Understanding Altitude Sickness

I originally posted this on the socalhikes blog but this is a more appropriate home for it.


Background: You want to hike Mt. Whitney (~ 14,500 ft), the tallest peak in the contiguous United States. Or you may want to ascend other high peaks in the Sierras, or elsewhere.

Perception: This is the hardest hike you will do, therefore you need to train for it. I have heard this many times.

Reality: The hike certainly is a biggie (~ 22 - 24 miles, 6500 ft gain), but there are many other hikes that have more stringent cardiovascular conditioning demands. In fact, the main trail up to Mt. Whitney is not very steep.

What makes Mt. Whitney difficult is the altitude and the low pressure of oxygen.

Problem: Cardiovascular training does not improve a person's ability to handle low altitude, so how else can we adapt?