Our body adaptdivity

I once met a German lady on the Curvets cable railway, who had just come from the lowlands. Nevertheless, she had the courage to go up to an elevation of 3,300 meters without giving it a second thought. While pointing out things of interest to see, I watched her unobtrusively. The different trees and plants below us seemed to interest her. I mentioned how old the beautiful Swiss pines and larches were and at the same time mentioned the purpose served by the forest and the mountain pine. On the second stage of our journey we went beyond the forest region, reaching a section where there was nothing but snow and ice.

In my opinion the woman was a little over 50, and I told her I thought it unwise, judging from experience, that she should go up to such a high elevation on the same day that she had come from the lowlands. Although she suffered from high blood pressure, she never had had any trouble when going up in a cable car. In itself that was amazing. I advised the lady to be a little more careful in the future and on the first day to preferably stay at an elevation of 1,800 meters. This is definitely advisable, since by moving to an elevation of 3,300 meters so fast, the body has little chance of adapting to the different pressure, it actually needing a certain time to do this. Fortunately on that day there was an atmospheric high. The Engadine sky was deep blue and it was sunny and exhilarating. That was a definite boon, because a depression, or even the possibility of foehn coming, could have caused the woman trouble. Even people used to the mountains, depending on their health, cannot cope with a fast change in altitude, especially during a period of low pressure. I have seen such people suddenly succumb to a critical weak spell. There is always the danger of the heart or the brain faltering.

Although I am used to the mountains myself I do not dare to go from the bottom to an altitude of 3,300 meters in one day. The blood vessels, and with them the whole body, need an adequate time to adapt to different elevations. The older we get, the more we must take external and climatic conditions into consideration. Not that one has to think immediately of dying, or having a heart attack or a stroke, for we can suffer damages to our health that are less tragic. Since by being sensible, a person can avoid suffering such damage, however, he should know what the situation is and act accordingly. Conversely, it is not easy for people who have always lived at a high altitude to move to the lowlands when they are old. Such demands usually cause difficulties. If someone living in the lowlands moves and settles in the mountains, he may discover that with increasing age he will be unable to cope indefinitely. I know of a rich elderly gentleman who bought a house in the Engadine, had it renovated but then found that for health.