J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by ise

bandit wrote:

ISTR that you were standing on the piste and underneath that cable car when the cable snapped. Very scary.

that's right, it went with quite a noise as well and the cable car shot back until the inertia brake engaged, for a second it seemed to be coming down on us. Ironic, the odds of being stood at the top of some gates and have that happen overhead must be quite high )

caron-a wrote:

it was pretty hairy coming down in the funicular though. if you haven't tried it (which I reckon most people haven't because they'd ski it) it's worth the experience!

We used to download that way during summer training when it isn't possible to ski out (even on someone else's skis). I was there on the day the drive cable snapped on the cable car, later when they'd got everyone out the funi' broke down carrying them back leaving them in the tunnel for 45 minutes, a bad day for some people )

caron-a wrote:could the altitude sickness also be down to how fast you travel? my 7 year old skied all of the espace killy for days with no problems but the day we took him up on the (extremely fast) funicular he was as white as a ghost and we had to bring him back down after plying him with lots of water.

That's right, we mostly have the ability to adapt to moderate alterations in altitude but a sudden alteration like that can be upsetting. Funiculars are particularly bad compared to chair lifts as the pressure in the tunnels is a bit odd. A 7 year old would be susceptible in this way.

Your action in bringing him down and hydrating was pretty much text book and erred on the side of caution. I would probably have hydrated and waited for 30 minutes or so but I'd need to be there to see the exact symptoms or know exactly where he'd be on the Lake Louise scale, but if in doubt then descend.

To be honest I get about the same if we're climbing on/near the Matterhorn or Jungfrau, the ascents are too quick and I feel nauseous at least 3 times out of 5 for a few minutes.

Montruex is the "M" of MOB, Montreux-Oberland-Bern.

bandit wrote:

The train would be a much more relaxing way to journey from the airport to Gstaad. As Rose wants to use the train to go sightseeing, then possibly one of the Swiss Rail Passes may be of interest.

with Leukerbad there might be a change in Lausanne, and I expect that Gstaad involves a change of train there also.

For Leukerbad you need to change at Leuk for the bus up to Leukerbad, if you time it right you don't need to change at Sierre. For Gstaad, I think you need to get to Montreux and change onto the MOB.

RoseR wrote:
I am quite tempted to try if only for a month or so before I go, but I am awful at taking medicines etc. I know too many side effects so usually stay clear. But Ginko's ok, it only interacts with some medicines.

you're in the trade ? ) I agree, I've only been involved in Rescue and Emergency Care, in fact I re-validate next week, but I'm amazed at the stuff people take for no good reason and the potential side effects of some over the counter stuff. Ibuprofen and immodium are two pet hates of mine, perfectly reasonable things but hugely misused.

The only formally conducted trial I know of shows no benefits for ginkgo biloba, there may be some later trial that does. This was tested across about 600 trekkers and symptoms measured on the Lake Louise scale.

If it's minimally effective for some symptoms that you're suffering from that may not be reflected in what (little) I know of the trial protocol though.

Dave Mac wrote:
Dizzyness from altitude is not something normally suffered from at typical Tyrolean altitudes. Many of us suffer to varying degrees at 3000m to 4000m.

Dizziness from altitude is one of the symptoms of AMS, that does occur from 2000m upwards. Even at 2000m there's only 80% the oxygen in air that you get at sea level which is enough to make you dizzy. Normal is a bit hard to define but it's a pathological condition so there's literature.

Using the Lake Louise scale we're looking for (degrees of) :

- nausea or vomiting
- fatigue or weakness
- dizziness or lightheadedness
- difficulty sleeping

Obviously it's not a factor for people like me but generally anyone arriving from nearer sea level not scoring a couple of points on the Lake Louise between 2000 and 3000m would be unusual. And you'd expect them to be having reduced performance anywhere over 1500m. In fact VO2max, I mentioned above, will decrease about 3% for every 100m over 1500m.

That's why I pointed out that aerobic fitness is the most important factor, far less than burst strength. Some Austrian stations (with fine snow records) are a lot lower than we ski in the high alps though.