Altitude Sickness: Lessons Learned At 12,000ft. (Part 1)

A couple of weeks ago, after two months of traveling in Europe and Southeast Asia, I finally returned home to my perch at 12,000ft. in the mountains, just as I have done many times before. And just like every time before, I jumped right back into life, not giving it a second thought.

Later that evening as I headed to bed for the night, 12 hours or so after getting back, I felt myself physically wither - I started to feel a dull-but-intense headache, my joints and muscles began to ache so that I just could not find a way to lie comfortably, and I oscillated between being too hot and too cold.

Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler were the first to
reach Everest's 29,029ft. summit without the aid of supplemental
oxygen. They took 3 months to acclimatize and summit.

At first I thought I was coming down with the flu, but soon realized that I was coming up against something I had never experienced in all of my time spent at high altitude: altitude sickness, or more correctly, altitude illness.

According the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Handbook, altitude illness "results from insufficient oxygen in the blood (hypoxia) secondary to decreased barometric pressure at altitude."

I know that altitude-related symptoms can affect anyone who does not take time to adequately acclimatize no matter their level of physical conditioning, but since I had never experienced symptoms before and had maintained an active lifestyle during my travels, even traveling as high as 10,000ft. while in Europe, I honestly did not expect it to affect me when I returned.

In light of my recent humbling experience, this post will look at some ways that the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute and the non-profit group The Mountaineers recommend preventing altitude illness, with a follow up post to discuss assessing and treating altitude illness in the field.

"Into the Mind" - An Upcoming Film From The North Face

Later this fall, The North Face and Sherpas Cinema will debut their upcoming film "Into The Mind," which looks to be a simultaneous exposé on the factors that drive us into the mountains in search of adventure and the cultures that call those mountains home.

Resolving to explore as much of the philosophical as the aesthetic, the film's website ventures the questions: "What drives us to overcome challenge? How do we justify risk? What forces are at the core of a mountain addiction?"

The footage in the trailer is truly spectacular, showing a mix of pristine mountain environs, a slew of The North Face's athletes in action, and the mystique of Himalayan life. Per the website, "Unique athlete segments over a multitude of mountain sport genres, depict the connectivity of Earth and window into never seen before moments."

There are a lot of big-name sponsors attached to the film in addition to The North Face, including GoPro, Recco, Black Diamond, Arc'teryx, and Mammut, so there's no doubt that "Into The Mind" will be an experience worth waiting for.

MSR Reactor Stove Grabs Top Award At 2013 ISPO - Video

MSR's award winning Reactor 1.0L Stove System

MSR's Reactor 1.0L Reactor Stove System grabbed top honors in the "stove" category at the 2013 ISPO sporting-goods trade show held in Munich in January of this year. The recently introduced Reactor 1.0L system is specifically geared toward soloists who put a premium on a "fast-and-light" style of hiking and mountaineering.

While the Reactor 1.0L Stove System is new to the market, Mountain Safety Research (MSR) is well known and respected among guides and outdoor adventurers. According to a review by Alpinist magazine, "MSR has long made the stoves favored by guides... MSR's Reactor is by far the best. In my experience, the Reactor reduces my fuel needs by 50 percent." Another review, by Outdoor Gear Lab, calls the Reactor, "the fastest, easiest to use, and most storm-proof camping stove we tested."

The following video is from Outdoor Gear Lab's review of the Reactor Stove:

MSR's Reactor Stove Systems includes the new, IPSO award-winning 1.0L system, a 1.7L system, and a 2.5L system, all of which are highly praised. Benefits that MSR claims of their Reactor Stoves include:

• Unrivaled Boil Time: Outperforms the competition in head-to-head lab tests—boiling .5 liter of water in just 1.5 minutes—with an even greater advantage out in the real world.
• Unmatched Wind Protection: Heat exchanger completely encloses radiant burner head, virtually eliminating the effects of wind to maintain outstanding boil times and save fuel.
• Maximum Efficiency: Patent-pending radiant burner, heat exchanger and internal pressure regulator produce best-in-class, fuel-sipping efficiency in all conditions.

For full reviews of MSR's Reactor Stoves, check the following:

Alpinist - MSR Reactor Stove: Powerfully Efficient

Outdoor Gear Lab - Hands-on Gear Review: MSR Reactor Review