I will be elk hunting in Wyoming (leaving out of Dubois) this year and I have see alot of articles in different magazines about altitude sickness and some do' & don'ts. I live in Kentucky where it is somewhere around 600 to 800 ft above sea level. The camp where we will be staying at is at 9500 ft. I am planning on arriving in Dubois 5 days prior to going in to camp to try and get somewhat adjusted but Duboise is at 6700 ft and they say altitude sickness does not affect until about 8000ft. I was wondering if anyone has come down with it and what they did to over come it and if anybody has used some of the remedies that you can buy over the internet like Altitude RX or do I really need to get anything at all. Thanks for any info.

Diamox is the drug of choice for prevention, see your doc. I've also read the Viagra works as well. Staying at 6700ft for 5 days will help A LOT. Go walk as much as you can tolerate those five days, and rest up the last day.

This year will be my 3rd elk hunt.....get your azz in shape now!

Staying at 6,700 is good, but staying at 9,500 for a few days before the hunt would be better. I live at 5,200, and I can tell a difference after 3-4 days at 10,000 where I hunt.

Stay well-hydrated and avoid alcohol.

I also have to take Diamox. I Live in Eastern Colorado at 4000 ft. I normally hunt elk at around 10,000 ft, and mountain goats-two years ago at 13,000 ft. I used to get headaches so bad at altitude, that it would cause me to throw-up uncontrollably. (NOT FUN). As a side note, I never had these issues until after a severe accident. I got hit square in the head with a brake pod off of a semi truck. I now take the Diamox 48 hrs. before the trip, and 48 hrs. after reaching final altitude. WARNING- make sure you know what the risks are. Diamox IS a blood thinner. It also make pop taste like nothing you have ever tasted before.

Tony.

LKC.

Acclimating at "near" altitude helps a lot. Excessive alcohol DOES NOT. The only problem I ever had with altitude sickness also involved Jack Daniels. Live and Learn!

donsm70

Altitude sickness can be very serious, manifesting itself as HACE (high altitude cerebral edema) or HAPE (high altitude pulminary edema) and from minor symptoms to death.

The worst thing a low altitude flat-landeder can do is fly to the higher destination and sky or hunt-- high exertion-- the same day or even the next. You are doing it right in driving as your body slowly adjusts as you gain altitude going up and across the plains to the mountains. And then staying at 6-7k for awhile is good too.

Strangely, getting AS is not at all dependent on your general condition as the highest conditioned athletes can get it. The most common expression is flu-like symptoms with a headache and the best general treatment is aspirin and good hydration and if more serious symptoms occur one best get to lower altitudes quickly. I've tried Diamox and the side effects I had negated whatever positive affects ( I did not get AS whether due to Diamox, I don't know) I gained. It's a diuretic which seems counter intuitive to Increased hydration. For me, changing body fluid balance changed my intra-occular pressure And my eye sight was fuzzy for about two weeks after each hunt ( I tried it three times for hunting 9-10k feet). And that hampered work when back home; another bud developed tetany of his hands and he won't use it again but obviously these side effects don't happen to everybody.

Best is slow ascent, drink water (no alcohol), take aspirin everyday, and monitor your exertion and body for a day or two when first at altitude.

Following the above regimen (no Diamox) and when in my 50s it would take me three days (about mid-hunt on most hunts) to begin feeling decent at 9k feet after driving from about 1300 feet-- a day-- and spending a day at 6-8k feet before hunting.

I liven Texas at about 450. I drive to Colorado and that helps to acclimate (2 days). Also take diamox and hunt at 8 to 9000. Sold on the diamox.

My hunting buddy lives in Denver. Not sure the altitude bu a few years ago he got so sick I had to meet his wife halfway back to Denver and send him home with her. We were not even at high altitude.

I get mild headaches sometimes. LOTS of water and an aspirin regimen helps for me.

I go from 4500 to about 7500 ft for my elking, and it takes about 2 full days for me to feel like I draw complete lung fulls of air. I go in 3 days ahead of the season now.

Physiologically, I think it takes more like 8 or 9 days to fullfy adapt, but from memory that is more related to the Everest folks starting out at about 18 or 20 k.

Number one being in better shape than you ever have is not enough! Start getting there right now!

Best thing you can do is spend a few days hiking around at altitude before starting to hunt.

NO ALCOHOL!!

Every guide will tell you that they get clients that can't make it to the elk just over the ridge.

