Altitude Sickness

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
Climber With Severe High Altitude Sickness Rescued

Last Friday morning, rangers were notified via cell phone of a 26-year-old Kansas man suffering from severe high altitude sickness at the Boulder Field on Longs Peak. He’d become ill while summiting Longs Peak the day before. Two members of a nearby park trail crew reached his location within a half hour and determined that his illness was severe enough to warrant evacuation by medical helicopter. A St. Anthony’s Flight for Life helicopter reached the scene shortly thereafter and flew him to the Medical Center of the Rockies. Doctors later said that the care given by the Flight for Life crew and the park trail crew likely saved his life. High altitude sickness (also called acute mountain sickness) occurs when you cannot get enough oxygen at high altitude. How physically fit you are plays no role in whether you get altitude sickness. Symptoms include a dull to throbbing headache, loss of appetite, nausea or a feeling of being sick to your stomach, vomiting, and feeling weak or dizzy.  The best treatment for high altitude sickness is to go to a lower elevation.

Bill's Note:  BTDT - Hit me like a hammer at an embarrassingly low altitude, like 9,000 feet.

"The best treatment for high altitude sickness is to go to a lower elevation."  I figured that out all by myself.