Type 1 Diabetic Mountaineers?

Hey All,

Been on the search for any type 1 diabetic mountaineers but have had no luck! Anyone out there climbing with diabetes? Looking to put together some projects next year.

Shoot me a message if you do, I'd love to meet some broken pancreas-like people out there.

Thanks,
Michael

I know a hard core caver friend that has type-1. He did end up deep in a cave once in medical distress without insulin, but they got it down to him in a glass bottle. This was in Mexico. With inhalable insulin now, there's no problem getting people a dose if they need it.

Best I can do is Matt Bosley. I believe he does more leading and bouldering than mountaineering though.

facebook.com/Earth.Treks.Ti…

I tried to look him up, I couldn't find anything but...

I ran into a really nice outgoing guy in NYC who climbs at LIC and spends a lot of time in the gunks. He's a military vet who got out of the service fairly recently and wants to start a "climbing for vets" type non-profit program. He was interviewed on a podcast about it within the last year. I don't know his name but I'm sure someone here knows him because he was pretty outgoing, friendly, and wanted to talk about getting veterans climbing. Also, he's one of the few black climbers i've met so he should stand out a bit more. Anyway he has type 1 diabetes and uses a pump. Maybe you can get in touch with him, he seems like a cool dude.

Hey,

I have type 1 and I am a climber. Shoot me a message.

Pm'd

Hey all I have been climbing with T1 for 5 years, but only up to three pitch Gunks stuff. I’ve been looking into multi day climbing in places like the Winds, I have competent mentors on the climbing end of things but would love to get some thoughts on diabetes in the mountains. A couple particular questions are how to check blood sugar in poor conditions (has anyone tried a continuous glucose monitor on big routes?) and packing food while keeping weight reasonable.

So this won't help your search but may be encouraging.

I used to race (bicycles) with a guy who was Type 1. We frequently trained together, traveled to races, and of course raced together. He used a combination of insulin shots and a pump. He'd gotten it all worked out rather well. I think about the longest ride we went on was probably in the 100 mile range, considering hills and wind, probably did it in around 4.5 to 5 hours. So quite a bit shorter duration than mountaineering but a higher intensity. This was all fine. This was 15-20 years ago. I work with a doc who is Type 1 also, she's said some things to make me think there have been some major advances in treatment. I could take notes next time I work with her if you'd like.

The biggest problem was at night, twice he was in a low blood sugar state in the hotel, bucking around and generally in a bad state. I would give him a Gu shot and he'd be fine. He wouldn't remember any of it and would race just fine in the morning. Makes me think that controlling sugar at rest when you're pretty much exhausted is more difficult than doing it when active. 

I've been climbing with t1 for 25 years do it all from Rainer to just cragging for the day

Hey Mike,

I've had T1D for 16 years and climbing for the past 9. I've done rock (sport, trad), ice, and mountaineering (Rainier - DC, Baker - Coleman Denning, and Rainier - Liberty Ridge).

I've trained a lot of climbing partners on how to use my equipment to check a blood sugar and how to recognize lows. Overall, climbing with T1D is like any other exercise where you need to think ahead, have extra food, and be in tune with how your body is feeling.

On big routes, I have my climbing partner carry a full spare set (glucometer, strips, lancet, insulin pens, tips, etc) in their pack just in case something happens to mine.

It'd be awesome to chat with other diabetic climbers.

- David

Jon Frisby wrote:

Hey all I have been climbing with T1 for 5 years, but only up to three pitch Gunks stuff. I’ve been looking into multi day climbing in places like the Winds, I have competent mentors on the climbing end of things but would love to get some thoughts on diabetes in the mountains. A couple particular questions are how to check blood sugar in poor conditions (has anyone tried a continuous glucose monitor on big routes?) and packing food while keeping weight reasonable.

