Another Darwin candidate

[Hawkmoon]

https://www.xatakaon.com/magnet/a-student-rescued-from-mt-fuji-forgot-his-phone-and-climbed-back-up-to-get-it-you-can-imagine-what-happened

Chinese student trying to climb Mount Fuji in Japan got altitude sickness, and had to be rescued off the mountain. Four days later the dweeb went back to look for his cell phone, became sick again, and had to be rescued again.

What is it with people and their cell phones?

[WLJ]

Mount Fuji is just a little over 12k ft high, usually people can handle that without too much problem. Sudden storms are usually the biggest problem.

[Hawkmoon]

Mount Fuji is just a little over 12k ft high, usually people can handle that without too much problem. Sudden storms are usually the biggest problem.

Yeah, I've driven up Pike's Peak (14,107 ft) and not felt altitude sickness. I was short of breath at the summit, though. But I once dated a woman who wouldn't go to the Grand Canyon with me because the rim elevation is 7,000 feet and she would experience altitude sickness at that elevation.

[Ben]

Mount Fuji is just a little over 12k ft high, usually people can handle that without too much problem. Sudden storms are usually the biggest problem.

I would do 10K-13K day hikes back in CA quite a bit. Usually starting from a 6K-8K trailhead, but coming to the area from sea level. I never got altitude sickness, but I certainly noticed a difference in my endurance and "huff and puff" factor if I did a hike my first day in the area versus hanging out at 7Kish for even just a full 24 hours first.

I stay physically fit, and back then ran a lot. I could see someone unprepared and unacclimated getting sick via overexertion doing a hike into the >10K range.

[230RN]

Ten thousand feet?   Pfeh.

Yeah, I've driven up Pike's Peak (14,107 ft) and not felt altitude sickness. I was short of breath at the summit, though. But I once dated a woman who wouldn't go to the Grand Canyon with me because the rim elevation is 7,000 feet and she would experience altitude sickness at that elevation.

Not clear offhand without research.  Is it that the canyon is that deep, or is the altitude of the rim at 7000 feet above sea level too much for her.

If the former, that's a good joke.  If the latter, that she's really sensitive to pressures at 7000 feet above sea level, that's a tragedy.  I knew  someone with only one lung who constantly wished he still had his other lung... at around 5,430 feet above sea level, Boulder, Co.  Normal absolute pressure there is about 12.2 psi (630 mm Hg).  Absolute pressure at 7000 feet is 11.2 psi, about 9% lower.

Terry, 230RN

[WLJ]

The guy could have some sort of medical condition or be really out of shape. If either he needs to stay the heck away from mountains.

[230RN]

The guy could have some sort of medical condition or be really out of shape. If either he needs to stay the heck away from mountains.

Or tobacco.

I wonder if he called for rescue on his phone the first time, and also on his recovered phone the second time.

But hey, 10,000 feet the first day, then another 10,000 feet the second day.  One more day like that and he'll be ready for Everest's 29,000 feet...  Right?

Simple addition for a simple mind.

Right?

<eyeroll>

Terry, 230RN

[Brad Johnson]

Prob with Fuji is you're starting essentially from sea level. That's 12k ft altitude in what could be as little as a couple hours. Driving it won't give most folks trouble, but this fool was climbing. If he wasn't in good shape and used to that level of physical exertion at altitude then, yeah, it's gonna clobber him.

Brad

[WLJ]

Ten thousand feet?   Pfeh.

Not clear offhand without research.  Is it that the canyon is that deep, or is the altitude of the rim at 7000 feet above sea level too much for her.

If the former, that's a good joke.  If the latter, that she's really sensitive to pressures at 7000 feet above sea level, that's a tragedy.  I knew  someone with only one lung who constantly wished he still had his other lung... at around 5,430 feet above sea level, Boulder, Co.  Normal absolute pressure there is about 12.2 psi (630 mm Hg).  Absolute pressure at 7000 feet is 11.2 psi, about 9% lower.

