I've read that you can't truly prepare for altitude, that not only does everyone respond differently, but you can have different reactions at different times...

But with that as a disclaimer, to prepare for altitude I hike, as often as I can, and also do anything that increases my aerobic capacity. I try to get up as high as possible, in the Sierras or Cascades, because I want to see how I do at altitude. You lose the altitude conditioning fairly quickly, but I still think it helps - for mental preparation if nothing else.

Then, I try to be prepared for hiking at altitude. I make sure I stay hydrated, monitoring my water and drinking even if I don't feel like it. I'll use something like Vitalyte or Nuun in my water. I take a variety of snacks, because my appetite goes at altitude, and I don't always know what will appeal. I think on Mt. Whitney I used espresso flavored Goo. Oh - caffeine can help too. Tylenol for headaches. Depending on where/how long/how high you're hiking, and what your doctor recommends, the prescription medicine Diamox (acetazolamide) can help with the acclimatization.

If you are determining your route/timing, there are guidelines for how much altitude to gain per day. It's also suggested to climb high, and then sleep at a lower elevation.

I hope this helps. Where are you going?

Oh, you'll have such a great time! Kilimanjaro is a beautiful mountain! Someone asked about climbing Kili about a month ago, and I responded to her post. I'm copying it here since it deals specifically with Kilimanjaro. Coincidentally, a friend of mine is climbing Mt Kenya right now. That mountain is on my "to-do" list too. Anyway, here's the old post:



I climbed Kilimanjaro in 2008. We went with International Mountain Guides, a local company here in Washington, and went up the Machame route. 5 days up, 2 days down. I would highly recommend IMG. We were lucky enough to climb with Phil Ershler and his team of three local guides. Actually, even if you've chosen another outfitter, the IMG site has a lot of great info on Kilimanjaro, (http://www.mountainguides.com/kilimanjaro-faq.shtml).

Training:
I hiked at least twice a week, then did conditioning/strength/aerobic videos twice a week, and then yoga/pilates once or twice a week. (For people from here, my standard training hike was Mt. Si. At least until the snow melted on the higher peaks.)

Also, we tried to get elevation whenever possible. In the summer, we went to Yosemite and stayed up at Tioga Pass, then went south to Bishop and climbed White Mountain (http://www.summitpost.org/white-mountain-peak/150221) and then on to Lone Pine and Mount Whitney. We did Whitney in one long day. We hiked Third Burroughs at Rainier later in the summer.

Although the altitude conditioning fades quickly, you do get a sense of how your body reacts to altitude.The long hard hikes helped a lot with the mental preparation too.

Drugs: We used malarone for malaria, and tolerated it well. We also brought tylenol 3 for headaches, Cipro (ciprofloxacin) for gastro. problems, Diamox (Acetazolamide) for altitude, and Ambien for sleep problems. We didn't use any of those unless the symptoms didn't respond to milder medicines. I personally used 1/2 the recommended dose of Diamox once I got above 12,000 feet.

Anything else? I can go on and on about Kili.

Oh - and if you have a safari option after the hike, take it! You've already paid for the airfare to Tanzania, and seeing "zoo" animals in the wild is amazing!

I keep thinking of more things - bring snacks you like. It's hard to keep your appetite when you get high, and you're burning lots of calories. And bring hard candy to keep your mouth moist. It's dry after the first day.

In our group, everyone who made the first day made the summit. Two of our friends had heard that it was a "walk-up", and didn't do a lot of training. They had to turn around and be led down the mountain after the first day. It was sad, but they ended up going to Zanzibar and relaxing and bathing in rose-petal baths while we were wiping ourselves down with handiwipes in our tents, so it wasn't all bad for them.

Finally, it's a beautiful mountain! Enjoy your trip, and feel free to ask me any questions.

(I changed my profile pic to one of me on the Barranco Wall.)
Edited by HikerLiz on Fri 03/15/13 10:01 PM

You are welcome!

Ah I haven't checked my post about Kili in a while. Great advice I will have to take a look again ! Thank you so much!!!

I agree though, from what I hear unless you hike a higher altitude that same week, you can't do much about acclimatization. For Kili, some people arrive earlier and hike a nearby peak first and then do Kili to bank on the effects of acclimatization from the first hike, but the effects do fade fast. Hiking at higher elevations can give you a better idea of how your body responds so that you can be prepared for it when you go. Since we live at sea level, we're getting there a day early just to acclimate to the bottom of the mountain. I think the important thing for elevation is to go slow, take time to acclimate, know the signs, catch it early, and use medicine to prevent/treat early. Altitude sickness can afflict anyone, and has nothing to do with your fitness level, so your best bet is just to practice climbs and get to know your own body. I am planning on hiking lots of my usual peaks this summer and then throwing some higher ones in there. We plan to do Whitney over a few days for practice, but again that's just to get to know how our bodies respond - it won't help to minimize the effects when we do Kili.

We were just climbing around Haleakala on Maui earlier in the week, and I realized I forgot two other things - rest steps and pressure breathing. For me at altitude, they help a lot. You don't always have to do a full rest step - you can just hike more slowly than you think you need to. And pressure breathing is just breathing in through your nose, and then out through pursed lips - like you're blowing up a balloon. Consciously taking deep, slow breaths helps too. You can Google both those terms for a clearer explanation.

When we were on Haleakala the ranger tried to convince us that we were on the third highest mountain in the world...if you measured from the base in the ocean. It's a nice little bit of PR for the mountain and the park, but breathing on the "Third Highest Peak in the World" at 10,000 feet above sea level is quite different than breathing on Kilimanjaro at 19,000+ feet above sea level.

(The other two "highest" peaks were Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on Hawaii.)