I work out and diet all year for one thing: Chukar hunting up with the Big Horn Sheep; so getting to elk is like pheasant hunting.

I've had altitude sickness and it is down right scary.

I get it every trip,I drive out a few days early knowing it takes time for the body to adjust,constantly drinking lots of water, gatorade ,take an asprin every 4 hours and staying where its warm during the first two-to-three days tends to help a good deal, so I usually stay at a motel or a friends home during the 3 days before the season
symptoms generally include killer migraine headache, sinus hurt and you feel like youve got the flu, but it passes, and if you know what to expect and basically rest the first 3 days youll adjust.
yeah! IM that obsessed with hunting ELK!

I have got it only one time and I was hiking through snow drifts at 12,000' and breaking a trail for the rest of our group trying to get to "hidden lake" to catch some mythical trout.

I got severe headaches and nausea. When we got to the main trail, I had to turn down hill and get to lower elevation. My headaches didn't go away until 8,000'.

10,000' has no effect on me other than making it hard to get enough air in my lungs. Going from 5,000' to 12,000' in one morning and rigorously hiking was a different matter.

I would play with the diamox well before your hunt so as to get an idea of how it will affect you.

It seems age may also be a factor. Three years ago, a buddy's uncle from Tennessee came out to hunt with us. He was in decent shape, but was 70 years old. Had done drop camp hunts in Alaska several times, and traps full time in the winter. So not a couch potato, in fact, somewhat of a tough guy.

Anyway, he spent 3 days with us at 5200ish feet before heading up to camp at 9,000 feet. Was fine when he arrived, but in the middle of the night he began suffering from altitude sickness related issues. It must have been hard to tell us that he was suffering from severe migraines, diarrhea, joint pains and dizziness.
We drove him down the mountain to stay at a motel at 6,000ish feet where he would also have access to phone reception if he needed it. Two days later we came back and he had recovered, but we restricted his elk hunting to lower elevation stuff and he was fine. Didn't find him an elk though.

Anyway, that was only 9,000 feet and a guy from your neck of the woods who done some pretty hard core hunting before. But the problem was, I just don't think his circulatory system was up to par at that age. Too bad, because we shot 5 elk on opening morning, and he could have been right there with us.

You guys are getting me worried, seriously. I didn't do any high elevation hunting/hiking etc until I moved out to UT and lived at 4500'. Never had a problem up to 12K+, but will be heading to ID this fall to chase elk and am now living at just under 1k'. Won't be going anywhere near 12K, but am starting to think I may need to schedule an extra day or of lead time...

Yea I found some great info here. I have been hiking at around the 9000 level about has high as we can get here in Oregon and never had a problem but I am getting older so thanks for the great topic and some solid advice. I will be in CO this fall but we are going to be down around 7500 mark and I will be there 3 days early.

Thanks for all the info, i'll get ahold of the doc and see about the diamox. As for getting in shape, i started back in march, i'm 53 so i figured i'd needed to start early. I can't run anymore because i tore up my knee playing ball and have had 3 operations on it but i have been walking (fast pace) 6 miles a day 5 to 6 days a week. I have also been climbing the hills that we have around here to try and get a start. Hopefully all of it will help some.

Something that has been mentioned here already but needs mentioned again is HYDRATION. My brother lives in the midwest at about 1000-1100 ft and drives out and hunts CO every fall. (base camp 9200 ft) Hunting elevations 10,000 to 12,500. He leaves on wednesday to my house (6700ft). Thursday we get to base camp and Sat start hunting. The only times he has had problems is when he's dehydrated whether from not drinking enough water or too much Old Crow from the night before. In all instances rehydrating and a few hours rest at base camp has had him back hunting. Fitness plays a large role as well. He's in pretty good shape for an old f@rt.

We live at 200 asl. We hunt CO at times up to and over 10,000 asl.

We drive in, and straight to about 8000 typically, and head out, sometimes right away with backpacks on.

We start taking a regular 325 aspirin every day a few weeks out, then one twice a day a few days out, and then when hunting, up to 4 a day. I carry diamox just in case.

That plus cardio exercise at home helps.

Nothing helps like going gradually but we don't have the luxury of that much time off at once so its run and gun... I was 45 last time we did it. Always feel much better by the 3rd day, but can tell ya that aspirin regimen made a BIG difference when we started doing that.

LKC:

I've climbed all of the "Fourteeners" in the lower forty-eight, the Mexican volcanoes, I've climbed Denali (Mount McKinley) three times, Acongagua, and a bunch more high altitude climbing. So I've had lots of experience with altitude sickness. I've had it and my climbing partners have had it.