Hey Jon, check this out: https://vimeo.com/202281079

I'm a Type1 climber also. Ticked many all-day multi's with a CGM, no problem. I pack plenty of extra food, snacks, Gu packs, sometimes extra Vitawater. However, if my BG's are holding steady I tend not to eat much. Rather than stop, lunch, inject, and ride the glucoaster; I'll keep climbing and nibble at belays to keep things level. I educate all my climbing partners on the warning signs of hypoglycemia and how to use my Glucagon kit. I've climbed with a few other Type1's scattered here and there. Tying in with them was particularly special. 

Woah, threads back up. Cool. Hey all. Jon - in terms of poor conditions, I went to extreme cold up in Alaska when climbing Denali. I had to keep my insulin in a hydroflask and sleep with it. As for meter, I use an omnipod and it stayed in my jacket or pants pocket the whole time. It would still work in the cold but I never let it freeze. CGM (Dexcom) worked great, it was a necessity. The only major issue I faced was replacing pods. If they weren't warmed up before priming, they'd fail. So I ended up holding it in my armpit for 15 minutes each time I wanted to change pods. 

Good tips, Mike. Thanks. 

t.farrell wrote:

Jon,

What do you mean poor conditions? 

Anyway, I’ve done a few multiday climbs with a CGM. It works just fine. Probably more convenient than a standard meter but doesn’t work any better or worse on a mountain vs down low.

As far as food, I carry 1 lb of sour patch kids per day I’m out. I just eat them throughout the day. You could also have sugary drink mixes, etc. I’m running low pretty much all the time but as long as I keep eating it’s always fine. 

basically what Michael wrote about - freezing meters/insulin/hands etc. Thanks for the snack tips!

amockalypsenow wrote:

Just remember to be careful and always pack spares. Recently a mountaineer I know of died from DKA on a climb. It was not reported about. Just because it may not be written about, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. 

Be prepared, have fun, and get out there!

Good point. Last time I did Rainier, I had one of my partners carry and complete duplicate set of meter, strips, pens, batteries in his pack (and sleep with it) as a backup.

I think as long as you keep your pen (assuming it’s a pen) in a pocket against your body then it should be good as Michael pointed out. That’s what I do anyway. Can’t speak to the pump as I don’t use one.

As far as testing, twice a day with a CGM is pretty easy to do while you’re in a sleeping bag. Maybe if it’s really cold the little battery in the meter would stop working but then you just put it in your pocket. I put my CGM on my thigh bc it gets in the way of a harness on my waist and it’s annoying on my arm. I think if you find yourself in a situation where you couldn’t test your blood sugar then you have bigger things to worry about. 

Where do you place your CGM to avoid having it scraped off by your harness in a fall? t.farrell mentions putting it on his/her thigh, but my Dexcom G6 (first CGM for me) seems to limit my options to just above the waistline on the belly. I assume that's due to the thicker layer of adipose tissue, but the back of my upper arm (tricepts) seems like it'd be the least likely to interfere with rock climbing. Well, apart from the forehead of course! ;-)

Pete,

I place the CGM on the back of my arm. Even though Dexcom doesn't spell it out, there are many out there putting it in alternate sites. I noticed no incorrect readings when placed elsewhere.

I was out rock climbing last week with the CGM in the normal position and it seemed to have no interaction with my harness.

Pete,

I think they’ve only tested and been approved for use on abdomen. Generally though, anywhere you can inject is going to work “okay.” I place mine right below the leg loop on a harness on my outer thigh (as mentioned). I can usually feel it on my arms if I’m reaching overhead which can be quite annoying, but it’s definitely something to play around with.

As far as CGMs go, Abbott’s freestyle CGM looks a lot better than Dexcom, but I know little about it. 

I use the Abbott and like it though I’m T2.  I’m sure plenty of T1D’s use it but you have to scan the sensor each time you want a reading.  It doesn’t constantly send the reading to your monitor.  The plus side is that the sensor is much smaller, lasts for 10 days and doesn’t require daily finger stick calibrations.

^^^ thanks! I appreciate the info