ALTITUDE SICKNESS.(A personal revelation.)

Ive never been happy with sportsmen taking performance enhancing drugs.But i understand why they do it and confess to gulping down more than a few over the years.Ok,so it wasnt to win medals and stuff but the summits i chased were as important to me as olympic gold to any athlete!And for some i would have sold my imortal soul.In 1976 on Mt,Bangeta in Papua,New Guinea i poleaxed flat on my face at 3700mtrs and woke up frostbitten and alone at 3am,not knowing if i was "arthur or martha"!

This was my first flirtation with Altitude Sickness,and the "bunny boiling"bitch hasnt let me alone since.That one didnt kill me but ive had some close calls since then.The last one was on the easy Via-Ferrata of the Berner Schwartzhorn in Switzerland 2003
that i was using as a warmup scramble for Eiger,Austrian Route.I had trained madly for months previously in the UK prior to Switzerland and was as fit as i can ever remember!I made the summit and got down under my own steam but i had all the signs of HACE and a doctor in Grindlewald confirmed it.

 I went on that season to summit Eiger by the Mittleggi Route dosed to the gills on Acetazolomide,and pissing for England all the way down to the station!You could not get lost on Eiger that summer.all you had to do was follow my "yellow snow"trail to Eigergletscher Hotel?! A great many studies have been done on altitude sickness.Three brilliant books by "Thomas Houston.md"(Going Higher.),and a 400 man study of world scientists a few short years ago on Everest(sth col).All excellent science,and huge amounts of data collected,but no conclusions reached.
What did we get out of it? Well Charlie Houston recently died leaving behind an incredible body or research theory.(RIP Charles.And thanks man!?)And a shitload of biology students got stunning Phd,s,with a nice trip to Nepal thrown in!?But not much else really?!
Then a couple of years ago two Swiss scientists(Andreas Huber & Jaquelene Pilcher)were studying "Inherited Blood Clotting Factors"and noticed that there were high blood clotting levels in people suffering from altitude illness in the Swiss Alps.(see-SAC mag-DIE ALPEN.April 2003)They concluded(very sensibly)that inherited clotting levels played a greater role in altitude illness than originaly thought?And that got me to thinking?!

Altitude Sickness,(AMS,HACE,HAPE.)are circulatory probs!The general gist is,that your blood turns to syrup due to an overproduction of red blood cells trying to compensate for your bodies inability to absorb oxygen.In short,you end up dying of a heart attack or stroke if you dont come straight down after the symptoms kick-in!Allso the way you die can be incredibly prolonged,agonising,and unpleasant.(not exactly a winner is it?)
So i thought to try a standard treatment of symptoms only!
I started with Acetazolomide capsules(standard dose at onset.)with moderate success at 4000metres as a prophylactic before ascents?How it works is still not completely understood and invloves a complex understanding of blood chemistry.It allso bestowed upon me the new alpine "Superhero"status as the "Peemaster!"Guiding lost climbers to safety with my trail of yellow snow! Next i tried Ginco-Biloba which did bugger-all except endear me to the flatulant vegetarians and new-age "snake-oil" salesman that charge a fortune for this crap!!

Then came "Viagra"!!Which was kinda useless for AMS but great fun for my peripheral circulation!It did what was promised in the paperwork,but scared the hell out of two Swiss soldiers that i shared a cave-bivvy with on a winters night below Altells!They kept the fire going all night,and never put their SIG-Rifles down even once!! It was allso totally useless for mountain sickness problems!
It then made sense to try a course of "Dispersible Aspirin"75mg daily,as a blood thinning and anti-clotting agent in line with the "Huber-Pilcher"research?This was quite safe as i fall into that age category of heart-risk.There was a marked improvement when i used this last year!The clincher however,was a routine NHS-Cholesterol check by my friendly MO?It was found that my levels were extraordinarily high,even for a 63yr old man?(9.5)What realy bugged me is that i am super fit,6ft.1in,13stone of bone and muscle,and i train religiously four days a week?
A phone call to my elder sister in Italy revealed a history of high cholesterol on mothers side of the family.(my sisters problems mirrored my own!)And so there was a familial link with unstable blood chemistry.Two weeks ago my Doc started me on Statins(Simastatin.40mg)As a result of this my performance has improved 100%,and i have extended my training regime.Prior to the tests i showed no signs of raised levels at any time in my life!It may be that many people who suffer problems at altitude may have an underlying cholesterol problem?I am not saying that high levels are a cause of altitude illness?I am saying that altitude illness is primarily a circulatory problem,and that an inherited predisposition to high cholesterol circulatory imbalance,could well contribute to its cause!Those who suffer even in a minor way from altitude problems,would do themselves a great service a simple Cholesterol and Clotting-Factor blood test?It could be nothing,or it could save your life and improve your climbing enjoyment?! Go do yourselves a big favour!?
I will do a follow-up on this!Please comment or email me for questions! Rob.:-)

CHECK YOUR SACK SIR? (A few sack tips and ideas.)

