPE and HACE are both rare (but not unheard of) below 10,000' elevation.
The most common type and the least severe is AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). It's often associated with dehydration. Its' symptoms are similar to those of influenza and they may include mild headache, nausea, vomiting, lassitude, loss of appetite, and periodic breathing (waking up gasping for air). Common Aspirin and Tums can help because they coincidentally contains the just the kind of ingredients that your body needs and it is a mild astringent that reduces the effects of dehydration. Diamox is the brand name of a prescription drug that works for some people. Start taking it a couple of days before you begin to ascend. But it doesn't work for everyone and there are some potentially miserable side effects. I’ve heard that chicken soup helps and it can’t hurt. In most cases, if you rest for a couple of days, drink lots of liquids, and take Aspirin and Tums, AMS will subside and you can start enjoying yourself.
The best way to avoid altitude sickness is to ascend slowly, at the rate of 1,000' per day. But you don't have that much time. So get in good shape now. Good shape means strong heart and lungs. Good exercises include running stairs, swimming, bicycling, or any other kind of exercise that works the heart and lungs. However sometimes even the best athletes can get altitude sickness, so don't count on that being the cure all. Get to high elevation a few days early and just lounge around for a few days before you start exerting yourself. Stay hydrated, avoid alcohol and coffee or any other kind of diuretic. Take one Aspirin and one Tums each day. Be alert to the symptoms mentioned and react appropriately if they occur.
Also try to develop a technique called Alpinisti Breathing (pressure breathing). Essentially you consciously make your lungs inhale and exhale before you feel the need to breather heavy, you generate a rhythm between your body effort and your lungs so that you have air before you need it. If you wait until you need the air then it’s too late and you are always out of breath. It’s sometimes called the Rest Step (step-breathe-pause-breathe, step-breathe-pause-breathe, repeat, etc.)
