Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Altitude sickness

Duh?? Ivermectin, of course! Actually, your idea of arriving 3 days early by yourself sounds like a bit of heaven. I actually like traveling by myself, or with the dog if it’s a bird hunt. Only myself to please. 3 days alone in elk camp might be enough for me to feign illness. Go early if you can and enjoy!

In some ways I've not liked the way Colorado has moved the elk seasons later on the calendar than they used to be but it does make for some better hunting at lower elevations. So I've been told anyway.

I grew up above 10,000 ft. and still get up there quite often. I typically hunt between 11,000 and 12,000 ft. Sometimes after goats and sheep we can push towards 14K, but not too often. I've seen altitude sickness happen to people and seen them almost die. It is very serious, especially when guys are there to hunt and you're trying to convince them that they need to leave camp NOW and not just wait it out, which most of us would typically do. Once you feel like you just don't want to do anything, have a pounding headache, and still feel like you can't breathe, it is time to get to lower elevation. That is the only way to reduce the symptoms and stop the effects. And sometimes it is too late to reverse and you're going to need to go to the hospital. No one wants that to happen.

Good hydration, Diamox, no alcohol, and not pushing yourself physically until you are fully acclimated are all good things to do to lessen the effects. Acclimating slowly over 2-4 days where you overnight at increasingly higher elevations is probably the best way to avoid it all together.

Driving from Colo. Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak is a surefire way to experience altitude sickness. The good thing about it is that you don't need to spend a lot of time at the summit and that you can quickly descend just by hopping in your car. This typically doesn't work in elk camp.

I can’t qualify the overall advantages of Colorado moving all but the 1st rifle season back one week. But moving them puts 4th season of 5 days starting Wednesday before Thanksgiving, a show stopper for us.

I know. I wish they had not moved them like they are now.

Genetics and personal physiology I believe is the biggest variable, but outside of adequate acclimation I believe drinking a lot of water is the best thing a person can do to help themselves out. A gallon a day isn't too much, by any means.

I love my coffee as much as the next guy, but it does dehydrate you.

Actually, now the "experts" say coffee doesn't dehydrate you. Alcohol is the worst for that but......

A few years ago on the last day of our hunt we had a guy that was complaining of chest pains, loss of breath, arm tingling etc and had to be taken down to town and to the ER. Come to find out it was alcohol induced as a group of them were celebrating the elk harvest the night before and he had a few too many shots.. This was at about 9500 feet and we stay about 7900 ft..

On the bright side, if you go to the ER in Granby CO, the nurses are very easy on the eyes!!!