I am reviving this thread to post my recent experience WITHOUT the use of Diamox. One thing I learnt in-between my last post was "Forced exhalation" (aka "Kapalabhati", "Pressure breathing"). Forced exhalation is the same action as blowing a candle. As I later found it, doing this through my nose was more effective, than doing through my mouth (although I had to deal with my sinus discharge every now and then).
Last weekend I drove from San Diego and rested in Horseshoe meadows (10000ft) and within 6hrs I was on trail (5AM) to hike Mt.Langley (14042ft). After crossing the top of Old Army pass (12000ft), I was starting to feel lightheaded. As I neared 13000ft the landscape ahead was turning blurry and I was losing appetite as well. At this point, I started to consciously perform "forced exhalation". Voila!! The lightheadedness vanished within just 10-12 such exhalation. I was also amazed to see my Pulse oximeter reading jump from 85% to 95% within seconds. From then on I didn't have any trouble pushing my way to the summit doing this periodically. After reaching the summit, I felt as though I could have a gone another 1000ft repeating this process.
Bottomline, In an unacclimatized body
- normal sea-level breathing / shallow breathing just accelerates AMS at high altitude.
- "Deep breathing" doesn't help.
- "Forced exhalation" does wonders.
As a result I successfully reach a 14er from sea-level to 14000ft in 24hrs without Diamox. Hopefully my experience helps others deal with onset of AMS.
