Appetite at high altitude

Headaches not a problem. But I recently tried to summit Langley but lost my appetite. I camped at Long Lake (11,200’?) but couldn’t eat dinner or breakfast the next morning. I bonked and bailed at 13,200’. My muscles had no fuel!  It should have been an easy summit.

I often lose my appetite above about 10,000’. And I get a little nausea. What’s your strategy to counter this?  I’m thinking CBD for munchies. And more palatable ramen, which I forgot to bring this time. 

Bring food that you'd still want to eat when you don't have much appetite. Calorically dense food ideally. If it's not healthy, who cares. You're burning calories at a rapid rate and you need to keep fueling yourself. 

I've brought Snickers bars, chic fil a sandwiches, sour patch kids, etc. My partner brings mini cans of soda. Whatever does it for you, bring that. 

Ueli Steck poopooed sugary energy sources because he said the body craves salt at altitude; his snack was cheese bread salami. I switched and found the latter MUCH more appealing in the mouth. YMMV.

Food is fuel.  Its nice to want it; no matter what you got to eat it.  Every body is different.  Pringles and pepperonis? Nut logs? Peanut butter, honey, and banana sandwiches?  Green tea Tailwind and Gu chews? Probars? 

Consume 100 calories every 15minutes with a swallow or two of water--set your watch timer.  

Dehydrated meals, energy/candy bars, even salami can be unbearable for me once I’ve lost my appetite from altitude. Anything thick, sticky or chewy doesn’t work well for me.  I’ve recently started using Recpaks at altitude and they’ve been great. Drinking calories is a lot more appealing for me. 

All you need is a jar of Nutella. And a spoon if your dining situation is formal.

But really, bring a variety. Get your partner to bring their own variety so someone will have something someone wants to eat. Cover the basic food groups: salt, sugar, chocolate, caffeine, fat, food coloring...

I find carbs easier to digest at altitude. Consider a digestive enzyme supplement, especially if gas is keeping you awake at night or gives you bloating so you don't feel hungry.

Hydrate. Lots of good reasons to do this at altitude, but for appetite, if your bowels bog down, it's hard to be hungry when you're constipated.

Good advice, everyone. I’ll have to try recpaks. 

Make sure you are hydrated.  That seems to help digestion, so maybe it could help you there.

Are you anxious during these missions? Anxiety/anticipation of a big objective will crush your appetite. In these situations I remind myself to eat a little bit often.

Don’t try to eat foods like a cliff bar. They are impossible to get down when you are not hungry. Sugary Gatorade, soup, meats, cheeses, gummy candies, all stuff that is really easy to eat. 

Not anxious. At least not for an easy objective like Langley. I’ll try to get up there again this year and try recpak and ramen. And I’ll go by way of Old Army Pass. 

For me, a lot of what makes me feel good above 10k is the prep I put in before going above 10k.

starting with heavy hydration a couple days prior to the objective. Eating well before I go into the alpine is also a must. Starts the night before with a carb/salt heavy dinner and a with a huge carb loaded breakfast.

If I start out at deficit, I am never able to overcome the deficit as altitude compounds my body’s’ needs.

Also a fan of things that taste good and are eat for you to eat. Everyone is different. Salt helps a lot - but I tend to gravitate towards sugary snacks.

  Check out tailwind products as well.  My “secret” on big walls an c2c alpine adventures to keep the bonk from ever showing up.

I packed in a spicy Italian subway sandwich two nights ago, it tased great at 12.5k after hiking 12 miles with 3k of up. The bread was just a bit dry. Probably cause the bread was made the day before. But it was still good. Drank lots of water with it and on the way in. A bit of an attitude headache. All-in-all reasonable given everything.

For the OP you have altitude sickness. Loss of appetite is just one of the symptoms. At what altitude do you live at and at what altitude did you start hiking? For the vast majority of people the issue is hydration and one's body not being able to acclimate quick enough. For instance, if one lives at a lower altitude, drives to 7k and starts hiking one's body is going to WTF unless it is something one does regularly. So consider driving and sleeping at the trailhead and starting in the morning. Instead of Old Army Pass go up New Army Pass - though longer, not as steep so easier and less work.