Terry, 230RN

Looking at Google Maps and going to the terrain mode and doing a quick scan it appears much of the rim area is ~3,800-4,200ft above SL (see edit below) with some nearby peaks up to 6,000 or so.
Again a quick scan

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.0873794,-112.0961402,14.87z/data=!5m1!1e4?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDQyNy4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Edit: Note: Grand Canyon not Mt. Fuji

Another edit: The surrounding area is ~8,000-8,400 and is what you could call the rim. I was too focused on one area

[Ben]

Looking at Google Maps and going to the terrain mode and doing a quick scan it appears much of the rim area is ~3,800-4,200ft above SL with some nearby peaks up to 6,000 or so.
Again a quick scan

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.0873794,-112.0961402,14.87z/data=!5m1!1e4?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDQyNy4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

It appears at least one trailhead (I don't know if there are more) starts at the Mt Fuji Information Center, at ~7800'.

[WLJ]

It appears at least one trailhead (I don't know if there are more) starts at the Mt Fuji Information Center, at ~7800'.

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear, I was looking at the Grand Canyon since it was brought up

[Ben]

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear, I was looking at the Grand Canyon since it was brought up

Ah. My error. 

[230RN]

Looking at Google Maps and going to the terrain mode and doing a quick scan it appears much of the rim area is ~3,800-4,200ft above SL with some nearby peaks up to 6,000 or so.
Again a quick scan

....

Another edit: The surrounding area is ~8,000. I was too focused on the rim area

Not clear offhand without research.  Is it that the canyon is that deep, or is the altitude of the rim at 7000 feet above sea level too much for her.

That's what I was saying, with additional notes on a person who actually had that problem with only one lung at about 5430 feet.

"Put your reader's head on your shoulders."  --Winnie Palmer 

"The best peer review is when you're the peer." --Terry, 230RN

And it makes you a better righter.

Go ahead, joke about

 

[WLJ]

Not clear offhand without research.  Is it that the canyon is that deep, or is the altitude of the rim at 7000 feet above sea level too much for her.

That's what I was saying, with additional notes on a person who actually had that problem with only one lung at about 5400 feet.

To repeat what I said in case you miss it due to my late edits,  from a quick scan of google maps the surrounding area is ~8,000-8,400.

[Hawkmoon]

Another edit: The surrounding area is ~8,000-8,400 and is what you could call the rim. I was too focused on one area

South rim is ~7,000 AMSL. North rim is ~8,000 AMSL. Shadow Ranch (at the bottom of the canyon) is ~2,400 AMSL.

The woman to whom I referred lived near the coast in central California.

[BobR]

Working n Montana on the eastern edge of Glacier NP we saw altitude sickness every summer when the flat landers (mostly elderly) came for vacation. We told the to go back to Great Falls or Kalispell. Going to the Sun Road tops out about 6600 ft.

In 2003 I was at Ft Carson as a traveling nurse when their Combat Support Hospital deployed to Iraq. They brought in a lot of Reservists from low lying coastal and other areas. After a day or so of acclimatization they started running them and other PT stuff. We had quite a few with altitude sickness because of the exertion at approximately 6k feet ASL.  Sadly we had to code a couple of them and they did not make it, whether due to exertion without acclimatization or something else was not determined but  they started getting a longer period to get used to being there and less exertion in the first couple of weeks. That seemed to fix it.

bob

[230RN]

Five, six thousand feet doesn't sound like much, but when we first got out here (CO) from Noo Yawk, we and the cats were all kind of wiped out for a couple of days.  I also noticed that our Noo Yawk cigarettes went out if left in the ashtray for a while.

That effect went away but I'm not sure if the "upland" cigarettes we started to buy were different or I just started to pay more attention to cigarettes "idling" in the ashtray.

[BobR]

I took my cardiac patient wife to the top of Pikes Peak back in 2003 when in CO, in retrospect that may not have been the smartest thing I have ever done. Even I was like a fish out of water. Every step was slow and planned out. But we survived so it worked out in the end. :)

bob

[230RN]

I took my cardiac patient wife to the top of Pikes Peak back in 2003 when in CO, in retrospect that may not have been the smartest thing I have ever done. Even I was like a fish out of water. Every step was slow and planned out. But we survived so it worked out in the end. :)

bob

Good thing she made it, or it might sound like a case of murder by altitude if she didn't.

