View Full Version : Altitude: Any issue with going from sea level to hiking at 14k?
Sarcasm the elf
04-30-2013, 21:21
I live in Connecticut at just above sea level and in a couple of weeks my fiance and I are headed out to Colorado to visit my Sister. She suggested that while we are out there she would bring us on a hike to bag a 14,000 foot mountain.
As I've never been higher up than Mt. Washington, should I have any concern about doing a hike at this elevation without any acclimation? For those of you who regularly hike at this sort of elevation, do you have any tips or can you think of anything I should consider that I might not normally take into account when doing lower elevation hikes?
Thanks in advance :sun
Mountain Mike
04-30-2013, 21:31
Spend time at elevation before you hike. Make it at the end of your visit. Stay hydrated. My climbs at elevation allowed for acclimation & never felt much effect. The one that didn't was Baldy when I was young. Be sure you know how to power breath & rest step.
Drink lots of fluids (non-alcohol) in the early days when you are out there. Spend a couple days in Golden (in another thread you say that's where you will be staying) taking it easy and get acclimated to that mile high elevation before moving on to the hiking over 10,000 feet and that should help a lot.
Still snowy in high country at mid-May. I'd stick to the high foothills instead.
Avalanche danger may also be VERY high. It is going to snow tonight and the snow may not be consolidated enough by the time you get here depending on what happens in the next two weeks.
At this time of the year, esp if you are not used to high altitudes, some other hikes may be a better idea.
If you are super gung-ho, and the conditions cooperate, Bierstadt may be your best bet as it is close and generally considered the easiest 14er.
http://www.protrails.com/trail/summit-county-eagle-county-clear-creek-county-mt-bierstadt
It will still be snowy, however.
I used to go from New Orleans to 10k feet in the San Juans in 2 days drive. The first days were not fun. After that, not so bad.
A 14er in mid-May is not a hike. More like an expedition.
Wayne
Hi Elf:
I have my eye on Longs Peak sometime in the next few years. What I gather is that the standard season for Colorado 14ers is July-September. The one, Bierstadt, that Mags mentions is one that I hear is not as tough, but you should probably approach is as being like Mt. Washington in winter, with more elevation. You're a strong hiker, so I'm sure you could do it, but I think the idea is to plan for it to be quite tough.
I've also gathered that acclimating at 5000-ish for a few days, then acclimating for a day or two at 10-ish, is a good idea. That's what I plan to do for Longs: spend time in Denver/Boulder, then time in/near Estes Park, then do the climb.
I'd love it if you do a 14-er while in Colo - would be cool to hear your story and learn from your experience.
ChuckBrown
05-01-2013, 05:29
I live at 30 feet above sea level, when i hiked the Colorado trail, I was fine until I hit 10000 feet. I got the sickness, but lots of water and a day later I felt better. I was fine after that even up to 13000 feet.
I have learned that (probably more than the average person) I really need to acclimate to the altitude before I hike at any elevations above 7,000 or so--and definitely at elevations above 8,500.
Now, I tend to arrive early and spend 2-3 days living at 6,000-8,000 (or higher) before I hike. I drink lots of fluids. I consume no caffeine or alcohol. I do some light walking and other activities. I make sure that I get plenty of rest. Then, I begin with a "light" first day of backpacking. I used to have altitude issues on every "higher elevation" hike before I started following the above routine. (I would get severe headaches, "weakness" or no very little energy--especially if carrying a backpack, feeling nauseous and even vomiting. I felt like crap and could achieve very little real backpacking). Now, I acclimate before the hike and I have no altitude issues and enjoy the hiking a whole lot more.
That is why I don't hike out west as much as I would like. My acclimation time cuts into my available time for hiking--and I get only so much vacation time. Thus, I tend to hike at lower elevations--more time hiking and no time acclimating.
Suggest a little reading on Acute Mountain Sickness. I live at sea level and have a trip in July that will take me over 12,000'. Knowing what you can do to prevent AMS and how to treat it is important. Anytime us sea level dwellers go over 6-7,000 feet we are susceptible to AMS.
http://www.abc-of-hiking.com/hiking-health/acute-mountain-sickness.asp (http://www.abc-of-hiking.com/hiking-health/acute-mountain-sickness.asp)
Chaco Taco
05-01-2013, 07:12
This is something we are preparing for as well. We have been conditioning and hiking quite a bit being 2 months out from our Colorado trip. Im going to stop consuming alcohol 2 weeks prior to the trip and start doing some of the higher peaks up here. Id like to do Washington a few days before we fly out. We are starting at a fairly good altitude once we get there but will be lingering around 9-12,000 for a couple of days before trying to bag Elbert and or Massive. We could do all of this preparation and it be a waste and one of us gets sick. Its the unknown that gets to me. Either way, its Colorado!!! :)
fiddlehead
05-01-2013, 07:32
I have gone from sea level to the JMT but had a week in between in which I did some hiking around 8,000' which helped tremendously.
