ALTITUDE SICKNESS: The two most serious types of altitude sickness are High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) and High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). 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 minute or so. 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, DESCEND! DESCEND! DESCEND! 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. Diamox is the brand name of a prescription drug (acetazolamide) 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. In most cases, if you rest for a couple of days, drink lots of liquids, and take Aspirin and Tums, AMS will subside.
The best way to avoid altitude sickness is to ascend slowly, at the rate of 1,000' per day. But often 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 pressure breathing. Essentially you consciously make your lungs inhale and exhale before you feel the need to breather heavy. If you wait until you need the air then it’s too late and you are always out of breath. A logical extension of pressure breathing is a technique called the rest step. You generate a rhythm between your body effort and your lungs so that you move slower using less energy, and so you have air before you need it; step-breathe-pause-breathe, step-breathe-pause-breathe, repeat, etc.
