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Safety & Staying Healthy

Alpamayo is a surprisingly remote & wild hike. It is much more challenging than nearby Santa Cruz.

Evacuation procedures are non-existent.

 Altitude sickness is your greatest concern.
  • mild symptoms are common: headache, loss of appetite, dizziness, difficulty sleeping
  • severe symptoms: breathlessness, cough, lack of coordination, & worse
  • most hikers get some symptoms above 2500m
  • acclimatizing 2-3 days for each 1000m gain helps
  • Huaraz is at 3090m
  • Acute Mountain Sickness <details> can be fatal
  • drug treatment is controversial <details>
  • better is to immediately descend

Check this list. Forewarned is forearmed. Take responsibility for your own health & safety.


Quechua kids we met on Alpamayo

Why?




bottle
water?

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This page last modified Thursday, March 10, 2005