Drink lots of water, expect headaches and maybe some restless nights sleeping.
If the headaches get too bad, turn around.
I'm planning a hike up Mt. Kinabalu in July and I live at sea level.
Normally, I would do this hike in one day, but will probably take 2 as I cannot acclimate here in Phuket where I live.
My first time to high altitude (over 16,000') was something I'll never forget and not fun.
But the next time, I knew what to expect, acclimated a little longer and except for a headache, was fine, up to 20,000'. (the highest I've gone so far)
Good luck.
Everyone reacts to altitude differently. I'm one of those mostly unaffected up to 15K. Just being in Colorado will be your biggest step in acclimating.
Aside, a 14K peak in mid-May? No big deal if you have the requisite gear and skill set, but the Mtn's are in deep snow and you need to be aware of avalanche danger.
We've got a fresh 1" of snow here on the valley floor this morning... the mountains took a good pounding overnight.
Please read this article. This was from a week ago or so. Granted, the snow was much more a couple of weeks ago, but this is why I am urging extreme caution:
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/04/24/loveland-pass-avalanche-survivor-buried-for-4-hours-1-arm-free/
There is fresh snow falling as I type. Meaning a heavy wet layer on top of an icy slick layer with some probable "sugar snow" underneath it all.
Be careful.
Better yet, stick to the lovely hikes around Golden I mentioned. :)
Deer Hunter
05-01-2013, 09:38
Interesting.
http://www.altitude.org/air_pressure.php
Google Acute Mountain Sickness--that will give you an overview. AMS is a physiological issue, the onset specific for each individual. Diamox is the most used medicine. If the symptoms of AMS come on, just go down. I have suffered with this in Switzerland and in the Himalayas.
fredmugs
05-01-2013, 10:07
I was shocked that I had no problems last Sept. I live at maybe '700 and last September I drive to Colorado, spent the afternoon in Denver, drove to and summitted Mt Elbert (14,440) the next day. Drove to the JMT and hiked about two-thirds (including Whitney) before dis-locating my finger on a fall. From '13000 - to the summit of Elbert was a killer but I just made sure to rest as often as I wanted to.
I agree with the others that this is probably not the time of year to take on a 14er.
I live in Florida, which actually may be below sea level :) 3 years ago i climbed Mt. Whitney (14,500 ft). honestly, at that height i'm not sure if living at sea level or in denver makes a whole lot of difference but we actually dayhiked it, only acclimating the day before up to 10k. 2 of our group got AS, 2 just pooped out, and the other 4 of us, 3 from FL summited. I also know the 3 from FL spent several months of long, intense training including stairs, long swims, anything to increase lung capacity to try and overcompensate for the altitude we could't train in. I think just training hard aerobically for extended hours is the best way to combat it, regardless of where you live.
no matter what, anyone can succumb to AS, so that part of it is somewhat of a crap shoot.
the acclimation hike was just an up and down, rather than camp at 10k
+1 on altitude effects being highly variable, even for the same individual. +2 on not attempting what amounts to a winter traverse without the proper experience and gear.
Now that the warnings are out of the way, I summitted Bierstadt with Achilles last August when we drove out to Denver to take him and the vehicle to school. Terrain-wise, it was pretty easy (relative to NH and Maine). Exertion-wise, it was quite challenging for me given the altitude, as I did experience mild headaches and was easily winded. That said, we were at about 2100' in Nebraska on Monday night, Denver Tuesday, and we hiked on Wednesday. That was the only day I had available, so we could not do much altitude preparation.
Bierstadt was gorgeous, as was the Shiras moose.
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+3 More about the possible avy danger than the gear and acclimation IMO.
Just sayin'.
(Bierstadt is indeed easy, though)
Another Kevin
05-01-2013, 16:07
Personal experience: years ago, I visited some friends in Flagstaff and went hiking with them in the San Francisco Peaks.
Hiking at 12000+ feet and sleeping about 8500 was too much for me when I was acclimated to sea level. I had a blinding headache and was puking my guts up for the next couple of days.
It had nothing to do with conditioning. I was in terrific shape back then. I'm just one of the unfortunates who are susceptible to AMS a couple thousand feet lower than the average.
If I ever try that again, I recognize that I need to spend a couple of nights sleeping at about 7000 before climbing any higher. And ask a doc about acetazolamide.
+3 More about the possible avy danger than the gear and acclimation IMO.
Just sayin'.
