Understanding Altitude Sickness
Being prepared for the elements and knowing how to survive a dangerous situation are important skills for every hunter to possess. You’ve already learned about wilderness preparedness and survival basics, but there are some scenarios specific to Colorado and the Rocky Mountains that you should be aware of.
Despite what you might’ve heard, avalanches are not a serious threat to most hunters in Colorado. The amount of snow required for an avalanche typically doesn’t fall in the mountains until well after our hunting season dates close. However, altitude sickness, inclement weather, and hypothermia are very real threats you need to know about. This course already covered weather and hypothermia, so let’s dive into altitude sickness.
Altitude sickness is the negative health effect of high altitude, caused by rapid exposure to low amounts of oxygen. At altitude, the barometric pressure of the atmosphere is significantly less than that of sea-level environments. The result is that oxygen molecules in the air are further apart, reducing the oxygen content of each breath incrementally as one goes up in altitude. The reduction of oxygen availability in the air thus reduces the oxygen saturation in the blood and brains of unacclimatized people introduced to the environment.
At sea level, the oxygen density of air is 20.9%. At an elevation of 25,000 feet, it is only 8.1%. Any altitude above 8,000 meters (roughly 26,000 feet) is called the death zone. At this altitude, your body is getting about 30% of the oxygen it would be getting at sea level. The human body cannot endure the low oxygen levels at these altitudes for extended periods of time. In fact, your body is slowly dying every minute you spend above that altitude.
Luckily, the highest point in Colorado is Mt. Elbert at an elevation of 14,440 feet, a high-altitude location but well below the death zone. However, hunting in Colorado often occurs at altitudes between 5,000 and 12,000 feet where the oxygen level can vary between 17.3% and 13.2%. Altitude sickness can first appear at just 5,000 feet, and its effects are only increased as the elevation increases.
Altitude sickness can cause nausea, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, nose bleeds, shortness of breath, swelling of the hands and feet, and disorientation. Combine those symptoms with being in remote areas, operating firearms, and the always-changing Colorado weather and some very dangerous situations can arise.
