 Local mountaineer Lisa Seaman and other diabetics plan to scale Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere, along with medical researchers. |
by Terry Talty (Daily News Staff Writer)
| Local mountaineer Lisa Seaman and other diabetics plan to scale Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere, along with medical researchers. |
SUMMIT COUNTY Mountaineering, travel in a foreign country and diabetes. When Summit County resident Lisa Seaman heard these were the components of IDEA 2000, she knew it was a trip custom-made for her.
She was diagnosed with diabetes about five years ago and was told she would be able to do the exercise and activities she was in the habit of doing.
This year, she and 15 other insulin-dependent diabetics are taking their meters, pumps, syringes and insulin to the top of the highest mountain in the western hemisphere with IDEA (International Diabetic Expedition Aconcagua) 2000.
In addition to the personal satisfaction of climbing Aconcagua, 22,834 feet above sea level in Argentina, the purpose of the trip is to study the effects of extreme high altitude on diabetics.
Medical researchers from Spain will accompany the climbers. Companies making insulin pumps and blood sugar monitoring devices are sponsoring the tip, but each participant is charged with funding more sponsorships for the concept. IDEA 2000 will donate a minimum of 95 percent of the funds raised to diabetic research and projects helping people affected by the disease, which kills more people internationally than breast cancer and AIDS combined.
Seaman, special events coordinator for the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center, climbs to 13,000 feet often, skis all winter, and hasn't had any serious problems with combining exercise with altitude.
But every time she puts a bit of food in her mouth she must calculate the amount of carbohydrates she's taking in, estimate the exertion she will be doing and program her insulin supply.
"Diabetes is not a lazy man's disease," Seaman said.
When other climbers training for IDEA 2000 joined her in Summit County last week to climb East Thorn near Buffalo Mountain, all the backpackers in the trip were talking about their calculations.
"The support was so good. Usually I'm doing it (the calculations) in my own head and nobody else cares," she said.
On most trips she is counting carbohydrates and determining the best dose of insulin for the amount of exertion and the amount of stress, and doing it alone.
With other diabetics around, some who have had the disease for more than 20 years. Seaman said they kept an eye on each other noticing if someone appeared to be going low, or at a dangerously low level of blood sugar.
Going to low blood sugar, a diabetic becomes sweaty and disoriented.
"It's like a bonk," a term cyclists and other endurance sport athletes discover when they've expended all their nutritional fuel. Only it's 10 times worse, Seaman said.
Seaman has been to 20,000 feet before. Because of the altitude and exercise, she and her teammates will check their insulin level more frequently. Usually monitored six-eight times daily. She'll prick her finger and test the blood sugar level 10-12 times daily.
During the training weekend, in her own backyard, Seaman learned how to use her insulin delivery system better just by being with other active climbing diabetics.
She uses a pump that constantly delivers a small supply of insulin instead of the large dose administered by syringe. While some members of the IDEA 2000 team continue to use syringes, all will carry them as back-up.
For expeditions such as this, one team member developed a carrying pouch to be worn around the neck and storing all the necessary equipment the climbers need to have the correct amount of insulin in their blood. The contents of the pouch will stay at body temperature by being worn on the chest. Insulin is susceptible to heat and becomes less effective with cold, she said.
The group plans to make the ascent in December the summer climbing season in South America. However, severe climate conditions can always exist at 22,000 feet, Seaman said.