Mt. Shasta in March?

I believe it was March this year that I had a rude awakening regarding skiing uphill at higher altitudes. You might say, "Skiing uphill?"

Well. If you aren't used to cross country skiing or mountaineering skiing (cross country skis may not have metal edges but if you don't have them on your skis and get into ice it can be fatal if you are traversing a steep slope because you can slide off sideways without metal edges). So, cross country skis without metal edges are really only useful on level or downhill conditions where you aren't going to get into ice and other dangerous conditions while skiing while traversing steeps slopes.

So, ever since I once slid about 500 feet sideways and almost hit a tree without metal edges in ice I decided that my days of skiing without metal edges was over on Mt. Shasta. This happened in the 1980s. So, any skis I bought have been wide metal edged mountaineering skis which you can choose the kinds of bindings your want on them and what kinds of boots you want to wear.

Anyway, I believe it was this March 2014 that I got into trouble just trying to Mountaineer ski to Horse Camp. I think the problem was I was trying to take ammoxicillan, the antibiotic not realizing how allergic to it I was. I found I was supposed to take 3 a day but found I couldn't take more than 2 without feeling like I had senile dementia or something. So, I asked for another antibiotic and they gave me zithromax which I have always had good results with to prevent bronchitis from turning into pneumonia along with Coricidan (I used to take Sudafed but since I have had some heart problems I now take Coricidan because it doesn't have the caffeine in such high doses which can affect your heart.

Anyway, I thought I was fine skiing uphill because I had new mountaineering skis with metal edges that were wide which is great sort of like downhill skis only with cross country types of bindings.

However, I didn't realize how out of it I had been the past week. So, when I climbed up to Horse Camp at about 8000 or 9000 feet from about 7000 feet I got into trouble around 8000 feet or above.

As a result I found I was having trouble thinking clearly and my co-ordination was off. The conclusion I have come to after the fact was I was having altitude sickness because I hadn't taken enough time to adjust to the higher altitude because I came from sea level near San Francisco on the ocean. Also, I was having trouble clearing the snow from my bindings and getting my bindings to set on one ski. As I entered the emergency lodge there I was scared. I hadn't been in this kind of serious situation in a remote place since I was still making crazy decisions as a young mountain climber where sometimes I almost died from the risks I took then before I was about 24.

At that point I realized I was in real trouble and wondered if I was going to have to be rescued from there by helicopter. However, I guess I was just too macho for that and decided to ski down even though I knew it would be very difficult for me so out of it.

I survived but I did drive my teeth twice into my lower lip when I fell. Luckily, I just got blood and it didn't come through the other side through to my face. So, I just tasted blood. The first time it was my fist because I fell wrong (which I ordinarily wouldn't do if not having altitude problems).

So, in the end the last time I fell was right near where my 4 wheel drive truck was parked. I was just so very tired that I didn't see the rock sticking up out of the snow and it stopped one ski and I fell really had and drove my lower teeth deep into my lower lip. I was incredibly grateful to have made it all that way while being so messed up from age and altitude and likely taking anti-biotics combined with being 8000 to 9000 feet higher than my body was used to only about 15 or 16 hours before.

So, basically what did I learn?

Don't be taking antibiotics when potentially life threatening choices are being made. 2nd, I need to be skiing cross country on the level or down hill at age 66 and not trying to go for an altitude record uphill at my age unless I really train for awhile I at higher altitudes for awhile before I try to do something like this again.

Note: oftentimes if you are over 40 or 50 antibiotics (especially strong ones interfere with good reasoning and decision making). So, being aware of this is useful too.

I'm partly convinced at this point that one of the reasons my mother went into senile dementia was too strong of antibiotics too late in life. I could see how some strong antibiotics took away completely her reasoning capacity as long as she took them.

Also now some doctors recommend taking probiotics simultaneously with antibiotics so people don't get so run down and take a couple of months to recover from what antibiotics do. Without probiotics you might be run down and not functioning right for up to 6 months or longer or just get very sick if you don't take probiotics at the right times too.