[pct-l] altitude sickness

[rubberchuckie at yahoo.com (Chuckie V)]

Hi Carol,
I'm no expert but I've had quite a bit of experience
regarding this. To answer your questions, the deal with
altitude adaptation is that humans have a poor
physiological response to altitude initially. There is
a fairly lengthy time frame for full adaptation to take
place, anywhere from two to eight weeks, depending on
the individual and a number of other factors: genetic,
fitness, hydration levels, etc. Essentially, you do
more harm than good by going up to Flagstaff
(7000-feet) once a week, at least in terms of altitude
acclimatization. Of course, since you're exercising,
you're adapting in other aspects: structurally,
cardiovascularly, etc. Plus you're in Flagstaff at the
time...not a bad way to enjoy a little walking, or even
a lot of walking!

Compare going up in elevation periodically to running a
marathon once a week and then sitting on your butt the
remainder of the time...not the way to acclimate
properly. Perhaps it's because we've "evolved" too
much, but humans are slow to adapt to stress, even
though lots of us practice it daily; we need consistent
bouts of it to adapt and flourish. This includes
exercise and altitude. (Dietary stress doesn't count!)

The real adaptation to altitude is blood-related (and
thus the plethora of athletes caught cheating with the
likes of blood-boosting drugs). In a nutshell, more red
blood cells and capillaries are produced to assist in
carrying more oxygen to your working muscles. Oddly,
fitness does the same thing but takes even longer to
develope than does adjusting to higher elevations. In
triathlon, there's a saying that goes, "it takes about
seven to ten years to become an overnight success."
Luckily, altitude only takes a few weeks, give or take!

I hope this helps,
Chuckie


--- carol Whitehouse Bruno <carolbruno@cox.net> wrote:

> To all the savants out there:
> 
> What is the deal with altitude adjustment?  Last
> weekend my husband and I went to Flagstaff and hiked
> Humphrey's (12,000+) mountain and I had a real hard
> time with the altitude.  I was wondering, if I hiked
> in Flag once a week, would that help aclimate for the
> higher altitudes on the JMT this summer; OR, is that
> impossible to do on a once a week basis?  How much
> time is required for acimation?  Someone told me that
> it takes as long as a month at the higher elevations.
>  Compared to other parts of the PCT, my mileage on
> the JMT is almost cut in half.  Any 'words of wisdom'
> for us low desert and sea level folks?  Or, do I just
> have to downshift in he higher altitudes?---bummer!
> 
> Can'tquit
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