Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Any experience with oxygen?

Has anyone here climbed with oxygen? I understand quite well the suggestions to acclimatize, however I am interested to know whether anyone has personal experience with oxygen.

Here are a couple of threads that discussed the topic:

<a href="http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001167"1</a>

<a href="http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=000900"2</a>

Hi We plan to sell the bottles this season , I don't think they will help much if any but would be a way to test the ideal, for people that have summited before with out the 02 . A-16 should have them for sell now as other outdoor stores. I would check to see if the bottles can be taken on airplanes .The shipping we got says ground only. THANKS Doug

Hello Doug. Are you connected to the Whitney Portal store? Do you have any details about the specific O2 equipment that you might sell? You mentioned "A-16". Is that a store?

Hello Richard. Thanks for the thread links. Most of the discussion was idle chatter, but a couple people had thoughtful comments. Aviation research (and there is lots of it) shows that significant impairment of judgement and perception occurs in most people above 10,000 ft, and as low as 5,000 feet for many. I do reasonably well at altitude, but I haven't been above 13,500. At that altitude, I experienced some tunnel-vision and a little hypoxic euphoria.

Aviation oxygen systems are available from about $430 on up. I have my eye on an Aerox 1A system, which can supply a sufficient trickle of O2 to maintain blood saturation for about 12 hours. That setup weighs under 4 pounds.

I will probably not use O2, but it is an interesting idea.

OK, so I set up a really slick little oxygen system, and used it on the main Whitney trail on Sunday, 3 July. I bought a two-pound composite tank and an Aerox military style regulator (it's a little bigger than a film canister. I used an Oxymizer cannula to get the greatest duration out of my tank. The tank holds 300 compressed liters of O2. It is 19" long x 3.5" diameter and the whole apparatus is under three pounds.

I used it for 7 straight hours and still had a quarter of the tank remaining, which was a little better than I expected. The hike went very smoothly. I felt none of the symptoms which I have experienced on previous incursions into higher altitudes. My energy level seemed consistent throughout the day. The 02 did irritate my sinuses a bit, and I was glad to have a pocketful of paper napkins. (Yes, I packed 'em out). Overall, I drank three liters of water, which I collected one liter at a time in a Katadyne Exstream filtering water bottle.

It was a fun experiment, if a little pricey. If one is prone to altitude-discombobulation, this would be a great way to get up mountains. Acclimatization is probably an adequate palliatiave for most people at altitudes as low as Whitney. Nonetheless, the oxygen content of the air up there is only 60% of sea level, and I like my little brain cells.

Sounds like me wearing my disguise :-)
I thought about painting the cannula bla ck for the full Groucho Marx look.

The O2 set up got me some funny looks, but at the summit several people were joking around about mugging me for my tank. One woman offered to pay me for a "hit". I recommended that she just breathe the rich mountain air a little more deeply!

Using supplemental oxygen seems a bit extreme for Whitney.

Back in the 80s I drove up from the LA area and climbed to the summit almost every weekend for about two months to get in shape for a climb in Pakistan (Tirich Mir). We didn't use oxygen on Tirich Mir (~25,000'), much less Whitney. One of the threads above talked about using oxygen on Denali. I've climbed Denali three times and have never heard of anyone using oxygen for climbing (although there is medical oxygen at the 16,000' rescue cache and at the 14,000' ranger camp).

I've taken friends up Whitney that didn't even excercise on a regular basis and they had no significant problems (other than feeling pretty wasted when we got back to the Portal). A night at the portal, another at Trail Camp and most people (even coming up from sea level) shouldn't have more problems than struggling to put one foot in front of the other and perhaps a headache. If there are any signs of pulmonary or cerebral edema, unlikely but possible, head down. I can imagine it would be easier to get in trouble by using oxygen and running out than not using it at all.

