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Hi all, Perhaps this belongs to the goon doctor sub-forum, but I wanted to try here first. Mods: Feel free to move if you disagree. I am considering going to Denali next year, but before I make a commitment I need to iron out a few issues I had on Rainier last year. The easiest way for me to get to altitude is Mt. Baldy (aka Mt. San Antonio) in the Los Angeles area. I have summited it in 2016 and 2017 via the Devil's backbone trail, and because of that basic experience, I figured I would just stick to it. I just came back from a strange summit attempt. Things were going fine until I realized that the wind was gusting much more strongly than I was comfortable with, so I turned around. What was strange was that every time the wind hit me in the face, I got pretty nauseous within ~a few to 30 seconds. Fortunately I did not have to throw up, but it was still a very strange experience. I had experienced mild AMS on Rainier (and Gorgonio), but it was always a mild background feeling that was always on during ascent, and then completely gone by the time I had descended ~1000 ft from the summit. But on Baldy (and again, I hadn't even reached the summit, so I was at ~9000 ft) every time the wind hit me hard, I would get a very strong urge to throw up, and within a few seconds that urge would go away. This kept on going until I reached my car which was at 6000 ft. How the gently caress do I have AMS symptoms at 6000 ft??? Could it be something else? It was a night hike, so I was more tired than usual. Perhaps I did not have the best meal (steamed vegetables, crispbread, egg, cheese) just before driving 3 hours to get to the mountain's parking lot. Perhaps I had more caffeine than usual on that day, but I did not consume any caffeine after 3 pm (the hike started at 10:30pm). Is it possible that the air that was hitting me every once in a while came from a much more different altitude with a much lower oxygen concentration? Is this possible even at 6000 ft? I did not get the impression that pressure breathing was helping me at all, though it did wonders on Rainier. Fortunately a 45 minute nap in my car fixed me up, and I got home ok. A separate conclusion was that I really should not be doing solo night hikes in the middle of the week, at least not on the Devil's backbone, so I will do the Ski hut route next time. Any ideas what I could be dealing with? Or was it just a poo poo day/night? Edit: Oh and I recently developed tinnitus. Could that have been at play here? theHUNGERian fucked around with this message at 17:52 on Mar 17, 2022 |
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Mar 17, 2022 17:03
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I can't offer a good explanation other than maybe you just had an off day. My worst experience to date was on a 12500 ft mountain, felt sluggish and slow, just wanted to lay down and nap. I've had other hikes where I've gone to 13500 ft and been fine.
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Mar 18, 2022 16:26
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quote:Is it possible that the air that was hitting me every once in a while came from a much more different altitude with a much lower oxygen concentration? No, this is not possible quote:Is this possible even at 6000 ft? I did not get the impression that pressure breathing was helping me at all, though it did wonders on Rainier. "above 6000ft" is the usually stated limit for onset of AMS, so it's possible, just maybe not so common. quote:Any ideas what I could be dealing with? Or was it just a poo poo day/night? Probably was just a poo poo day. As you mentioned, diet, caffeine, hydration, sleep, etc. etc. can all contribute...sometimes you just have a bad day for no apparent reason at all. Elephant in the room is that like ~20-40% of the population has recently experienced a respiratory infection where all kinds of weird symptoms are not uncommon. So if you were recently sick or maybe sick without realizing it, that could easily explain having an off-day. In general, it's impossible to say why AMS or AMS-like symptoms develop in a particular situation, but not in other, similar or "worse" situations. I wouldn't worry about it. If you notice a new pattern emerging, that is different from your previous experience, might want to check with a doctor.
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Mar 18, 2022 17:54
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Morbus posted:Elephant in the room is that like ~20-40% of the population has recently experienced a respiratory infection where all kinds of weird symptoms are not uncommon. So if you were recently sick or maybe sick without realizing it, that could easily explain having an off-day. Yeah, good point, and I should have mentioned that I did have symptoms of a cold (runny/stuffy nose, sneezing/coughing, no fever, no loss of taste) a few days before the trip, but they were completely gone the day before my trip, so I didn't mention it. Alright, thanks for the input goons. theHUNGERian fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Mar 18, 2022 |
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Mar 18, 2022 19:12
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