Flying and hiking

[mhobbs]

So, 8 months from now I'm planning on hitting the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO. I was wondering, back when I used to scuba dive (been about 6 years or so now since I have been in the water), I remember reading that you should not dive and fly or fly and dive within so many hours of each other. I was curious if hiking was the same situation? Out here in New England I am not concerned, but is it safe to fly from Boston to Denver and then hike a 14er the next day? I have never hiked outside of New England so I'm not sure of the effects of hiking high altitude mountains.

 

[Lost Dad]

I am just back from a ski trip to Breckenridge in Colorado. Breckenridge has one of the highest elevation base villages in the US; 9600' with the lifts topping out at 13,000'. We traveled directly from Boston to Denver to Breckenridge arriving in Breckenridge at 5pm. Despite a very aggressive hydration routine, I had a severe headache the evening that we arrived due to the altitude. This also reoccurred later in the week. In both cases, I was able to eliminate the headaches in a few hours with more hydration & some vitamin I. I was the only member of my family to suffer the effects although, evidently many visitors to Breckenridge suffer altitude related problems. I have stayed in other higher elevation areas (7200' & 8000') but, this is the first time that I have been affected.
With the dual purpose of your visit, you will have to be extra conscious of hydration. Have a blast!!

 

[Trail Bandit]

The dive and fly problem is caused by extra nitrogen being dissolved in your blood when you dive, remember the bends ?
The reduced pressure in an airplane will tend to cause more bubbles to form in your blood. Flying and then diving will not cause any problems. Flying and climbing to 14,000 feet won't cause problems because of the flying part but depending on your body and age going from sea level to 14,000 feet may bother you or may not. You will notice the difference however. Some people might get sick doing that but if you follow the mountaineering rule of CLIMB HIGH and SLEEP LOW you probably won't get sick or die. Another rule that works pretty well is to make camp no more than 1000 feet higher every day above say 12,000 feet. The cause of the mountaineering problem is totally different than the bends problem form diving. As you go up your blood chemistry changes because there is less carbon dioxide in your blood at lower pressures. This makes your blood PH change (less acid) and can cause very bad problems. If you ascend slowly, your body will adjust to the new lower pressure much better. Young people (under 20) and old people (over 60)
tend to have more trouble acclimatizing. The blood chemistry problems do not happen right away but take time to set in. Again, climb high, sleep low. The lower oxygen supply in the air and your blood you will notice immediately.

 

[skiguy]

If you have not been to altitude before I would take it slow as you really have no idea how your body will react. TrailBandits suggestions are excellent. People do have problems at lower than 14000 feet. Going slower and letting your body acclimatize you will have a much betterchance at having a quality trip. Jamming it from sea level to 14000 ft is a big jump for most people IMO. On another note slide into those beers at the festival with a bit less vigor than sea level consumption also. You'll be liking yourself the next day a lot more. Have fun!

 

[Chip]

I've done it twice, a year apart, and had no problem. So it's an individual thing. Not much to do accept be in good shape and hydrate. I guess there are meds too, but it may be no issue for you.

 

[RoySwkr]

After flying you may have jet lag which makes you tired

You may take awhile to adjust to higher altitudes

The above effects may be additive

Remember that all good hikes in CO aren't over 14k any more than all good hikes in NH aren't over 4k, Devils Head in the Rampart Range is a fine hike if you have altitude issues

 

[sardog1]

The common advice is to be aware of the risk of altitude sickness beginning at 8000 feet and take the precautions you can. Here's a good layperson discussion that expands on the points made above: Altitude Sickness AMS.

 

[weatherman]

Altitude sickness is very, very individual, as others mention. The weather in the mountains the week of the GABF is also very, very individual. I would not plan on hiking a fourteener that week, though you may luck out. Alternatively, there are plenty of great hikes with great views on lower summits that will be more forgiving to both your head and your margin of safety if you do run into snow.
One other tip: buy your tickets as soon as they go on sale (I hear "soon" but don't know what that means) as they sell out faster than Springsteen tickets in NJ!

enjoy.

 

[mhobbs]

The dive and fly problem is caused by extra nitrogen being dissolved in your blood when you dive, remember the bends ?

That's right! I forgot about that. I guess I need to take a refresher course if I decide to get back in the water!

Thanks everyone for the input, sounds like I really need to hydrate quite a bit more while I'm out there. I do have a friend that lives there so I'll be hiking with him. Thank you all again for th\e great advice!

 

[Jay H]

I presume you mean commercial flight? Aren't most airplanes pressurized to basically simulate around 6000' ASL? I think some of the spiffier corporate jets may be pressurized to a lower altitude.

Jay