Hi Pumori.
Nonetheless...
Notice the numerous amusing posts about hallucinations, great fatigue, nausea, the very common headaches, loss of appetite...
One can macho it out and just suffer like a true mountain man, or one can do something about it.
As Sinatra taught us "I do it my way" ;-)

I was thinking of trying to get some oxygen to take on the hike as a medical emergency type of thing. I have asthma and am worried about getting into trouble with my breathing and not being about to be rescued in time. I am a runner and in very good shape, but still I have no idea what elevations > 10000' feel like with my condition. Any other asthmatics out there look into this?

We went up Whitney last Oct. after acclimating 3 nights proir to MT and I did well without emergent inhalers or O2. We are taking the back side this year and will acclimate as we go. I currently take Advair and Singular everynight and avoid emergent inhalers. If you are in good shape, you should do well, but take your time. Depending how dependent you are on your emergent inhalers may make a difference though. I had some difficultly sleeping/breathing while camping at TC, but so did everyone else!
Good luck!
SMO

DesertHiker-- I have asthma, and always carry an inhaler just in case, but I've never had cause to use it in the back country. But that's just me. Carrying oxygen seems extreme.

You can get some small E-Cylinders of oxygen now.At companies like Praxair.
I was going to try it out last August when I tryed to summit. I wish I had taken it. My friend got a headache around the 11500ft level I have noticed working at a hospital that oxygen is good for that.To bad We had to turn around a little later because the other guy hurt his ankle.

I used to get these HORRIBLE headaches at anything above 9,000 feet. Two things have helped. 1. Acetazolomide...also known by the brand name DiaMox. Yeah there are some side affects, tingly hands, bad taste in mouth... but it has helped me out a bunch. #2 experience and alot of training. I have alot of climbs undr my belt. Acclimatizing is not any issue now.. I can just show up and go.

hope this helps

braingoo-

The FAA's interpretation is somewhat different. They require oxygen for non-commercial aircraft pilots only for flight above 12,500 feet only for that part of the flight after 30 minutes or above 14,000. For passengers of non-commercial flights oxygen does not need to even be provided until above 15,000 feet.

Doug-

Airlines will not allow you to carry filled oxygen bottles on commercial flights, even if they are certified aircraft oxygen bottles.
_______________________________________

Oxygen on Whitney seems like overkill to me. Admittedly it will make many people feel better during their climbs, but so will acclimatizing properly. I've used oxygen often in high altitude flying and the effects are quite noticable, but I am usually starting at sea level and quickly climbing into the teens or above with no opportunity to acclimatize.

Sierra Sam-
Our government may not always know what is best for us :-) FAA regs aside, O2 deprivation reactions are highly variable from one person to the next. I felt a significant benefit from my use of O2. It is not cheap, but if one can afford it and one knows that there is a physical price to pay without it, then it is a cost/benefit calculation. Admittedly a highly subjective one. Using O2 appealed to my ner dly gadget-happy streak.

The first time I tried hiking Mt. Whitney I didn't know what to expect. I ordered a small canister of "OPur" for around $35.00. http://www.opur.ch/en/p16000045.html
The oxygen canister only weighs a couple of ounces, and above Trail Crest I took a couple of hits off it (It comes with a little inhaler mask which doubles as its cap). Breathing a couple hits made me feel so much better, although I would have made the summit without it. Initially a couple of my friends chided me for using it. I talked them into taking a hit and they were amazed at how much better they felt, if only for a couple of minutes. I haven't used it since, understanding the power of proper acclimization. If folks aren't fortunate enough to live near mountains, some O2 would be a great addition to the backpack.

It's curious to me why folks think there is something "unpure" about hiking with something like this. Some folks are born with smaller lung capacity or lung issues of some sort and find O2 useful. What's wrong with that? As far as asthma goes, I suffer from it myself, but fail to envision the O2 as a rescue from an attack, or as a preventative measure, since lungs tighten up and bar deep breathing in the first place.

Susan,

Where did you buy Opur?

It sounds like a good idea. My husband has mentioned it also. I would like to give it a try.

Thanks

The Whitney portal store did have oxygen bottles last summer on the shelf.

I bought the O-Pur over the internet on the site I posted. I wouldn't count on it as a life saving device, but a great boost to a fatigued body at high altitude.