Moon-walking in the Mountains

At altitude, the Buzz-Aldrin-effect is brought on by the body’s deprivation of oxygen. Sure, it may not factor into your planning for a hike up Ben Nevis in Scotland (1343m) or Mt Kosciuszko in Australia (2200m), but take on the Alps, Himalaya, Kinabalu or Kilimanjaro and it pays to have an understanding of the effect ‘thin air’ has on the human body.

The body can react at around the 1500m mark, something I first discovered flying into Nairobi. I was surprised to find out that Kenya’s capital sits 1680m above sea level, even more surprised to realise that on account of this I was suffering from headaches and mild nausea.

Years later I crossed through Taglangla pass in Ladakh which at 5358m is the highest I’ve been, and besides being simultaneously freezing and sun-shy, my body coped fine while

I moon-walked amongst the Buddhist prayer flags.

A slow and steady approach helped me adapt, but beyond being sluggish, there are many more serious effects altitude can have on hard-core mountaineers, or the simply unsuspecting. A great guide to altitude has been written by the British Medex club who support Medical Expeditions’ research in high-altitude zones. You can download the guide and view their website (which includes some amazing mountaineering pictures) here.

What’s the highest you’ve been and what effects have you noticed altitude have on your body?

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