But only if the investigators were mean and nasty suspicious shitheads like me.

Where'd I put my notebook?  Oh, jacket pocket.. Let's see... check on...

Insurance policy, especially for double indemnity clause and see if altude could be deemed an "accident."
Titles of all properties including investments
Last Will of decedent
Outside affiliations (romances of either?)--phone records
MD reports on decedent's health especially if warnings about altitude were given, but I'll let the Doctor volunteer that information.
Neighbors, friends, relatives regarding possible difficulties
Local PD for incidents at properties and driving records of both

Oh, that's enough for today.  Tomorrow I'll press him for a lie detector examination for his reaction and touch base with State Department for Passport status.  Go for a search warrant for computer and written records if I've got enough for an affadavit yet... oh, also check with post office for boxes if I get around to it. Captain wants to see me on this one, too.

[K Frame]

Back in 1992 or 1993 I went to Raton to cover the National Black Powder matches.

I took some time to go to Capulin National Monument, an extinct volcano. There's a hiking trail around the crest of the cinder cone (breathtaking views!) and you can walk down into the cone.

The crest trail is at something like 7,000 feet, and it's a few hundred feet down into the cone.

I didn't think anything of it walking down, but when I turned around and looked back the first thought through my mine was "I'm going to die down here. There's not enough oxygen to get me out of here."

I did manage to get out of there, but it took forever, and was incredibly draining.

Fat boys who live at sea level shouldn't do crap like that. 

[230RN]

^  Could it have been the black powder smoke?   


Son2 and I used to take the camper up above Nederland CO.  The sky is noticably more blue up there.  Just hiking and shooting in the National Forest.

I remember huffing and puffing a bit on an incline and thinking I'd better rest and have a smoke.

:eyeroll:

Wife1 quit when she was carrying Son1.  Just up and quit one day.  I always marveled at that.  I finally quit years later, but then married Wife2 who smoked and it was only a litte over a year that I started again, ~'92 or'93.  Finally quit for good September of 2017, when I was 78 YO. 

'Twarn't easy.

Terry, 230RN

[230RN]

From Ben, re California hiking:

"I would do 10K-13K day hikes back in CA quite a bit. Usually starting from a 6K-8K trailhead, but coming to the area from sea level. I never got altitude sickness, but I certainly noticed a difference in my endurance and "huff and puff" factor if I did a hike my first day in the area versus hanging out at 7Kish for even just a full 24 hours first.

I stay physically fit, and back then ran a lot. I could see someone unprepared and unacclimated getting sick via overexertion doing a hike into the >10K range."

And you're a diver.  I wonder how much of that contributes "somehow or another" to some kind of more efficient use of the air anyhow.  Just a thught.

[JTHunter]

But I once dated a woman who wouldn't go to the Grand Canyon with me because the rim elevation is 7,000 feet and she would experience altitude sickness at that elevation.

Could this woman go on a commercial airline?  I ask as, IIRC, they only pressurize to 7,500 ft. and she would probably have had a problem.

[230RN]

Could this woman go on a commercial airline?  I ask as, IIRC, they only pressurize to 7,500 ft. and she would probably have had a problem.

I thought they pressurized for higher than that, but in either case, you're not climbing to that altitude, the plane is while you're just sitting there.

[Tuco]

I've lived my entire life between 600 and 1200 feet AMSL, venturing to the higher elevations (9,000+) of Utah, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming several times. 

If I traveled by car, i have only mild areobic fatigue on moderate hikes up to 10,000 feet. I'm slow, my quads burn, i sound like a steam locomotive, but I push my fatass through.

If I traveled by air, even several days after arrival in SLC or Bozeman, I've got headache, nosebleeds - and most recently, dizzy spells - at 9000, even with rigorous hydration and little exertion.

In 1986, as a 30 mile a week runner, flying into Pitkin County in 1986 kicked my butt.  I couldn't ski for 2 days.

In 2018, flying into Phoenix, (1135) then driving to Boulder Utah over several days,  I hiked 3 miles to 10,000 and fished for 2 hours with no more than the expected huffing and puffing.