What's minimum safe O2 level?

On Sun, 07 Nov 2004 06:20:01 -0500, Cub Driver
wrote:

I have been skiing at Ajax (Aspen Mountain) on a regular basis for
nearly forty years and have never noticed any effect on mental acuity
at 11,000 feet. Of course it may be that skiers are mentally inacute
to begin with.

Relying on yourself to "notice" a change has been shown to be an
exceedingly UNreliable assessment method. There have been numerous
experiments in altitude chambers demonstrating that. The subjects were not
aware of their errors in, for example, performing simple mathematical
computations, until they were returned to sea level pressure and could view
what they had written.


Ron (EPM) (N5843Q, Mooney M20E) (CP, ASEL, ASES, IA)

On Sun, 07 Nov 2004 06:54:42 -0500, Ron Rosenfeld
wrote:

until they were returned to sea level pressure and could view
what they had written.

Of course, returning to standard pressure at Aspen means 8,000 feet.
Perhaps we are off the wall the whole time?

Still, I've never had a waiter complain that I was miscalculating the
tip. Perhaps I've been overtipping? It seems unlikely: my wife has
never complained.

Seriously, 11,000 feet is not a problem unless you have medical
problems. People get altitude *sickness* while skiing at high
altitudes; they might be insomniac; they get dehydrated, especially if
they booze it up; and sometimes they hyperventilate. (One of the ski
patrol tricks with ailing turkeys is to have them breath into a paper
bag, to *cut down* on their oxygen intake.)

Loveland Pass, west of Denver, was higher than 10,000 feet, and
carried all traffic before the I-70 tunnel was built.


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
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Cub Driver wrote:

they booze it up; and sometimes they hyperventilate. (One of the ski
patrol tricks with ailing turkeys is to have them breath into a paper
bag, to *cut down* on their oxygen intake.)

Wrong again. The idea of this trick is to keep the CO2 level up.

Stefan

Cub Driver wrote:
(One of the ski
patrol tricks with ailing turkeys is to have them breath into a paper
bag, to *cut down* on their oxygen intake.)

ABSOLUTELY WRONG.... hyperventilation is treated by increasing the CO2
content..The paper bag's therapeutic effect is acheived by allowing CO2
to be rebreathed, and hindering its passage from the body. Hypocapnia is
not treated by inducing hypoxia.

Dave