Just spent a week in Saas-Fee in Switzerland. It's 1800m above sea level and I'm surprised at how everyday things like, say, climbing stairs are noticeably more difficult than back home. Also just how fast it gets cold once the sun goes down with less air to retain the heat. Bit of Googling suggests that the air is about 15% thinner at this altitude and it's certainly something one's aware of. Apparently at 4000m (which plenty of mountains in the Alps are) the air is 35% thinner than at sea level. Gives me a new-found appreciation of the effort that climbers must go to to get up even fairly modest mountains.
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Some people suffer from altitude sickness which can have various effects. One guy in our team went completely doolally and started talking gibberish. Normally when people suffer from altitude sickness they recover quite quickly if you can get them down 1000m or so. Depending on the symptoms (often nausea and headaches) a lot of people can get down under their own steam but we did see a few people getting stretchered down. They have these stretchers with a single wheel on:
By all accounts they are not a very comfortable ride.
And how often do you need to top up?
* the facilities were not great.
It is said that people who return to 'normal' after being at altitude for weeks find a rush of energy in day to day activities.
Still, it's not as dangerous as deep sea diving eh!
I did the Inca trail in 2000, was there for a couple of months.
The first week was a nightmare but I adjusted eventually.
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I don't know how people do climbing, I'd have seven heart attacks from the physical exertion then another every time I looked down.
We were skiing up at 3500m. I wasn't affected particularly but my wife did suffer with some pretty bad nose bleeds.
It's a lovely spot, made all the better by the glorious weather we had. It ranks as probably our best holiday. We met a great bunch of people that we have remained good friends with.
The crazy golf course is bonkers and the view across the gorge from the bridge is awesome,
Shame as watching dawn break over the plains is a thing I'll never forget.
I've been to around 7000m in the Andes and getting to the summit involved a really slow shuffle with my legs and walking poles moving one at time (plus lots of swearing). I was ridiculously short of breath and couldn't have moved quicker if my life depended on it. At the other end of the scale, my tent mate was carried down to a lower altitude by Sherpas in the Himalayers after coughing up pink froth (pulmonary oedema) he was also suffering from cerebral oedema. That was pretty scary and if he hadn't have been helicoptered out, he probably wouldn't have made it.
Water also boils at a lower temperature at altitude so your cuppa is colder
If people want a bit more info on the subject, here's a link to a booklet recommended by some mountain organisations. It's got some great info in it.
http://medex.org.uk/medex_book/Book update June 2011/English/TravelSafeHighv27.pdf
One of the porters strolled past me, wearing sandals made from car tyres, carrying 3-4 rucksacks wrapped in a tarp braced with a strap round his forehead. Oh, and he was playing a flute.
I did the Inca trail in about 2004. They sell it without mentioning it might actually be quite hard. I was okay, only 26 at the time but watching unfit overweight Americans collapse at 4000m is quite disturbing.
John Peel died in Cuzco around the time I was on the Inca trail and they said the altitude could have been a factor in his death.
they were all getting into a bit of a state..
We also could hardly lift the porters loads let alone trek up hill at altitude. Amazing people.