The two most serious types have already been mentioned and they are both killers. HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema) 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 on your lungs. HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema) is fluid on the brain. You can self-diagnose it when you get dizzy and stay dizzy for more than a few minutes. If one of your hunting partners goes unconscious (doesn't wake up in the morning) you need to transport him to lower elevation within twelve (12) hours to save his life. The only effective field remedy 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. Fortuantely HAPE and HACE are both rare below 10,000' elevation.

The most common type and the least severe is AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). It's almost always associated with dehydration and its' symptoms are similar to those of influenza and they may include mild headache, vomiting, lassitude and periodic breathing (the kind I got). Common Aspirin and Rolaids (not Tums) can help because Rolaids 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. It can be taken 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 and take Aspirin and Rolaids, AMS will subside and you can start enjoying yourself.

The best way to avoid altitude sickness is to ascend slowly (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. Also try to develop a technique called pressure breathing. Essentially 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're always out of breath. 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 before you start exerting yourself. Stay hydrated, avoid alcohol and coffee or any other kind of diuretic, take one Aspirin and one Rolaids each day. Be alert to the sympoms mentioned and react appropriately if they occur.

Good luck and have a great hunt.

KC

I live in Iowa at 1200+- ft and have hunted out west 15+ times. 8000-13000 feet on the hunts. Went skiing as a kid and with the family for 30+ years. Only had acute altitude sickness 2x once as a kid and once 3 years ago. Both times on sking trips just felt completly tired and weak and a little nausea. The last time it took 1 1/2 days to resolve. Interesting fact was that it was hard for me to eat much,no appetite. I was eating because I knew fluids and food would help. I asked my wife for some chicken soup and 10 min after eating the hot salty soup It was like a light switch was flipped and I was fine for the rest of the trip. So if no diamox is available dont be afraid to try some chicken soup!!
As was posted above if it is a bad case dont fool around get down in elevation.

Is there anything that chicken soup won't cure?

KC

The chicken soup thing is kind of a joke but I will tell you if I ever get it again it wont take 1 1/2 days for me to start in with the soup.

It is a horrible feeling. You get tunnel vision, severe headache, nausea and you feel like you have water in your head. I got it when I hit 10,000 feet, then worse at 11,000 feet. I stopped right there and moved down the mountain. I was packing a 40 lb. pack and was probably not hydrated well, but it scared the crap out of me. Time moved slow and I felt like I was floating in space. My partner got it worse than I did. We are both in excellent shape, so that doesn't have much to do with it. It sure isn't any fun. I felt like I was dying. Flinch

Mine was something like that- it was a splitting headache and horrible nausea- there was no desire to do ANYTHING but get better. IF you get AMS- you will probably have to descend to get over it. I think the remedies mentioned are mostly prophylactic in fact.

I live at 1900 ft. and hike a good bit in the high country. I haven't had a case of real altitude sickness since I was a teenager. But I do watch for it.
KC nailed it quite well. Stay hydrated and watch your breathing. Your hydration bladder is your best friend. Don't be shy about using the step/pause routine that the mountaineers use if you find yourself becoming short of breath. Never allow yourself to get really behind in your breathing.
If you get hit with it, like he says, go down. You are better off camping lower and climbing each morning if you are close to the 10,000 ft. plus range. E

I live at 7200 and went through about a three year streak where whenever I was at 10,000 or above I felt like crap for a day or so with bad headaches, unable to sleep and lack of hunger. It went away when I decided to get my rear into better shape.

Try to get to Wyoming a few days early so you can relax and adjust. And lay off the booze while here.

At times I hunt with guys who run marathons but live close to sea level. Even they get punked for a few days over 10,000. Altitude does funny things to people and you have no way of knowing until you actually get up there.

I keep things simple, according to Google Earth, my hunting camp is ten feet higher than my house.

Diet also helps. This is hard but, stay away from coffee, fatty foods like steak and fried foods. Eat pasta, fruits and HYDRATE! NO BOOZE! Doesn't sound good does it but it sure helps in keeping going at altitude. I come fromn 43 feet above sea level and need every bit of help I can get!

Figam: No

If I have to do that, I think I'll just quit elking and take up scuba diving or something. The fact that I can do sausage/bacon, hash browns, rolls, eggs, steaks, and bakers with tons of butter and still drop several pounds is one of the reasons I enjoy my fall hunting trips.

