Subject: sky birding and altitude sickness
Date: Jun 22 05:09:16 1999
From: Pterodroma at aol.com - Pterodroma at aol.com


Thanks to many 'tweeters' who have replied individually to my query seeking
birding suggestions during a short 5-day port call in Peru later this Fall.
I thought it might be useful to share with 'tweeters' an exerpt from one of
my replies to Kirk Scarbrough and a personal account of my first experience
with altitude sickness. Before, I thought I was tough and immune; *bzzzzt*,
WRONG! You should take this to heart if you are contemplating trodding the
very high country. Altitude sickness is not something to take lightly.

.....snip....

I am a bit apprehensive about attempting high altitude birding especially if
coming off being at sea level for such a long time, going very high too fast
could be risky. I learned my lesson about that in Hawaii several years ago
during another similar port call, when I bailed off the ship and zoomed
straight away to the top of Mauna Kea (13,796 ft) to camp out and spend the
night. One of the absolute worst nights of my life; spectacular place but
couldn't breath, horrible relentless headache, thirsty, nausea, and total
lethargy. My mental capacity was impaired, I couldn't think rationally, and
every movement was awkward, grossly uncoordinated, and involuntary slow
motion. I had put myself in a potentially dangerous, even deadly situation
I've since come to realize. As soon as I had descended to below 10,000 ft,
symptoms gradually diminished and below 8,000 ft, all symptoms were gone and
I was fine. I was up on top of Mauna Kea again last summer, but at least
this time I'd allowed a few days of acclimatization with birding on Saddle
Road and the mid-level slopes and had no problems at all other than becoming
very sleepy on the descent which necessitated a 'power nap' at the south
slope visitor's center. It may or may not have something to do with getting
older. I had never experienced 'altitude sickness' before but now in more
enlightened years, and again especially when popping off a ship that's been
weeks or months at sea and I head for the higher elevations, the first signs
(slight but annoying headache) hit at about the 10,000 foot threshold which
is well below where Cusco even starts at around 11,500 ft / 3,500 m. I would
only hope to go 'downward' from there and save the 'higher' birds for another
and longer birding adventure. Pass the 'Mate de coca', please :-)

Richard Rowlett (Pterodroma at aol.com)
Bellevue (Eastgate), WA