Consider the weight, expiration date, nutrition equilibrium, and practical and simple utility
when bringing food. Carry high calorie food like candy so as to supply energy on the way. Consider the weight and volume of garbage. Do not bring too much canned food. If water is available in the mountain area, carry more dried food to lighten the pack. Prepare at last 1-day reserve food. To boost appetite, bring some appetizers or food of strong flavor. To lighten the weight and lengthen the expiration time, meat should be without bone,
cooked thoroughly, or pickled. 3 major nutrition, fat, protein, and sugar, should be proportioned to 1: 1.1: 4.8. In addition to 3 major nutrition, mineral and vitamin are also indispensable. After the meal, use hot water, rather than detergent, to clean dinning utensils. Carry the food and waste left downhill. Do not bury or leave them in the cabin or shelter.
Dress in 3 layers: sweat-shifting, warm-keeping, and protection layers. Sweat-shifting layer clothes should be made from quick-drying cloth like polyester fiber
rather than cotton cloth. Female can wear quick-drying, sweat-shifting sports underwear. People afraid of coldness can wear warm-keeping, sweat-shifting clothes in winter. Warm-keeping layer clothes should be made from fleece, hollow fiber, or eiderdown. Clothes in warm-keeping layer are various, with different weights. How to choose
depends on personal preference. Protection layer clothes should be able to resist the bad weather’s wind, frost, rain,
snow, and ultraviolet rays. Protection layer clothes vary from some-hundred-dollar common raincoats to some-ten-
thousand brand raincoats. It depends on personal needs to select one. To protect your head and avoid catching a cold, a woolen hat is necessary in the
mountain area. Socks should include two layers, sweat-shifting socks and woolen socks. Since Taiwan’s climate is humid, mountain boots should be waterproof.
Several elements should be taken into consideration
to the selection of the campground, for example,
whether it can take shelter from the wind, whether
its ground is flat, retreat route, and water source. Standards to select a tent focus on comfortable
extent, windproof, weight, waterproof, and difficulty
in assembly. It needs at least 50 meters away from the shelter or
water to answer the call of the nature and bury it
in the hole. Do not have a campfire. Do not make noise in the campground or shelter for
respecting other climber’s rights. To boost appetite, bring some appetizers or food of
strong flavor. When staying overnight in the shelter, please keep it
clean and carry the garbage downhill. In East Syue Trail and Wuling Quadruple Mountains
Trail, there are volunteers in duty. Please cooperate
with them.
Timely supply water when marching forward. Maintain steady steps at a natural speed. Walking too fast or too slowly easily exhausts
people. Take more short pauses than long rests when walking in the mountain area.
On the mountain trail, climbers going downhill should give precedence to those going
uphill.
To avoid getting lost, everyone entering the mountain area must bring with himself a
map and compass. To avoid damaging the mountain trails, please walk on the planned path rather than
shortcut.
Mountain sickness is the syndrome caused by low pressure and oxygen depletion in the mountain environment. When our body ascends to a certain height in a short time, it cannot timely get used to the high-altitude environment, thus suffering from mountain sickness. Generally, gradual adaptation to the highland is better. But the drop height of landforms and the habit of mountain climbing in Taiwan lead to that most people, when being over 2,500 meters, start to have symptoms of mountain sickness, for there is scarcely any modulation itinerary.
What causes mountain sickness lies in 3 elements: altitude, ascending speed, and personal adaptability. In general, people will have initial symptoms of mountain sickness when adapting themselves to the mountain area, usually in 4 to 8 years after reaching the 2,500-meter-high area. The symptoms on people with better adaptability will be alleviated rapidly in the second or third day. Since all serious mountain sickness is preventable, to correctly understand mountain sickness is the best way to keep the safety of mountain climbing. The following is the symptom, prevention, and treatment of mountain sickness as your reference in mountain climbing.
Minor symptoms: headache, vertigo, anorexia, insomnia, nausea, periphery
edema, tiredness Intermediate symptoms: vomit, headache that cannot be alleviated with normal anodyne,
urine decrease Major symptoms: consciousness change, unsteady step, dyspnea in rest, pulmonary rale,
cyanosis (lips or fingernails turn purple, meaning anoxemia)
Initial symptoms: motor ability dropping
(usually the earliest symptom), dry cough,
tiredness, chest tightness, rapid heartbeat,
rapid breath Terminal symptoms: hard to breathe in rest,
suffocation feeling at night, unceasing cough,
cough up white phlegm or blood, hard to
breathe even lying down, pulmonary rale.
Acute headache (often worsens when walking, exerting strength, or lying down), nausea, vomit, unsteady step, abnormal judgment, abnormal behavior, hallucination, chaotic consciousness, and even coma. Another way to judge if a person suffers from HACE is to ask him to walk in a straight line by placing a foot's tiptoe to the other's heel. If unable to do so, he must go downhill immediately.
Prevention is always better than treatment. Walking up gradually can give the body enough time to get used to the change of altitude and is also the most important principle of preventing mountain sickness.
Carry oxygen cylinders or portable hyperbaric bad, avoid intense activity, keep warm, and do not smoke, have alcoholic drinks, take tranquilizer, or eat carbohydrates. Avoid consuming the food that easily generate gas, like beans or carbonated beverages and eat those of high glucose and low fat. All the above can alleviate or prevent mountain sickness.
On medicine, those proven effective in mountain sickness include diamox (acetazolamide), dexamethasone, and nifedipine. The patient allergic of sulfonamide or suffering from favism is forbidden taking diamox.
Attempting to get on a mountain over 3,000 meters, climbers should first adapt themselves
in the 2,500-meter-high area for one night and then continue climbing. If having to ascend from level ground to 3,000 meters in 24 hours, climbers should consider
taking medicine for prevention.
The key of successful treatment is the early discovery, early diagnosis, and early treatment. The principles of treatment are as follows: Get away from the high-altitude environment (going downhill). Improve the environment that causes symptoms (giving oxygen, increasing pressure). Take a rest (reducing the consumption of oxygen) Take medicine
The key of successful treatment is the early discovery, early diagnosis, and early treatment. The principles of treatment are as follows
When over 2,500 meters above sea level, the
symptoms of headache, nausea, rapid reath,
and vomit should be considered related to
mountain sickness, unless other reasons can
be proved to cause them. The patient having minor mountain sickness
symptoms should not go up further, unless
symptoms disappear. Please note that never
leave the patient with mountain sickness
alone under whatever circumstances. If his symptoms worsen, or turn from minor
to major, the patient should descend at least
1,000 meters to a lower place. The best and safest principle to deal with
mountain sickness is descending to a lower
place. When the patient is still conscious and
able to walk, it is the right time to walk
downhill. Do not call for help till he is in a
coma or paralysis, because it is more difficult
to go downhill or have first aid this moment.
:::
100 Shueiweiping, Fusing Village, Dahu Township, Miaoli County,36441, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Tel: 886-37-996100 / Fax: 886-37-996302
Consider the weight, expiration date, nutrition equilibrium, and practical and simple utility 
