[joker]

Maybe a slower pace might help while at altitude? But as others have noted, perhaps this can be a bit of an opportunity to find other foci for outdoor adventures well beneath the high summits. Much transcendence awaits there!

[Jim Dockery]

I've heard that older (one article specified 30s-40s vs 20s) climbers often do better with altitude. The thinking was that they knew their bodies better and would pace/breathe more consistently. As I've gotten older I try to remembered this and curbed my urge to keep up with younger partners and accept a slower pace (gives me more time for photos!). Works for me most of the time, but we all have low bio-rhythm days, more as we age - take it in stride and try again another day. On the other hand I'm soul searching about mountain biking after an accident last week that really messed up my hand. I'd been thinking of taking an intermediate/advanced class from Evergreen, but now think I may be better off just trying to maintain where I'm at (next season ).

[Eric Hansen]

+1 on what Bernardo said. It could just be a not so good day. Your Lake Serene hike stats seem to indicate very solid aerobic capacity. One thought, fwiw, and I'm 68. I do 20 mile speed hikes (here in Wisconsin, bumps and all) every 2 weeks. Mostly I find it useful as an affirmation, a reality check that the endurance function is reasonably there. And to verify that I can still think clearly at the end of those 20 miles.

[Celticclimber]

Yes. I will be doing more Munro's when I go back to Scotland next May. Hopefully by then I'll have company. Thanks to you, and all who offered words of encouragement. I'm slowing adapting to what I can't change. But I am planning on ST Helens come April..........

[bobbi]

ever consider taking maybe 1/2 tab of diamox, start two nights before. must drink lots of liquids. are you eating enough, too? it's been 10 years since i did mt. adams. with friends, we started from the campground, to the summit, and back. my friend was 'famished' when we got to the summit! she chowed down whatever and felt better! i found that being aerobically fit doesn't necessarily mean good to go with altitude. slow and steady, and maybe ease back a bit, ha! seriously, i'm sure others here have been to higher elevations, but from what i've seen with athletes who claim they're 'fit', they're the ones having more trouble. they go fast, but get squashed sooner than later. i was recently hiking in Haleakala crater. i passed youngsters (i'll be 64 in october) who were ahead of me! as i approached, i can hear their labored breath. they rush up the trail, only to move over to catch their breath. it's about a 2K gain from the crater floor to the top. keep moving ...

[nordique]

Tell me about it! I turn 74 this year, with right knee replacement in 2006 and right ankle replacement in 2014: two of my seven right leg surgeries since Vietnam in 1968. I try to lead three hikes and three rock climbing days a week, ever since I retired in 2008. In 2008, I did Mailbox in 70 minutes. I haven't been to the top of Mailbox since then! Last year, I managed to lead 122 hikes, for a total of 647 miles, with 211,970 feet of elevation gain, plus 122 rock climbing days. This year, just 62 hikes, so far, for a total of 354 miles, with 101,429 feet of vertical gain, plus 64 rock climbing days. This year, I'm slower, doing shorter hikes, and doing no climbing routes harder than 5.10c--but then I have 90 degrees of right knee flexion and minimal right ankle movement (I cannot balance on that leg). But do I have a lot of fun with my friends, hiking and climbing, even at these lower levels? Why, yes, I do! And many of them are older than me, in the 80's! Their advice? Hang in there, and keep getting out there!

[AlpineRose]

[scottk]

Beware the unexplained "bad day" syndrome. You might find your next trip up Adams goes like a stroll in the park.

[Mikey]

Recognizing that you (CelticClimber) reside at a rather low altitude (Index), you might not be acclimatized for higher altitude. There is approximately 1 inch Hg pressure decrease for every 1000 ft altitude increase. There was a U of Wash grad student going for his PhD in business and his PhD Dissertation research was on management decisions and John used Mt Rainier climb leader decisions. Johns reasoning was that decisions on climbing Mt Rainier have consequences to the leader and the climbing party. At any rate, John's research over 2 years found that a rather high % of the Mt Rainier climbers had various degrees of altitude sickness. The human body adjusts for lower air pressure (acclimatization) but it takes time. Because of the lack of oxygen at the higher altitudes, more blood hemoglobin is needed to transport the oxygen so the bone marrow makes more hemoglobin and red blood cells. There has been considerable research on this. My first climb of Mt Rainier with friends via Camp Muir and Disappointment cleaver the 6 of us stayed overnight at Camp Muir and 2 turned back at about 11,000 ft feeling very poor and 4 of us continued to the summit and 2 were sickly. I felt OK - but I had climbed St Helens and Mt Baker in the 3 weeks prior to climbing Mt Rainier. Since then high altitude acclimatization plant was to stayed over night at higher altitudes, climbing the lower peaks (St Helens, Glacier Peak, Mt Baker) before Mt Adams or Mt Rainier and it seems to help with acclimatization. My first climb of Glacier Peak via Kennedy Hot Springs and Sitkum glacier we did in 2 days (over night at about 5,000 ft). But in later years, I did the Glacier Peak climb in 3 days with 2 days overnight in the 6,000 ft elevation and this is easier and also provides good acclimatization for later climbs. With regards to Diomox, I know climbers and hikers who take it before going to higher altitudes and claim that Diomox prevents altitude sickness for them I had a 24 yr old guy strong and fit get a bad case of altitude sickness at the Mt Adams false summit and a nurse experienced in high altitude hiking in Nepal gave this guy Diomox and in about 45 minutes his altitude sickness subsided enough for him to descend but he did not summit. You might consider getting a blood serum iron, Hemoglobin, Red blood cell count, etc test to see if you have adequate hemoglobin for a high altitude climb. I never did this but nowdays one can get a blood test without needing an MD prescription (get LabCorp blood tests via the Life Extension website for best prices). There has been a lot of research on this at Mt Everest and elsewhere. I think UW Dr Hornbein and other UW Medical School professors did some of this research. Recently I read journal article on altitude sickness and the research reported that people who live at high altitude (Nepal and South America) appear to have genetic ability to handle the thin air (large lungs, etc.). Here is one reference. Circulation. 2007; 116:2191-2202 "Effect of Altitude on the Heart and the Lungs" Peter Bärtsch, MD; J. Simon R. Gibbs, MD, FRCP From the Division of Sports Medicine, Dept of Internal Medicine VII, Medical University Clinic, Heidelberg, Germany (P.B.); and National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London.