Please note that I’m not personal trainer or other expert, I’m only describing what worked for me.
When I was preparing for Everest Base Camp, I was extremely worried for altitude sickness. I trained at/below sea level, I have never been above 1000m, I spend a lot of money on the trip,…. So I did extensive research on what can be done to prevent altitude sickness.
Many articles or blogs said that altitude sickness is not fitness level or age dependent, and it is basically kind of lottery. But I came across few tips that simply made sense as prevention. I followed them religiously for my Everest Base Camp and I barely felt any symptoms. I was bit sloppier with these tips in my prep for Kilimanjaro and I felt some altitude symptoms. I have not used Diamox or other altitude sickness medication before or during my trips.
1. FOCUS ON BREATHING
I believe breathing training is the most important thing you can do to prep for high altitude. I came across book OXYGEN ADVANTAGE by Patrick G. McKeown, which also describes the science behind this. The book is targeted to top athletes to give them an advantage, but once you start reading, you realise the tips described are applicable for everyday life and also as prep for high altitude. If you do not like to read, you can look this up on YouTube. I would like to add that oxygen advantage is based on Buteyko breathing method.
There is also another good book on this topic called BREATH by James Nestor.
The main gist is that you need to breathe through your nose at all times, that includes in the night, during exercise etc. Breathing this way will impact the way oxygen is being efficiently utilised by your blood cells. This will increase your chances at high altitudes.
Another worthy breathing method is WIM HOFF. It is completely different breathing method as it is not preliminary nasal based, but it appears to be working. It also helps with the cold management on the mountain. Wim Hoff is not everyone’s cup of tea, but this method is worth looking into and even if you do not plan to practice this before the trip, I suggest you learn the method and practise it a bit and use it as emergency tool if you struggle on the mountain.
I did not do the exercises from Oxygen advantage in prep for my Kilimanjaro trip, other than nasal breathing and I felt some altitude sickness symptoms. This is when I applied Wim Hoff breathing. Although not completely resolved, I believe the Wim Hoff breathing helped me to manage the symptoms. Of course it would have been best if I trained my body in advance with either method before the trip.
2. PHYSICAL TRAINING
I have article HERE about physical training for altitude treks. Of course as per the first tip, any training should be completed with your mouth shut.
3. DRINK WATER
This is common mountaineering advise, you need to drink more water than usual as a help to prevent altitude sickness. Many sites or people come with generic estimation but I believe the exact amount is very personal (how much you weight, how much you sweat, do you drink coffee….), so just drink as much as possible. The usual indicator of dehydration is the colour of your urine but you will likely not be able to study this on the trail 🙂 Therefore the other best hydration indicator is your lips. If they are even slightly dry, it means you need to drink more.
4. AVOID COFFEE – IF POSSIBLE
You need to avoid coffee and green/black tea as they dehydrate and can increase risk of altitude sickness. If you simply can not function without coffee or tea, you need to make sure to supplement with additional water. Also avoid alcohol.
5. TAKE ELECTROLYTES
For optimal hydration, add electrolytes in any preferred form. If you plan to bring any electrolytes, do test them before your trip and I advise not to take them on empty stomach. I have experience that while they are great in replenishing nutrients and hydrating your body, they can also cause nausea. Do not bring electrolytes if you do not like them, instead you can use salt or salty snacks.
Personally I like SALTSTICK caps as they taste like candy.
- 6. SLOW DOWN
There are many reasons and benefits of walking slowly in the mountains, just to name few:
- You are less likely to tire or injure yourself, so you can recover faster and keep walking day after day
- Safety reasons, if you walk fast you are more likely to slip and/or fall
- Acclimatisation, you give your body just slightly more time to acclimatise
- You will enjoy the views longer
- You will be able to keep your heart rate lower
For me there is another reason related to breathing and dehydration (points 1 and 2), if you walk fast, you will likely breathe through your mouth. You will eliminate higher amounts of liquids then if you breathe through your nose. Just think how much steam is created if you breathe on mirror with mouth vs nose…big difference. If you are walking so fast you can not breathe through your nose, you need to slow down to prevent dehydration.
This will also apply if you talk while walking. I’m not saying that you can not talk to people while you walk as that is part of the fun of doing such trails, but I’m raising an awareness that you might want to slow down and drink more water if you like to talk while walking.
7. EMBRACE BEETROOTS
About 1-2 weeks before your trip, I advise you to start drinking beetroot juice. Select one with the least amount of additives such as sugar so it is as natural as possible. Online are several articles about the benefits and the exact science, but in general the nitric oxide in beetroots helps to improve the oxygen circulation in your body.
If you really do not enjoy the taste of the juice, there are supplements available, but it is not the same as natural fresh juice. You can however bring the supplements with you on the mountain.
8. SLAY VAMPIRES
Another thing that helps with altitude sickness is garlic. If there is anything on the menu with garlic, I advise you to take it, you can ask for garlic soup for example. I do not expect you to bring your own from home, so supplement might work or ask in the place you eat (EBC) or ask your cook in advance to buy and plan recipes with it (Kilimanjaro). Do keep your roommate in mind when consuming garlic, ideally get them onboard the garlic train, so nobody is suffering.
9. OTHER POTENTIAL TIPS
There are few other tips which I have not really tested but found as potential altitude tips:
Ginko biloba
Soda bicarbonate in your water
Ginger
Horseradish
Vitamin C
Echinacea
