Community Forums

twogypsies · 06-19-2016, 02:30 PM

We've stayed in places up to 10,000' elevation and cooked as always. It might take a little more time but it gets cooked, including pasta and 'real' coffee. At 10,000' we've used a stovetop perculator and it did perk. We also used our propane heater and it worked fine.

At 7,000' you should have no issues. You'll be driving to the place slowly so you'll be accustomed to the elevation change. Just take it easy the first couple days and you should be o.k., especially if you have no breathing issues to begin.

Enjoy your volunteering gig!

Glenn and Kathy · 06-19-2016, 02:51 PM

You really got to watch out for those condiment bottles that store upside down. You can empty a bottle of mayo in the blink of an eye.

Glenn

Bamaman · 06-19-2016, 07:08 PM

I hope you're in very good health. My mother went to visit my sister that had a condo in Aspen. Within a day, she was in the hospital in congestive heart failure and stayed there a week.

The Aspen hospital is a revolving door for those that cannot handle high elevation.

We finally got my mother back to Memphis in a Citation jet where she was carried directly to the hospital. And she lived many more years--until age 91.

hdossett · 06-19-2016, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony Lee

Coffee? Just graduate to Nestles instant because it tastes the same regardless of the water temperature.

Well, you got me there, not much you can do to screw up instant coffee!

205* makes the best coffee, but you have to start with good coffee!

I did three hundred miles w/backpack on the Appalachian Trail in '13 and took along some of those little Starbucks instant coffee things, what ever they are called. Guess what, tasted just like instant coffee! But it was caffeine! Full disclosure, I hate Starbucks coffee!

Now back on track, the biggest problem I have at higher elevations is the fact that a gasoline engine will loose about 5% of its power for every 1,000 foot gain. That does not leave you with a lot of power when over 10,000 ft!

When working at the North Rim of Grand Canyon in '05 I had to call the EMT to the entrance station for an elderly man on a bus tour just leaving the park. He was in his 80s. They called a helicopter and flew him out! Pretty sure it was the altitude!

H

LeeB · 06-19-2016, 10:25 PM

Again Thanks

rvtrekers · 06-20-2016, 08:17 AM

If you have experience flying in a Boeing 767 and you did not experience any issues you should be good. The cabin altitude of the 767 is typically 6,900 feet when cruising at 39,000 feet. At an altitude of 8,000 there is approximately 25% less oxygen than mean sea level. Unless you have known heart or lung disease you should be fine below 8,000 feet. As far as bears we had good luck placing Lysol in open top coffee cans next to our garbage cans in our garage. If you are in the market for a dog and think you would be spending more time in bear country you could also get a karelian bear dog. I understand they have been used for bear control in certain areas around Lake Tahoe. If we had decided to stay in the mountains I would have worked to get one.

OLYLEN · 06-20-2016, 09:29 AM

If you have a gas Gen use the high altitude setting. I brew my coffee every day at 192° and it is great no acid or oil. If I remember correctly the aircraft are pressurized at 10000 feet. Get ahead of hydration drink enough to make Pottie stops mandatory before normal. Then keep it up. Take it slow when doing any work, walking is work at altitude. Be really careful lifting this burns a lot of oxygen and can make you light headed. Headaches are one of the first signs of altitude sickness, but is normal, just slow down a bit. Go for it and have fun.

LEN

38Chevy454 · 06-20-2016, 11:02 AM

Atmospheric pressure reduces about 3% for every 1000 ft elevation increase. Or think of as 3% less oxygen for every 1000 ft. So you get winded a bit easier when doing physical work, engines lose the same 3%/1000 ft, and water boils lower temp.

I live at 7100 ft, you will get accustomed to it and it seems normal. Even if you get a slight headache at first, it should go away after a day. Take it easy first day while you acclimate, and stay hydrated as this eases the potential headache.

LeeB · 06-21-2016, 07:29 AM

I have been reading every post and thank you all so much.........

LeeB

Digz · 06-21-2016, 10:29 AM

We go to Colorado and stay above 8000 ft for a month. It effects people's health in different ways. My wife usually feels bad the first week and her blood pressure gets high even though she has no problems with it at lower altitudes.

Last year her doctor gave her some medicine for high altitude sickness to take for a week and it worked perfectly

Arch Hoagland · 06-21-2016, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony Lee

We have spent weeks at more than 11,000 feet and never really got back to fully normal, however as long as you take it easy, especially if you take a couple of staged stops overnight along the way, you should be OK. Fairly common to end up with a headache for a couple of days which can be controlled with normal analgesics, but you should read up on altitude sickness just in case you turn out to be ultra- susceptible.

Depending on what sort of foods you cook and how you cook it, it might be worth buying a pressure cooker. No need to spend a lot of money as the cheapest one will do exactly the same job as the most expensive.

Coffee? Just graduate to Nestles instant because it tastes the same regardless of the water temperature. We have made coffee at 16500 feet and although it is a little cooler, the caffeine hit is just as good as at sealevel and you get to drink it sooner. At 7000 feet water boils at about 200F so it isn't much of a reduction and there is nothing magic about 212F when it comes to making coffee

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/shared/PDF/...ood_Safety.pdf

I have a propane generator and above about 9000 feet it won't start unless I manually override the govener throttle control to get the mixture right. Once it fires and runs for a few seconds I can let it take over and it runs OK. Of you have an uncompensated webasto diesel heater, they sometimes get temperamental above 9000 feet but should be OK at 7000. Propane refrigerators also play up at altitude but again, not at 7000 feet.

Where were you located at 11,000 feet?

twogypsies · 06-21-2016, 01:54 PM

I was trying to think about the highest place we actually stayed in the motorhome and I think it was Silverton, Colorado, boondocking or Taylor Park, CO. Both are around 9300'.

We had no problems perking coffee, making pasta, running the generator or using our propane heater.

Just a little higher and hiking at 10,000' is too much for me. 7,000-9,000' and hiking? No problem.

Alsdas88 · 06-21-2016, 03:38 PM

Used to work for the US Naval Observatory and used to take their V10 Excursion up to Pikes Peak (14,000ft) for altitude testing on Cesium Atomic Clocks. The excursion had a 5KW generator mounted on the engine to power up all the gear inside. That V10 at that altitude would not idle below 1200RPM and as I climbed to the peak, the power of the engine would give out badly, but make it twice without fail.
Results of the testing? Bad headache for me, but I was able to overcome by drinking lots of water and breathing slowly. Throughout the 2 days (different periods of the year) of testing, I was able to acclimate within a few hours each time. As others have said, walking is work, drink lots of water, breath slowly and deeply. Most of all take your time and enjoy the fantastic beauty that altitude offers. I was actually on Pikes peak on 9/11 when all air traffic was grounded in the US. It was the most beautiful time ever for seeing the skies without the airplane vapor trails.