(Bierstadt is indeed easy, though)
Agreed on all counts, including Bierstadt's proximity to Denver. That made it a no-brainer given the limited amount of time I had out there. If that trail brought one from 3600' to 6000' rather than from 11,600' to 14,000', it would have been a walk in the park, lol.
As an aside, Achilles is enjoying Denver.
And how could I resist hiking something named "Beer Town?"
Sarcasm the elf
05-01-2013, 20:14
Hi All,
Thanks for all of your responses. As I've already admitted I'm from Connecticut and honestly it never occurred to me that avalanche danger would be a consideration when planning a hike in mid-May. :eek:
Mt. Bierstadt was the mountain that my sister suggested we summit and we were planning to do so on the last day of our vacation so that we would have a week in the mountains to acclimatize. It sounds like we will scrap that plan unless we hear reliable info that the mountain is safe for hiking. For this trip we're not looking for anything that requires equipment that is more technical than Micro-spikes.
I just got home from work and am going through the articles and new stories you linked, thanks again for all the info. There is a lot of excellent advice in the thread and I will follow most of it, however, as a beer snob there is no way that I will be abstaining from alcohol while vacationing in Golden and Boulder. :sun
Knowing a group of Scouts (and leaders) that have done a 2 week trip in Colorado/Utah every 5 years (2000,2005,2010) let me toss this in:
The trips were in the beginning of July (usually the 1st 2 "full" weeks). Each time they drove up Pikes Peak the first day, and many of them had trouble just walking around once at the top.
Toward the end (next to last day) they attempted to climb Long's Peak:
- In 2000 they made it to the top (or at least some of the group did, more based on individual hiking speed/ability than anything else)
- In 2005 they had to stop part way up as the top parts still required technical gear due to snow (and, remember this was early JULY)
- In 2010 they got most of the way up, but were stopped as part of the trail was closed - apparently the night before, in the middle of the night, someone decided to do some night hiking, it was quite windy, and he blew off the trail and wound up falling onto a lower section!
Hi All,
Thanks for all of your responses. As I've already admitted I'm from Connecticut and honestly it never occurred to me that avalanche danger would be a consideration when planning a hike in mid-May. :eek:
Mt. Bierstadt was the mountain that my sister suggested we summit and we were planning to do so on the last day of our vacation so that we would have a week in the mountains to acclimatize. It sounds like we will scrap that plan unless we hear reliable info that the mountain is safe for hiking. For this trip we're not looking for anything that requires equipment that is more technical than Micro-spikes.
I just got home from work and am going through the articles and new stories you linked, thanks again for all the info. There is a lot of excellent advice in the thread and I will follow most of it, however, as a beer snob there is no way that I will be abstaining from alcohol while vacationing in Golden and Boulder. :sun
I'm with you on the beer. I did limit it to a couple the night before we hit Bierstadt. Believe it or not, the prior night when we stopped in Kearney, NE, through the wonders of the internet we discovered they had a brewery there. http://www.thunderheadbrewing.com/ Pretty decent, and the Grand Cru was very good.
however, as a beer snob there is no way that I will be abstaining from alcohol while vacationing in Golden and Boulder. :sun
This area is a beer lover's paradise!
randyg45
05-02-2013, 23:11
As someone who unexpectedly developed altitude sickness- talk to your doctor. There are a lot of potential factors. In my case, my thyroid may have played a part. I will not go over 10,000 feet again without both taking meds beforehand, and carrying others.
MuddyWaters
05-03-2013, 01:37
I dont have any real issues going from sea level to 12000 ft and hiking with skis the very next day.
But 14000 leaves me feeling a bit woozy and not right, even after spending a week in denver. Its good to get down.
Even though Bierstadt is regarded as the "easiest" 14er to climb, shortest hike I think, that also means the quickest ascent to 14000 ft
14ers.com has a lot of good info.
the pic in my avatar was taken at 14200
"Any issue with going from sea level to hiking at 14k?"
Gravity comes to mind. It can be a real bitch.
VTATHiker
05-03-2013, 06:52
I drove from Madison, Wisconsin to Telluride, Colorado a few years back and did Wilson Peak with two friends. We camped at 11,000 ft the night before summiting and a solid headache started just before going to sleep. I NEVER get headaches. I took ibuprofen and it helped, but when I ran out of it on the way down things really sucked. Drink water and never run out of ibuprofen...
