Preparing for the high elevations involves as much physical conditioning as you can manage. If you’re fortunate enough to have mountains (over 8,000 feet) and a few nights off available, hiking the trails and sleeping at elevation will pay off great dividends as you start to push your body’s ability to adapt to ever decreasing oxygen volume. At over 8,000 feet (I definitely start to feel it at 9,000 feet) you’ll find that simple exertion will get your system a little worked up, with a higher heart and breathing rate. The idea of spending some time in the mountains, besides the fresh air, is to give your body a little advanced warning and so it will have an easier time getting in gear when you really do go trekking.

Lucky me, I live in Utah now on the benches of the Uintah mountains. They’re not the fiercest mountains, I concede. Richard’s daughter Nawang Sherpa was born in a village (Khumjung) at an elevation rivaling the highest summits in Utah. There is a ski resort in the Fishlake National Forest above Beaver, Utah, that has some excellent lodges and hiking trails and is at 10,000 feet. Last month I spent several days there, taking advantage of the cooler temperatures and the thinner air. That first night was just what I expected. Even lounging around my pulse was up and I was getting a dull headache. That night I had an awful time sleeping, and I imagined my whole time going up the mountains would be the same. The next morning Pema and his wife Mingma took me for a rousing and rocky hike above Elk Meadows up Mt. Holly to 12,000 feet. We certainly didn’t dash up to the summit, I took lots of breaks to get pictures of lichen and wildflowers as a ruse to just catch my breath. Over the course of the afternoon my body made its adjustments, and that night I slept wonderfully. Richard tells me that as I return to elevation like that my body will be able to make that adjustment better. We’ll see, because I’m spending the night in the area tonight.