BIMONTHLY PROGRAM:

Travels With Charlie

If you chose c), proceed to Question #2:

Who would actually want to climb these mountains?

Answer: CMC and HAMS' own Charlie Winger!

If you are fired of planning climbs to peaks in remote areas of the third world, come to the next HAMS meeting, March 19th, 7:00 p.m. at the CMC clubhouse when Charlie will show slides and tell tales of his climbs last summer on these peaks in Austria, Yugoslavia and Liechtenstein, as well as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.
 

Slide Potpourri Party

HAMS To Climb Volcanoes In Mexico

First Annual Mt. Rainier Trip Planned

Logo Design Contest

First, the Education Committee is moving along with the High Altitude Mountaineering School. The seminar portion is scheduled for October/ November. We are still trying to get a commitment for a director of the school. Work is now being done on a student handout.

Our low angle ice climbing day is filled. Three instructors, Terry Root, Mark Frank and Randy Eisen, have agreed to help with the practice session. We still hope to have a crevasse rescue day in the spring. Two of our three proposed trips have been approved by the Club Outings Committee. We will have a climb of Mr. Rainier June 30-July 4. This will include some training and practice time on the mountain. A leader for the trip  has not been finalized yet. The other approved trip is to the Mexican Volcanoes. Led by Terry Root, the trip will be from December 23, to January 1, 1991. A third trip to Aconcagua for early 1991 is still pending. Other possible section led trips include Europe and Bolivia both for 1991.

The Education Committee is preparing an article for the May issue of Trail and Timberline about HAMS. They need some good photographs of high altitude climbing, preferably by Section members. If you have some photos, contact Terry Root.

The Social Committee has planned a party for May 4. This will be a slide-sharing night and will he held at Keith Jensen's house. Look for details elsewhere in this issue of Thin Air.

Chip Drumwright has set our programs for the first half of this year. Charlie Winger will have a show on Europe for our March meeting. In April, Dr. Mark Frank will present a special educational session on altitude illness. Then in May will be a special slide show on the CMC trip to Kilimanjaro that included so many of our own HAMS members.

Joe Fromme, our new Research Committee Chairman, is just getting his feet wet. As always, we need more input from members to put together our data base of "who went where" and to get trip reports. In addition, we may put together a file of trip reports on guided trips. That may help people considering a guide service to evaluate competing programs.

Steve Bonowski and the Newsletter Committee are always looking for articles and clippings for Thin Air. If you have something you think might be of interest, please send it into the Section at the regular CMC-Denver  address.

The section has finally approved its highly detailed budget (one income source and five expense categories). We are planning on 150 members to make the budget work. As of this date, we have a bit over 80 members, so we are just a bit short. If you know of someone who needs to join the Section, please give them the address so they many send their $5 dues payment. And, if you have not renewed your HAMS membership yet, please do so.

Finally, it was decided that the Section needs it own logo. If you have a good idea for a design, send it in. If your design is chosen by the "judges" on the Executive Committee, you will win a free membership in the High Altitude Mountaineering Section (so long as you keep paying your CMC dues!).

Each may begin in a mild form and advance to more severe symptoms if the appropriate steps are not taken. AMS is usually seen at altitudes above 10,000 ft. however, some individuals may develop mild to moderate symptoms as low as 8000 ft. Mild symptoms begin as a mild headache, decreased appetite, mild nausea, and malaise. Moderate symptoms are an increasingly severe headache, vomiting, and a reduced urine output. When AMS progresses to more a more severe disorder--which is life threatenming there is altered consciousness, ataxia (loss of coordination), failure, and in the end stages----coma and death.

The onset of symptoms of HAPE will usually occur within the first two to four days of ascent to a higher altitude. Typically they will begin on the second night. If nothing is done, they can progress from mild symptoms to severe symptoms in 12 to 24 hours. Early symptoms may be weakness, fatigue, and feeling winded with minimal exertion. This may progress to rapid or difficult breathing and coughing. The later stages are associated with Cyanosis (bluish coloration to the skin representing too little oxygen) and a cough that produces a pink frothy sputum. The lack of oxygen created by the difficulty breathing may produce mental changes such as lethargy, disorientation, or stupor.

HACE may occur more suddenly than HAPE and it is possible for it to progress from mild symptoms to unconsciousness in as little as 8 to 12 hours. Early symptoms may be headache and lethargy. As it progresses, there can be altered consciousness including confusion, disorientation, advancing to coma and death. Many times as the headache increases there is associated nausea and vomiting. Some experts feel a classic test for HACE is a test for ataxia or loss of coordination. If a person is unable to walk heel-to-toe in a straight line, HACE should be considered.

The incidence of getting these symptoms can be related to factors of: 1) mode of ascent (i.e. flying, driving, climbing); 2) rate of ascent; 3) altitude attained (especially important is the sleeping altitude, henceforth the saying "carry high, sleep low"); 4) length of exposure to the higher altitude; 5) level of exertion; 6) in certain individuals there is an inherited physiologic susceptibility. There are also certain medical disorders and medications that may increase the risk of developing altitude-related illness.

Other factors that can be related to the development of altitude-related illness are hypothermia, dehydration, and exhaustion. What makes these factors particularly important is the significant overlap of symptoms between these disorders (see Table 2) and AMS (see Table 1).

A frequent scenario is the climber who has been traveling above 13,000 ft., facing high winds, cold temperatures, and has not been able to stop to eat or drink. The climber then begins to develop a mild headache, weakness, and difficulty with coordination. It may be very difficult to determine if these symptoms are related to hypothermia, dehydration, exhaustion, or altitude.

Also important is the interaction between the four factors mentioned above. It is known that a 10 percent dehydration of the body will result in a 30-40 percent loss in thermal control or the ability to maintain a normal body temperature. It is also felt that dehydration may play a role in the development of altitude-related illness, although the mechanism behind this is not understood. Many climbers believe that significant increase in fluid helps avert the development of altitude illness.

Hypothermia may also be a predisposing factor to altitude illness. Since most high altitude environments are associated with colder climates, these two factors may be difficult to separate. If one compare the incidence of altitude illness on a peak such as Mt. McKinley (Denali) with a similar peak at a lower latitude (and therefore a warmer environment), there appears to be less frequent symptoms of altitude illness if other factors are able to be kept constant.

Finally, there has been a new syndrome related to altitude illness called HAFE or High Altitude Flatus Expulsion. It is described as "the unwelcome spontaneous passage of colonic gas at altitudes above 11,000 ft."  The mechanism may be related to the change in diet associated with high altitude climbs or possibly the expansion of the gas in the bowel at the decreased atmospheric pressure altitude (Auerbach PS, West J Med, 134: 173, Feb 1981)
--Edited by Bill Schmitt