The Solemates
05-03-2013, 14:12
we've gone from sea level to 14k multiple times in a single day, but it has never been fun. know what you are getting into.
my wife reacts quicker than i do. at 10k she starts to get real sluggish. thats the only way it affects her though. i react later on, not til 12-13k, but it hits me like a hammer. i always get a bad headache, i have gotten a migraine before, and one time even vomited. i dont have as much sluggishness as her though.
regarding hiking in mid - may. we have done that once. actually it was late may - like the 25th or something. we did 2 peaks. one wasnt too bad. we were postholing on the approach, but the terrain above treeline was windswept so the snow was not as deep. on the second one (elbert i think) we were postholing up to our waists in places. we made it up and it was fun, but there were 100 yd stretches were it was tough. with the big snow year this year, it will probably be even tougher. be prepared.
regarding hiking in mid - may. we have done that once. actually it was late may - like the 25th or something. we did 2 peaks. one wasnt too bad. we were postholing on the approach, but the terrain above treeline was windswept so the snow was not as deep. on the second one (elbert i think) we were postholing up to our waists in places. we made it up and it was fun, but there were 100 yd stretches were it was tough. with the big snow year this year, it will probably be even tougher. be prepared.
May 25th vs May 15th is night and day. Esp with over a foot of snow dumped in the high country recently.
Nothing to do with being tough, it is being safe.
This area is a beer lover's paradise!
...btw, there is a nano brew across the street for me (more or less). If you have time, let me know. I can meet you for a pint. :)
http://www.wildwoodsbrewery.com/
Sarcasm the elf
05-07-2013, 20:44
...btw, there is a nano brew across the street for me (more or less). If you have time, let me know. I can meet you for a pint. :)
http://www.wildwoodsbrewery.com/
Very cool Mags, we are still figuring out our plans but I will likely take you up on that pint. I'll send you a PM once we're in the state.
Sarcasm the elf
05-12-2013, 02:16
Just landed in Denver, I think this is the highest land elevation I've ever been at... we'll see how this goes...
Sarcasm the elf
05-13-2013, 02:20
So we did our first hike in the Golden area today, it was an easy 4-5 mile walk on easily graded trail in the three sisters park. The altitude effects were interesting, I found myself huffi and puffing up very easy trails, got slightly lightheaded on some up hills and my limbs are a bit swollen. It was all very manageable given that we only went to just above 7,900 feet today. We also got a lot of sun hiking in these exposed trails, I was smart enough to wear long clothes which is an improvement on the mild sunstroke I usually get when not paying attention to exposed areas. We ended the day with a sampler at an awesome microbrewery called Cannonball creek in Golden.
Any plans to climb a '14'er while I'm here have been canceled, lots of snow on Mt. Bierstat and Mt. Evans and the road passes are closed.
Sarcasm the elf
05-13-2013, 02:21
Photos attached:
Mt. Evans in the center and Mt. Beirstat on the right (or so I was told)
Road conditions board from the visitor center at Red Rocks amphitheater.
Mizirlou
05-13-2013, 07:48
The altitude effects were interesting...ended the day with a sampler at an awesome microbrewery
Any symptoms of AMS hangover? I got it after spending time at Half Dome where – inexplicably – the high altitude relieved every muscle/joint ache in my body after a strenuous hike. Nirvana. AMS symptoms kicked in only after descending. Urp slop. It’s like a massive beer hangover but maybe you can’t tell the diff? ha ha. Enjoy it either way.
Patrickjd9
05-13-2013, 22:21
A few year ago, I went from sea level to hiking at 10,000 feet in 2 1/2 hours. I don't recommend it.
Photos attached:
Mt. Evans in the center and Mt. Beirstat on the right (or so I was told)
Road conditions board from the visitor center at Red Rocks amphitheater.
Awesome. Have fun, Elf - maybe you could ascend Pike's Peak.
... via the auto road, if it's open.
Sarcasm the elf
05-13-2013, 23:25
... via the auto road, if it's open.I wish! Check out the thumbnail photos that I added yesterday. They got freak snowstorms a couple weeks ago and most of the passes are still closed to traffic. Good news is there is still way more to do here then we could possibly fit into a weeklong visit.
I wish! Check out the thumbnail photos that I added yesterday. They got freak snowstorms a couple weeks ago and most of the passes are still closed to traffic. Good news is there is still way more to do here then we could possibly fit into a weeklong visit.
Including a pint at Southern Sun! Closest Boulder brewpub to Golden. ;)
They got freak snowstorms a couple weeks ago
"Freak snowstorm" in May? July perhaps, but not May I assure you.
Sarcasm the elf
05-14-2013, 00:32
"Freak snowstorm" in May? July perhaps, but not May I assure you.
As soon as I wrote posted that, I knew someone was going to call me out. :rolleyes: Like I said, I'm not used to real mountains.
Followed this thread. I'm glad you followed up with your thread STE. I STRONGLY felt you would see things differently mid May summitting 14 ers in CO this yr. It's like that most yrs.
Achilles reported that the skiing was outstanding at A-Basin last Friday.