At some point even bringing food one likes to eat, does not work. One must force themselves to eat. 

A lil weed goes a long way. I be rippin tha bong!!

To answer a few of you. I live in Half Moon Bay, a 5 minute walk from the beach.  So, yeah.  Kinda low elevation.  For this trip, spent first night at Sonora Pass (9700’) and ate well. Next night at Long Lake.  Summit attempt next day.  Not enough acclimating?   Maybe not. But a couple of years ago I summited Shasta without issues via Clear Creek, after spending one night at 6000’, then the second night at the spring at 8000’.

So sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.  Not unusual.  My main issue is ensuring I have the desire to eat. Another possible issue:  I’m 66 freakin’ years old!  How did that happen?

Eat warm meals at 17,000 & 19,000 camps thanks to great Sherpa chefs !

Consecutive weekends at altitude will increase your abilities.  Youre gaining significant altitude from your home!  Pilots have to wear 02 above 10k' in unpressurized aircraft (>30min duration specifically, any time over 12k').  Its no small feat to go from zero to mountain tops with ease. Way to get after it!  Hydrate and amply fuel a well rested body.    

I get that way at times and have found certain foods kill my appetite at altitude. A go to for me is payday bars. Salty and sweet and an easy calorie bomb.
I am also a fan of brining baguette and a small container of butter. Find it is super palatable for the weird stomach days and is a nice treat with coffee in the morning.
Additionally, on summit day a warm electrolyte drink instead of coffee or tea helps a ton.

I’m 66 and live at low altitude as well, although I rarely go above 7k, I regularly will do 5k in a day. The thing I’ve noticed is I don’t process food as efficiently as I did in my 50’s. I have to load up the night before and alternate between sweet and salty and cheesy snacks as I hike. But yeah it’s tough if you can’t stay ahead of the bonk. 

Blake Boltonwrote:

Dehydrated meals, energy/candy bars, even salami can be unbearable for me once I’ve lost my appetite from altitude. Anything thick, sticky or chewy doesn’t work well for me.  I’ve recently started using Recpaks at altitude and they’ve been great. Drinking calories is a lot more appealing for me. 

Same boat here, anything dry or sticky becomes completely unpalatable above 10k feet for me. Feels like I'm eating cardboard or chewing on tree bark. On one Rainier summit, I couldn't stomach any of my remaining snacks and one of my teammates opened one of those foil packets of cooked salmon... holy shit that was the best thing I'd every eaten. 2nd best was a jar of those grapeleaf-wrapped rice dolmas soaked in olive oil. I brought a small container of assorted olives (black, red, green) on a climb once and I devoured them all and drank the juice. Salty, savory and most importantly wet is all I want to eat up there, but I'm not much of a candy eater normally. Unfortunately wet foods weigh more, but if you're not eating whatever else you carried anyway then it might be worth it. Only snack-type food I can sometimes eat is meat sticks that are moist (NOT your typical dry beef jerky) or some dried fruit that's also moist (like costco dried apricots, which are basically wet still). 

Dang, I’m bummed for you that the summit didn’t work out due to inappetence, nausea, generalized fatigue. My first inclination is to agree about acclimatization being the issue.

In case it helps hearing about my recent experience at altitude….Sugar/sweet turned out to be the devil. Super unexpected, no similar issue prior. So there went a bunch of the food we packed (bars, sweetened nut butter squeeze packets, dried fruit). Savory dehydrated meals were still appetizing. As were plain nuts, cheese, tortillas, sourdough bread, lunch meat, lox, and smoked salmon. With lots of water. Being plump and hydrated is key.

In the late 00’s I went on a climbing trip to Indian Creek with Bill Crouse, who has submitted Everest at least seven times. I remember driving down after work and asking him “what’s your secret? “And he replied that he was lucky enough that he could eat the whole way up the mountain. He said the night before he summited he could eat chicken and dumplings while most people were struggling to eat two M&Ms. I do agree on figuring out things that work for you, but sometimes it’s purely genetics