jbtan

Hi, does anybody out there ever experience high altitude sickness while hiking around Bernese Oberland/Zermatt area? I hail from a sea-level tropical country. However, I'm extremely fit and I do week-long hikes at 2,200-3,000m in New Zealand annually. I'm booked at Kulm Hotel Gornegrat in Zermatt for three nights and thinking if I should consider staying at the village instead. Please help...!

cheribob

I do a lot of snow skiing and once I went hiking in the Andes. Typically I never have problems with altitude. However, the last time I went to Taos (10,000 Ft) NM I felt somme small altitude effects.

I checked out the elevation of Zermatt. The village is 12,500 ft. This could cause problems. I suggest getting some Diamox from your doctor before you go, just in case.

enzian

My map of Zermatt says the village is at 1620 meters. Gornergrat is 3089 m. If you are concerned about altitude, perhaps you should stay lower than Gornergrat, such as at Riffelalp (2211 m) or even down in Zermatt. However, we too live at sea level (in the U.S.) and have never had a problem in the Swiss alps. Altitude sickness is, however, a very individual thing.

gard

Hi

I live at sea level too and I'm not used to high altitudes. When I went to Kilimanjaro we started feeling the effects of the altitude at about 4000 meters (13.000 ft) but once we went down a couple of hundreds meter and spent the night relaxing we were fine the next day. If you are going to use Diamox test them out in advance. I guess how the bodt tolerates altitude is completely individual so you might not have any problems at all. Have a great trip.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

kappa

> ... I do week-long hikes at 2,200-3,000m in New Zealand annually.

If you have no problem with that I think, you should not worry. Gorergrat is just under 3000meters. Other wise there are other alternatives. On the Gornergrat train line, there is Hotel Riffelberg at about 2600 m (?). Also, I have never slept at Gronergrat but aren't 3 nights there a bit too many? That will limit your activities it seems, unless it is what you really want.

kappa

Well, Gorergrat is just ABOVE 3000 meters.

I did not recommend the hotel at Riffelalp, Riffelalp Resort 2222 because it is a 5* hotel, much more expensive than Gornergrat. Riffelberg is 3*.

missypie

There was an altitude sickness thread on the US board earlier this week. I've hiked the Bernese Oberland with no problems. The only place where I ever experienced altitude sickness was in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Go figure.

caroline_edinburgh

I've never heard of anyone experiencing altitude sickness anywhere in Europe, only in the Himalayas.

jbtan

Hi everybody, thanks for all the tips. I just remembered that one friend who climbed Mt Kinabalu (which is Malaysia's and also Southeast Asia's highest mountain at 13,400-ft or 4,100m) last year suffered from altitude sickness. So did most members of her group. It's definitely not something specific to the Himalayas. And as Enzian and Gard said, it seems to be quite an individual thing. Guess fitness and genetic make-up have a lot to do with it.

gracejoan3

I have had a lot of high altitude experience as my husband was bothered with it. It has nothing to do with age, fitness etc. It might affect you, but not me.
We used to ski a lot, in various places around the world. It is not written up at the ski resorts about how many people have probelsm..for some obvious reasons. Aspen area does a big business in home delivery of oxygen. At one time when there, a 27 yr. old very physically fit young man was so bad, that they couldn't get him out. Anyway, what we found with my husband, and this would do for many people. He could ski high, but sleep low..that would enable the oxygen to get back into his system. Colorado was our for us. Utah was great..we could ski the mountains and sleep nearby, but off the mountains. When we skiied in europe, I always new what the elevations were for us to spend the nights. You might keep some of this in mind. It is nothing to fool with!!

basingstoke1

Not altitude sicknes per se, but be aware that many people experience increased effects of alcohol when at altitudes such as described.

jbtan

Hi gracejoan3, you're absolutely right. Altitude sickness is something not to taken lightly yet I never give it much serious thought until now. I was flipping through a Switzerland guidebook with lots of snow-capped mountain photos and I went, "Hmmm, altitude, altitude... I just wonder..."

BTW, Kappa, I'm now staying put at Zermatt valley instead of Gornegrat. You're right. 3 nights...? Guess the altitude sickness had already hit me ;-) even before I got to the mountains.