Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Article re: effect of high altitude on heart in Colorado

I found the following of interest; and since 14ers are 14ers, either in the Sierra or the Colorado Rockies, I thought this worth passing on, particularly for the benefit of the casual "one time" Whitney hikers who live at low altitudes.

See:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20040309/ap_on_he_me/high_altitude_deaths

CaT

It only makes sense for this to be so. I checked out the article. When you think how your heart goes into hyperdrive at altitude it is clear that some people will keel over. I recall trying to sleep at Trail Camp or Sky Blue Lake and taking my pulse while lying completely still. As I remember I had a resting pulse of 120.

Adrian

Interesting subject and one many new comers to altitude should heed. I'm fortunate as I live at 6500ft and can train at up to 14,110ft 20 minutes from my house. originally fron NH I found adjusting to the altitude very interesting to say the least. Being aclimated sure helps and people on a limited schedule can do themselves a great diservice by not prepping for altitude on "tune up hikes" and or sleeping as high as possible.
When I moved to San Fran a few years back, I left the city on friday once after work, drove to Mt.Dana and summitted the next morning. While on the summit I bent over for my water and almost sailor dived into the summit I was so light headed, another lesson learned.
Even when I'm at altitude every week (summer) I have noticed on "off" day's when I'm not at my best my heart can race to a frightning pace while heavily excerting myself, only stopping for a few seems to help, I think if your fit it's not that dangerous as once for field study and self awareness, I kicked in in to high gear to "test" my heart, it didnt stop so I beieve fitness is critical to surviving the stress we put on ourselves at altitude.

I think it's very important to monitor your heart constantly on a high altitude hike. The same rules should apply at high A as at low--if you do that and are in shape to begin with, there should be no extra risk. Of course, I'm not a doctor, nor did I play one as a teenager.

When I'm hiking long distances or large elevation gains, I target a heart rate of 120 (I'm 38 years old). If I keep it at 120, I can keep going for hours without a rest. Whatever pace I need to keep to stay at 120, that's my pace. Much slower at 14,000 feet than at 2000!

If I pass an occasional steep section or for some other reason push myself harder, my heart rate goes up to 140-150, and I get tired after just a minute or two; I stop to rest for a few minutes, after which my heart rate will quite suddenly drop from 140-150 back down to 120, at which time I'm ready to move again.

This is pretty much what I do too. Heart rate is everything in pacing a hike. If I can start to hear my heart beat in my head, I know I'm past where I need to be.

CaT

I've been hiking/climbing in mountains for 45 years and I've ALWAYS heard my heart beating in my head!!

There's a point at which the sound becomes more of a pounding than just normal beating. For instance, as I sit here typing this right now, I cannot hear my heart beating (or pounding) in my head. This would be true if I were up walking around, too (or hiking at a normal pace for that matter). Only when I pick up the pace, does what I am describing occur. It does happen more quickly when I am hiking in the mountains and/or at elevation in California, than it does in flat, unchallenging Ohio. But no, it's not always there all the time. Typically (and thus the reasoning behind my previous post), about the time I can hear/feel my heart beating in my head is about the same time the pulse rate is beginning to go beyond where it needs to be.