Party With Altitude

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“Passion is what makes life interesting, what ignites our soul, drives our curiosity, fuels our love and carries our friendship, stimulates our intellect, and pushes our limit…A passion for life is contagious and uplifting. Passion cuts both ways… Those that make you feel on top of the world are equally able to turn it upside down.” – Jon Krakauer

The most surreal party I ever went to: Drank too much, spent all my money, and then ended up sleeping in a field. No, this isn’t some weird WordPress prompt – just a memory that popped up from telling climbing stories.

After we left my friends, Phil and Sue, and the other climbers in their group, at Everest Base Camp in March 2001, those of us who had trekked in with them headed back down the 30 mile route to hike out. I believe what took us 12 days to ascend while taking the time to acclimatize to the altitude, took us only 4 days to walk back.

Of course, we felt better and better as we descended. At our highest point, climbing a mountain called Kala Patar along the way with an altitude of 18,200 feet, the air contains about 45% of the oxygen that you would find at sea level but as we descended it increased by about 3% for every 1,000 feet of elevation. Our bodies had responded to the thin air by producing more red blood cells, and though they go back to normal after about a week at home, in the meantime, they combined with the denser air to make us feel GREAT.

On the way back down, we spent one night at a tea house at about 15,000 feet. After setting up our tents in the field, my fellow trekkers and I went into the main room for dinner and discovered that if you knocked on the shuttered door to the kitchen, you could order beer.

This was not the first time that the Sherpa at the hut had seen trekkers euphoric with a little more oxygen so they broke out the boom box with the Phil Collins tape. As we danced to Sussudio, practiced the white man’s overbite (imagine tall men jutting their jaws out to be funky), and generally cut loose, we kept on knocking on the shuttered door to order more beer.

Of course beer was relatively expensive. Everything had to be carried in on the backs of men or beasts so the higher up the hut, the more costly items were. I remember exhausting my cash on hand with the first round but fortunately my trekking friends, Dave and John, funded the next couple.

I’m not sure of the physiology of the next part, but alcohol packs a wallop at altitude, at least for me. I think it only took two or three cans of beers and a few flips of the Phil Collins tape and I was dancing on thin air. Shortly thereafter, I crawled into my tent and slept in a field. And the next morning woke up with a mountain of a headache.

Drank too much, spent all my money, and slept in a field. A party with altitude.

For another story about recovering from something else silly I did at high-altitude, please check out my Heart of the Matter Post: Yay, Yeah, Whatever.

39 thoughts on “Party With Altitude”

  1. Pingback: Yay, Yeah, Whatever – The Heart of the Matter

  2. That sounded like a wild time, Wynne. I don’t do very well with alcohol so I can’t even imagine partying while also trying to mountain climb. That headache the morning after must’ve packed quite the wallop indeed. But it makes for a very good story all these years later!

    Liked by 4 people

    1. LOL! When we’re young we’d redo so many things, even if we kept getting headaches!

      Liked by 3 people

  5. Wow, when you party Wynne, you know how to party. What a great story. No wonder “Susudio” holds a special place in your heart! Yes, I can only imagine the hangover the next day! Yes, a mountain of a headache but a story to last a lifetime! Ha ha ha 😎😎😎😎

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  6. I wonder how old you were when this happened? Don’t answer, Wynne. Not a child, but still in the “my body can do anything” stage? Youth and capability explain lots of things.

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  7. I love this story Wynne and while not on a mountain, I can relate to moments like this from long ago. Those generally irresponsible, haphazardly carried out actions make for a great glimpse into a younger, previous life where you might not recognize yourself today!

    I also really like the expert data about altitude. I have a bit more info and a clearer picture about my increased inability to breathe when I’m in Colorado! That disadvantage of a mile up already then heading up the Rockies…my kids are going to have to understand I need a lot longer at each altitude jump although my 10,000 is no comparison to 18K+

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    1. 10,ooo is a lot – especially coming from sea level. And your kids are living at that higher altitude so it’s just easier for them. There’s a reason that the US Olympic training center is in the Rockies!

      Irresponsible, haphazard – check and check! Funny to look back on those years! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. After being up high for that long – sea level feels like walking on air. It’s so strange! As I said to Deb, it’s no mystery why the US Olympic training center is in the Rockies. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Great story, great experience, great memory, and one that I’ll never enjoy! Well, maybe next lifetime around . . . Glad you enjoyed it at the time, and sorry about the next day though . . . ouch.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Oh yes! That is a good story.

    I learned the hard way about the effects of alcohol on the body at higher altitudes when I went to Denver a few years ago. I had a couple of drinks at dinner, and then went to the hotel bar and enjoyed a couple more. Over a period of about 6 hours, I had 5 drinks. At home, that wouldn’t even have been enough to get me tipsy. I woke up the next morning and was so sick and hung over.

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    1. Yes, Michelle! That would be a completely reasonable rate of consumption at lower altitudes. I don’t know if it’s just because our bodies are working harder or more dehydrated at that level but I’m sorry to hear of your hangover. Oh boy!! 🙂

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  16. I’ve been on a Phil Collins/Genesis kick lately, and “When Harry Mets Sally” is one of my all-time favorite comedies, so you’ve really pushed all my buttons with this glorious post! Sounds like an epic party, one to remember for all time.

    Liked by 1 person

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