Hydration is a key in life regardless so I didn't mention that, but we take extra care at altitude to drink extra and make sure we are hydrated. That plus the aspirin has helped.

I did not know about rolaids... will have to note that and carry...

I live near sea level in Hawaii, but my symptoms in Montana elk camp (8500') are usually limited to terrible headaches for the first 2 nights, even when I've acclimated for several days at 6500' elevation before riding in. I don't get symptoms while awake, even if I climb to 9500' or so.

In addition to taking NSAIDs, a decongestant seems to help as well. I theorize that my normal respiration while sleeping may amount to insufficient oxygen intake, hence the terrible headaches at night and the perceived efficacy of decongestants (helps the air flow better)...but I haven't asked a doctor if this sounds plausible.

I'd ask my wife (a veterinarian), but I'm in the dog-house tonight because I forgot it was our anniversary...again.

On second thought, maybe it's just all that wood we burn (and resulting smoke and carbon monoxide) to make the inside of the tent feel like Hawaii...

Last year we drove from 900 feet of elevation in southeast Kansas to camp, 8,000 feet(not sure off top of my head???) in about 14 hours. Set up camp, ate supper, and went to bed. The next day we saddled up the mules, went riding into our hunting area, probably got to 9500 feet for an hour or two, then went back to camp. After unsaddling, I thought I was going to die. My head was pounding. All I could do was search for a position that would make the pain go away. No position helped. I was sitting in lawn chairs, on the ground, laying down, on the cot, in the truck, you name it, I tried it. Of course, being tough I didn't say anything to anybody..... Dad finally noticed what was going on and took me back to town, 6500 feet. I tried eating, but couldn't get anything swallowed once I chewed it up. We ended up driving around town for a while. Then like somebody said above, it was like a light switch was flipped. I was immediately better. We went back to camp, I was fine. Hunted the whole season, times were above 10,000' and never had a single issue.

Diamox is a sulfa drug, so take care if you have had a hx. of senstivity.

I used Diamox when I climbed Aconcagua. I tolerated it well but it gave me a tingling sensation. I never used it to climb Denali, (but Aconcagua is typically ascended much more quickly than Denali, hence the added need for it).

Some typical rules of thumb -

Ascend 1000ft per day. Obviously you won't have the luxury of doing that on a hunt, but the basic idea is pace yourself. If you feel you may have an issue move higher gradually.

If you get sick - descend. All of the other remedies won't help as much as dropping down in altitude for a while.

Sleep low climb high. The basic idea is sleep where your body can oxygenate and aclimate. Hike higher for your hunts.

As you climb you may notice that your fingers feel fat. If you wear a ring it may feel tight. That's edema. Extremities are not returning circulatory fluid to your core as quickly as normal. You can be sure that the same thing that is happening with your fingers is also happening inside your skull. Be aware of it. I believe aspirin is helpful.

Drink water. Myself personally, (in addition to mild edema) altitude makes me very sleepy and thirsty. Water always helps.

Hey LKC, What part of KY are you from ? I live in Pendleton County (North Central KY) at about 800ft. Just turned 54. Last year went on my first Colorado Elk hunt. Loved it ! I did not have any problems, but I: (a) started dropping weight and exercising in June, and (b) drank lotso water the entire drive out (22 hrs drive time). We got a hotel in Eastern Colorado the first night at about 5000 ft. That may have helped. The first day setting up camp (8500 feet) and scouting, we tend to take it easy.

I did not run around like a mountain goat like the young guys. But the physical conditioning helps. Mid way thru the hunt I went past an "attraction" of sorts at 11,000ft while scouting. About 16" of snow on the ground. Lotso boot prints at the bottom of the hill. Only one set went further up the ridge than I did.

Looking forward to this year. Only 91 more days !

Warren

Spent the first 18 years of my life living at ~9k. Was obviously never a problem. You just need to respect that your body won't have had time to fully adjust to the elevation so you need to take it easy. The dry air is what will dehydrate you. Don't use sweating as a measure. You won't notice the sweating too much, certainly nothing like the east coast, midwest, etc, because whatever sweating you do evaporates. In short, take it a bit easier on the climbs, drink plenty of water, take it easy on the booze and caffeine.

Orion2000,

I live very close (Alexandria).

Orion2000,

I sent you a PM

Always give yourself a day or so to acclimate.

I take stomach acid stuff to help cut down on the qweezey ness.

If you really do have a problem you need to get down off the mountain as son as you can.

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