Event Details
Livestream Info:
- Date: Wednesday December 2, 2026
- Time: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM US Mountain Time
Course Description:
Learn how altitude affects your body and what that means for planning a mountain trip. This masterclass explores acclimatization, altitude illness, pacing, hydration, nutrition, and campsite selection. Develop the knowledge to recognize problems early, adjust your itinerary, and make informed decisions about ascending, resting, or descending when conditions warrant it.
Enrollment in this masterclass is free to Unlimited Members. Login with your Unlimited Membership account and revisit this page to access the enrollment button, or learn more about becoming an Unlimited Member.
The following related video provides some context – it’s the introductory video to one of the case studies that are presented in this course, and related to the article A Multifactorial Case of Acute Mountain Sickness, Carbohydrate Depletion, and Dehydration.
Event Program
Module 1
Live Masterclass – Hiking and Backpacking at High Altitudes
Presenter
Backpacking Light
DR. RYAN JORDAN is the owner/founder of Backpacking Light, engineering Ph.D., and the lead designer/developer behind Backpacking Light TRIPS - the backcountry route and intelligence planning system - a software platform for backcountry trip planning the integrates route, terrain, physiology, altitude, and environment for trip planning. Ryan has spent more than 45 years hiking and backpacking in wilderness environments, and more than 30 years as a professional guide and educator.
DR. SARAH WILLIS is an exercise physiologist and Teaching Assistant Professor at the University of Denver, where she teaches high-altitude physiology and clinical exercise physiology. She earned her PhD in Life Sciences at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, studying altitude training methods and blood flow restriction. Her research examines exercise performance, oxygen availability, and the body’s responses to low-oxygen environments. She brings this scientific background to help hikers and backpackers understand the physiological demands of traveling at altitude.
