Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS)  - a quick field check

Acute Mountain Sickness (aka altitude sickness, or AMS) can bring you or a teammate to a halt with various mild symptoms such as loss of appetite, headache or nausea – or lead to more severe problems like cerebral or pulmonary edema. 

There are two symptoms of AMS that should be recognized early on:  lassitude (can’t find the the energy to eat, drink, talk or do anything, and does not improve after eating and resting) and ataxia (loss of coordination).

Here’s a quick field test can help determine the degree of ataxia, and can help you choose if a member if your climb team needs to descend.

Ask the AMS affected person to stand in a flat, safe place.  Have at least one other person standing alongside to catch them if they start to stumble.  Have the AMS “patient” stand with their feet together (insides of the boots touching) have hands at their sides, and finally close their eyes.

If they can hold this position for 10 seconds without a stumble or fall, they are okay to continue.  If they stumble, consider a prompt descent.

This tip was taken from from Rock and Ice magazine