 Have you ever been hit in the eye with a pack-strap on a windy route? Hurts like hell dont it? Hurts even more if its one of your own straps.People have actually lost their sight or taken a terminal screamer from this nonsense! some mountaineers are dumber than a bag of hammers when it comes to the simple stuff? Ive even seen International Mountain Guides wearing sacks that resemble their mums weekly washing load,so nobodies imune from plain ignorance?!
Ime not going to to dwell on good pack-brands or bad,because if you read this blog regularly and understand its content?You will have been in the sport long enough to make up your own minds.And youle know that basicaly one good simple,hardwearing 55litre job will cover most of your alpine-exped requirements.(You can make a big pack smaller,but you cant make a small one larger!)Its gotta take around 15kilos of kit that is more than enough to keep you alive,fed,and comfortable for a 3day trip in good alpine summer conditions! That includes rope,harness,rack,and crampons,etc,etc,"inside the sack"! If there is anything hanging foul outside and its above 20kilos,your carrying too much!? As much as i love winter mountaineering,i would not do a planned overnight bivvy by choice.I simply dont do enough of it to feel confident at it anymore.Its important for me to point out that this is the way "i do things"!

My trusty Mammut 55 litre.A great sturdy sack.

I am not saying that my way of soloing is better than anothers,or that anyone should copy what i do!? Far from it!! This is just the way i like to climb,and it works well for me.I would encourage any would-be soloists reading this,to study every climbing method they can read up on,to develop their own style and techniques!? There is allways someone out there with good knowledge to pass-on,and a wise man never stops learning!
The less stuff outside the sack,the less there is to get hung-up on.To keep the sack as streamlined as possible i shorten the straps by folding and tapeing them with electrical-tape (see upper pic!)Best to do it of course with a nice bright colour for better visibility(unlike my crappy effort?).Fill your pack to capacity before tapeing,them leave about 10cm of strap spare.Dont cut them down,"you will regret it"! It doesnt save weight worth a damn,and you ruin a good pack. The next most important addition is the "Drybag Inner".Pick a sturdy waterproof yellow one,at least 5litres larger than your sack capacity.

I use these more as a mid-route storage sack.

As you see,the liner is "identity-marked" (on one side in Deutch,and the other in French.).The message loosely says-"Please leave alone! Climber is returning to collect".
The liner is used more as a bivvy-kit storage sack than a weatherproof inner? When i plan to return down a route i am ascending,it gives me the option of leaving excess gear not nescessary for a fast summit push.I leave it in a protected area like my last bivvy site and collect it on the way down.Obviously i cant do this on every route,but it gives a useful added dimension to a soloists independance.On a european 4000er,you can be pretty sure your kit is safe for a few hours at 3000metres,but i would not be dumb enough to try this in the UK!? I do believe in carrying a good "Bladder hydration System" on bigger bergs with a one-litre bottle as backup.The Bladder tube can ice-up over night,and a bit of Gaffer-Tape is usually all thats needed to stop this in summer.
Weight Distribution:-Working out a simple "Pack-Plan" is a good idea?It doesnt have to be complicated! Just make sure all stuff-sacks and containers are numbered as to which goes in first!

Multiple marked waterproof stuffsacks compartment and protect gear for ease of access.

The centre of gravity on a climbing pack should be about midway in the pack,as against waist level for a Hiking-Pack,then you cant go wrong! This saves a great deal of time and energy when your tired and not thinking clearly.Coloured stuff-sacks with the contents allso saves loads of agro!
Sack Hauling:-As a general rule i try to avoid sack-hauling,but sometimes its unavoidable?!Try to develop simple stratedgies for this,like folding the shoulder-straps out of the way so they dont hang-up.Even sewing in a custom "Haul-Loop" can be of imense help,and save the loss of your sack.

Pascal-Haul & Hanging strap.Secures pack on anchors or protection whilst climbing.

The latest generation of Grivel Alpine sacks have these built in,so you can clip your pack on placed protection and drop your pack to complete a tough move or begin hauling.Its a great safety feature and ive sewn them into most of my sacks,having made them from old slings and a wiregate Krab!?
Ideally your sack should allso be able to fit a small "Tubular Rope-Bag" on its right hand side,that can hold 50metres of alpine climbing rope?! I will explain the use of this in later blogs.Its an important requirement for "Self-Belaying and Abseiling".

                                                   Rope-Bag.

Good climbing,

Rob