[at-l] re: Altitude Matters

[pmags@yahoo.com (Paul Magnanti)]

Speaking of relatively low altitudes affecting
people....

My Dad and youngest brother visited me this past
September. They came from sea level (Rhode Island) to
approx. 5300' (Boulder, CO).  My brother has visited
me previously and and is now aware of what to do
before flying in to this altitude. He is also now a
paramedic, and serves as a medic in the Air Force (as
well as working on his RN).  

>From my outdoor background, as well as living out here
for over two years, I know how altitude can affect
people, even a relatively low one. My brother, with
his medical  background, esp. knows the science behind
altitude sickness. 

So what did we both tell Dad on the day he flew in?
Drink plenty of water. Lots of it. If you don't have
to pee, you haven't drank enough. Of course, he didn't
listen. (Stubbornness is a trait that runs a bit too
strong in the Magnanti family. )  

Within an hour of being in Boulder, he had a pounding
headache.

So what does this little story serve to illustrate?
Two points. If you have never been to altitude, even a
relatively low one, you can get sick pretty quickly.
Different people are affected differently. Who can say
who will need O2 at 10,000 feet...never mind 5,000
feet. (And the Leadville 100 that Sloetoe mentions
STARTS at just over 10,000 feet. Leadville is the
highest incorporated town in this country.)And the
second point? Once in a great while, the sons are
right. :-)



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The true harvest of my life is intangible.... a little stardust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched
--Thoreau

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