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Complete index of columns on "The Amazing Race":
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The Amazing Race 11 (All-Star Edition), Episode 2

Cotopaxi National Park (Ecuador) - Santiago (Chile) -
Calama (Chile) - Chuquicamata (Chile) -
San Pedro de Atacama (Chile)

I had hoped that the "All-Star Edition" of "The
Amazing Race", with a cast selected from participants
in previous seasons of the reality-television show,
would provide useful lessons about how people learn
from the experience of travel, and do things
differently the second time they travel around the
world.

Thus far, reality has disappointed, as the teams (and
the producers who plan the route and activities,
although I'll leave that for another week) have
repeated some of the classic mistakes that were made
by first-time world travellers in previous seasons.

This week's episode, for example, was not the first
time that altitude sickness was the main factor in the
results of an episode of the race, as I discussed when
it happened at 2500 meters (8000 feet) in Ethiopia in
season 6:

http://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/000507.html

This time, there probably wasn't anything Drew and
Kevin could have done to avoid falling behind and
being eliminated. Some people are more susceptible to
altitude sickness, or generally feel its effects at
lower altitudes. Even people who've had no problems on
previous ascents to a given altitude may suddenly
experience serious symptoms at the same altitude on a
later trip. And perhaps most importantly, serious
altitude sickness isn't something you can, or should,
simply "be tough" and suffer through. If you need
medical treatment for altitude sickness, you should
probably go down to a lower altitude at the first
opportunity to do so.

If your symptoms are mild, you can rest, go no higher,
and hope to acclimatize over several days. That won't
help you win any races (not that you're likely to win
any races while out of breath from the altitude), but
your life is worth more than a million dollars. The
potential need for time to acclimatize -- somewhat
unpredictable, regardless of your physical fitness or
prior experience with high altitudes -- is a strong
reason to not to plan a rushed schedule.

If you have a tour or an onward flight already booked,
you may be tempted to ignore the warning signs of
altitude sickness. Don't. More severe symptoms can
become life-threatening quickly, and you aren't likely
to enjoy anyway if you continue your planned
high-altitude itinerary. Here's how Drew described it
in an interview with BuddyTV, which is publishing
interviews with each eliminated team this season:

The biggest factor in the severity of Drew's symptoms
was the altitude -- 3,550 meters (11,500 feet) -- at
which they spent the night on the slope of Cotopaxi. A
day trip to a higher altitude from a lower altitude
where you sleep is much less likely to produce severe
altitude sickness than sleeping high. And it's usually
much easier to turn around and descend if you get ill
on a day trip than if you have already flown to a
high- altitude base. The racers flew to 2500 meters
(8200 feet) at Calama, and immediately started driving
up from there to the Chuquicamata copper mine at 2850
meters (9350 feet).

It's quite typical of the real world that Kevin and
Drew didn't realize that they should have gone down to
a lower altitude (or stayed at a lower altitude once
they had descended to sea level to change planes in
Lima), and that they didn't realize that they were in
no condition to be driving.

People whose mental functioning is impaired by
altitude sickness frequently need to have their
condition pointed out by those around them, and
sometimes need to be forced by their companions to
descend, against their impaired judgement that they
are able to go on.

Perhaps the television production crew included
doctors who were able to give confident advice that
the racers were in no danger, physically fit to go
back up to the Atacama desert and mentally fit to
operate motor vehicles. But real travelers don't have
doctors in attendance. If you are in severe pain from
altitude, or people tell you that you are "acting
stupid" or abnormally clumsy, trust their judgement
ahead of your own.

Driving while light-headed, confused, and with
reactions slowed by altitude sickness can easily be as
dangerous, to yourself and others, as driving while
falling-down drunk. Stop right away, and get to a
lower altitude as soon as possible. Reactions to
altitude vary from person to person, so if you have to
drive to get down, have the person least affected by
the altitude do the driving. Mountain roads often get
narrower as they climb, with fewer places to turn
around. So stop and think, before you continue past a
turnaround point, whether you are confident you'll be
able to turn back if either the condition of the road
or the condition of your body and mind gets worse
farther up the road.

Don't get overly worried. If you plan your itinerary
with adequate time to reach higher altitudes slowly
and to acclimatize, pay attention to the symptoms of
altitude sickness, and descend if they are serious,
increasing, or prolonged, your problems should be
limited to moderate discomfort. But unless you too
have doctors and a support team prepared to intervene
and evacuate you if things go wrong, don't follow the
example that the racers set this week.

----------------
Edward Hasbrouck
hasbrouck.org>
<http://hasbrouck.org>

"The Practical Nomad: How to Travel Around the World"
(3rd edition, 2004)
"The Practical Nomad Guide to the Online Travel Marketplace"
<http://www.practicalnomad.com>