Since I haven't actually experienced it yet, I can't say I'm qualified to give much - or indeed any - advice on surviving high altitude. Bet that's enticed you to keep reading!
However, I am up to my eyeballs in booklets given to me by the travel nurse, and advice from friends and flatmates who've been in far-flung countries scrambling up mountains and other crazy adventures - so here's a (very) brief collection of what I've been told:
- Take motion sickness tablets before ascending
- Acetazolamide - start taking 2 days before ascent. Aspirin can also help apparently
- Keep eating, even small amounts. Aim for a light but high calorie diet
- Maintain a good intake of fluids
- Get lots of rest
- Aim for gradual ascent
Bit concerned tbh, despite the fact the tour I'm going on is called 'Andes to the Atlantic' I didn't twig about the high altitude until after I'd booked...turns out we're going to be quite a lot of metres above sea level for a substantial part of the trip!
The vast collection of paper I've managed to acquire also says to take plenty of sunscreen, as well as sunglasses and clothes to protect yourself from UV light (the higher the altitude, the higher the exposure to UV radiation).
I've also just found an incredibly useful packing list, score! Will do a post on this in the next few weeks - and update this one with more in-depth altitude info when I've experienced it first hand (gulp)!
50 days!
50 days!
