Woman died of altitude sickness at campsite near Aspen

A 20-year-old Pennsylvania woman who fell ill while hiking Conundrum Creek Trail near Aspen died at her campsite of high-altitude pulmonary and cerebral edema, the Pitkin County Coroner said Friday.

Susanna “Susie” DeForest, who was hiking with friends, likely began developing symptoms of highaltitude pulmonary edema, or HAPE, when she was staying in Dillon — elevation 9,111 feet — on Aug. 15 and 16, “as it commonly develops on the second or third day at altitudes above 6,600 feet when it occurs,” coroner Dr. Steve Ayers wrote in his report.

DeForest reportedly spent a day in Golden, then three days in Dillon before traveling Aug. 17 to Pitkin County, where she died at a campsite at 10,367 feet.

HAPE and high-altitude cerebral edema, or HACE, both can be insidious and mimic other illnesses, the coroner’s office said.

But DeForest may not have recognized the signs of altitude sickness, Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Alex Burchetta said. She died either the night of Aug. 17 or the morning of Aug. 18.

“Signs and symptoms of altitude sickness are hard to recognize,” he said, “but it’s one of the things you need to realize when you’re at 11,000 feet.”

The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office has received two or three calls related to altitude sickness this year, Burchetta said. He said the altitude affects everyone differently, potentially affecting people at Aspen’s 7,900-foot elevation, as well as 10,000 to 11,000 feet up on a mountain.

University of Colorado professor of emergency medicine Dr. Benjamin Honigman, who researches the health impacts of high altitude on humans, said death from severe altitude

Avoiding sickness

Here are some tips for avoiding both altitude sickness and low sodium:

• Moderately increase your water intake.

• Consume something with salt in addition to water, such as trail mix. Or, drink an electrolyte solution, such as Gatorade, that has salt. “If it’s pure water that you’re drinking, it can create problems for you,” Dr. Benjamin Honigman said.

• If you start experiencing symptoms, go down in elevation. People can start seeing differences after dropping 1,000 to 2,000 feet. • If you think someone on the trail is dehydrated, don’t necessarily give them water right away. Check their mouth to see if it’s parched and dry. If not, then they probably aren’t dehydrated.If someone has confusion, and balance and breathing issues (especially if they’re panting while sitting), seek medical attention with a satellite phone or once you reach cell phone reception.

• Don’t consume large amounts of alcohol.

• Give your body time to acclimate. It’s better to spend a day or two at elevations of 5,000 to 6,000 feet before moving up.

• If you’re worried about altitude sickness, ask a doctor for a prescription of Diamox, which can reduce a person’s chances of developing symptoms by about 80 to 90 percent.

• The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office also recommends carrying bottled oxygen.

Although dangerous, Aspen’s mountains have been especially worrisome this year. Five hikers have died in two months on Capitol Peak and two others have died in the Maroon Bells area. sickness is rare at Colorado’s elevations.

Honigman said people often confuse low sodium with severe altitude sickness, which was the case with another woman who was rescued while hiking near Aspen. The symptoms are similar, he said, as people become confused, stumble and can have seizures.

He said it may never be clear if DeForest also suffered from low sodium levels, because it’s difficult to obtain that information after a person has died.