Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Acclimatization and Altitude Sickness

Hi Steve,

Dr. Hackett worked in the Bishop hospital ER for several years before he went to Everest on a medical expedition. At a regional MRA conference in Yosemite he gave a lecture on his acclimation experiences. Yes, he's one of the leading experts in his field.

I've lived in Bishop since 1975, at 4100' which yes, does help somewhat. Yes, Mammoth Lakes residents have a distinct advantage living at 8000' plus. I've notice that after a long vacation (2-3 weeks) at sea level I start to lose acclimatization and need to regain it after coming home.

On SAR ops we often encountered hikers sick with AMS, who didn't know what was making them feel like hell. We would recommend they hike to a lower elevation, which helped, much to their relief and amazement. All too often their hiking companions hadn't a clue what was wrong with their friend, and then walked out to get help.

The point I was trying to get across is that a quick hike up a local (LA or Bay Area) mountain is not actually going to help the weekend hikers to acclimate. As you said, sleeping a couple of nights at altitude (or longer if they can) is a good idea which will give them a little advantage.