by zippetydude » Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:33 pm
If you have been at altitude before, you'll probably experience very much the same results. If this is your first time, then it will be a very valuable learning experience.
There are some medications that are supposed to help with altitude, but I wouldn't recommend them. Ginkgo Biloba is purported to help, but studies are coming back with mixed results, so the jury's still out on that. I've heard that even moderate alcohol consumption can make the symptoms much more severe.
One word from my personal experience - I don't really notice anything 'til I'm above 10,000, but then I can feel just a little light headed. Everything changes when I get above 12,000 (which is not uncommon in the Sierras). I wake up short of breath in the night, and even on day hikes (like doing Mt. Whitney) I find that I suddenly slow down above 12000 feet, but then seem to pick up again when I'm either going downhill or I get back below 12,000. It appears that uphill above 12,000 is much harder than uphill above 10,000, so be prepared on your later adventures just in case you run into this.
z