ALTITUDE!!!

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE ALTITUDE: Base Camp Everest is just around the corner, I leave on October 18th-Nov. 11. After just seeing the movie "Gravity" I have a whole new appreciation for O2. Having previously been diagnosed with bronchiestasis, a constriction of the bronchial tubes, will make this adventure tough, adding to that challenge is the fact I get altitude sickness at 10,000', so going up 18,100' will be one of my 3 greatest physical and mental tests in the past 10 years.
I wonder what it is going to be like to suck in half the air you need on a normal basis. At 18,100' I will be breathing 50% of the oxygen at sea level, unassisted by an 02 tank, for a group of kids half way around the world. The funds I am trying to raise go to the students in Jinja, Uganda, part of the "Lunch4Learning" program, where children get something to eat in the afternoon and are being taught the concept of sustainability in their school gardens. See website below.

 

DEALING WITH ALTITUDE SICKNESS: 
There are some basic things you can do to prevent headaches, chills, vomiting, dizziness from happening to you. Here's what has helped me in the past and present.
1. Acclimate: at least 24 hours maybe longer before you start hiking at altitude.
2. Drink lots of fluids: You should drink 3-4 liters (quarts) a day. And before you go to bed the night before 1-2 liters.
3. Snacks. Every hour when you hike u should stop for a snack and a drink: This keeps your energy level up--a trail mix is great and high energy bars. Your snack breaks, pee breaks, should be short- you will regain 85% of your energy after 5 minutes.
4. Bring a friend(s): better to be with someone in case you end up rolling on the trail, like I did back in 2008 after only climbing up 10,000' feet in Idlywild, Ca.

ME ON LEFT WITH ED COOPER AND BILL SMITH

5. Bandanas: always seem to help, whether it is for dust, or some cold water on the back of your neck.
6. Take Acetazolamide= Diamox.  Why fight it, although this is a diuretic it is better to urinate more often than to feel miserable. You will need a doctor's prescription. Take half the dose in the morning and half at night: RECOMMENDED DOSE: 125 mg morning and 125 mg at night (break pill in half)
7. Sit down and wait for someone- kind of like hug a tree: When I came down from 12,000'  in the Colorado forest, I made a wrong a turn and was disoriented and dizzy. Instead of retracing my steps, I just sat there until someone came along with the correct directions, thank goodness, i was headed the wrong way.
8. After 10,000 feet only sleep at increments no higher than 1,000 feet a night. And for pre-training  at altitude before your trip, it only helps one month out for oxygen build up.
9. ANY 3 SYMPTOMS AT THE SAME TIME: For example, headache, dizzy and nausea. If you have all 3 at the same time, you should rest, take fluids and a pain pill- Advil (you can take up to 800mg), Tylenol, etc. or in my case Celebrex. If they persist head back down.
10. And last but probably the most important, take your time, as they say in the shadows of Kilimanjaro, "Polle, Polle"-- slow down. If you start to feel winded, try the "Rest Step" slide your foot up to the other one before you take your next step- & oh yes, enjoy the journey!
For reference and any questions you have, I found the Insititute for altitude medicine, out of Colorado, to be very helpful for a small fee: www.altitudemedicine.org
and a handy dandy book: Altitude Illness Prevention and Treatment,  by Stephen Bezruchka, MD.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 
I would like to thank a number of people that have helped me along the way. Last October when I had this idea, Karen Hamilton, hiked several times with me to get me going.

MYRNA AT BISHOP PASS LOOKING UP

Myrna, my lovely wife, hiked with me all summer. She pushed her envelope to 12,000' feet at Bishop Pass, enduring heat exhaustion, during one of the hottest days of the summer.

KURT FLORIAN ON QUANDRY

I met up with Kurt Florian at the top of Mt. Quandry, 14,100' in Colorado, He was a lawyer, and now is the CEO of Epilepsy Foundation Greater Chicago. I didn't want to get sick again, so I talked his ear off on the way down to take my mind off of it. Kurt does a great service as an interpreter, he flies with a group of doctors to Bolivia and they help people suffering from Chagas disease. We had a great time.

TOP OF BISHOP PASS WITH BILL AND ED

SANDY AND BOB IRWIN

My 2 golfing buddies, Bill Smith and Ed Cooper, helped me to the top of Bishop pass again last month. On the way down we encountered 55 mph winds and corn snow. Only to arrive back in camp in a rainstorm.
Plus my hiking buddies Bob, Sandy Irwin and John Kohler.
And Ike Garson, who helped start up the lunch for learning program:

DEAD TREES REMOVED 

http://lunch4learning.org/site/

CLIMATE CHANGE:

BARK BEETLE

Even in Colorado you can see the effects of climate change, and when you are hiking, all you have to do is look at the forest. There are huge swaths of forests where the trees are dying and there is an interesting phenomenon taking place. The BARK BEETLE is normally killed after a winter when the temperatures are below freezing. Recently places like Colorado and Montana are not experiencing these colder winters,  so the bark beetles that used to be there for just a few weeks, are now decimating the forests with large swarms lasting several months. For more information see the websites below.
 http://www.fs.usda.gov/barkbeetle AND http://www.climatecentral.org/news/why-bark-beetles-are-chewing-their-way-through-americas-forests-15429
So everyone, wish me luck, send me your thoughts and emails, should be quite the ride!!!
Jerry