The straight answer is yes you can, but the devil is in the details:

• How do I achieve it?
• How much does it cost?
• How long does it take?
• Do I need to do it?

This short article is aimed at those trekking to altitudes between approx 4000m – 6500m or thereabouts. It, therefore, covers just about any trekking route in the Himalaya such as Everest Base Camp, all of Africa (including Kilimanjaro), and South America.

We all know that breathing with less oxygen is more difficult, particularly when your lungs are working harder when you are walking uphill. You can prove this as much as you wish with a mask restricting the oxygen flow on a running machine but that in itself won’t help you acclimatise.

• So can you train your body to cope with high altitude (before you go)?
• What about these ‘Chambers’ – can they not help to train us?

By understanding the acclimatisation process, you will answer the question yourself.

The process of acclimatisation is far greater than just breathing. Your whole body has to adjust to the thinner air as you ascend, and slowly. There’s no rushing this process; nature will see to that!

Suffice to say, as you get higher, your body will start to feel the effects. Medical facts state that you can be suffering from Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS, aka altitude sickness) from as low as 2500m but unless you are very susceptible, most of us won’t feel any great effects until you get to about 3500m (Ben Nevis is 1345m).

In general terms, you may experience some (or all!) of the list below. Most of them, if taken in isolation, are not life-threatening and can be coped with but clearly, they can be of concern. The more of them you experience, the more cautious you should be.

The key component in that lot is the headache.

Let’s take them one by one:

• Fatigue – difficult to attribute to AMS alone as you’re going to be tired from trekking anyway.
• Loss of appetite – quite common and of concern as if you don’t keep your fuel levels up, you will run out of energy sooner or later.
• Nausea – similar to a loss of appetite only you’re losing fluids too.
• Insomnia – a lack of sleep will slowly wear you down.
• Vivid dreams – no real problem; at least you are sleeping!
• Change of bowel movement – common when travelling abroad anyway, could be hygiene, the water, food. Don’t be too concerned if it’s controlled, be conscious of the fluid loss.
• Headache – I leave this one to the end as it’s the most important. Some say, if you have no headache, you don’t have AMS and they have a point.

The headache is commonly known to be the most, if not sole, telling symptom of High Altitude Cerebal Endema (HACE). If left untreated, it can lead to death.
If you have a headache related to AMS, you will know about it. It’s not a feeble thing, it’ll be a thumper.
Take that as a sign you shouldn’t be there and descend OR stay where you are at least. Importantly, do not ascend any further.

Let’s be clear. Anyone can acclimatise, given time. We all acclimatise at different rates so for some, without sufficient time, you may feel as if you didn’t acclimatise properly.

Recognised guidelines are accepted in the mountaineering world regarding the rate of safe ascent. They are a net ascent of 300m (1000′) per day with a rest day every 3rd day. They are called ‘guidelines’ for a good reason. With the best will in the world, we often cannot control where night stops are located (and their altitude). The terrain invariably dictates where you can stop (safely). Those guidelines are therefore often broken but common sense should prevail rather than a deliberate act to defy them.

Drink lots. Hydration is vital to maintaining the body so don’t hold back.

If you follow the ascent guidelines, ascend slowly, and stay hydrated, there should be no reason why you should not get to high-altitude destinations safely.

There are altitude training facilities around the country, notably in London. The Altitude Centre in London is committed to research, training and education. Rather than being dedicated to high-altitude destinations, it revolves more around using altitude as a method of increasing an athlete’s performance. Training at altitude is a well-used process for distance runners, and this is applied across all sorts of sports.

The Altitude Centre offers all sorts of consultations, starting at £49 (Apr 2026) and working upwards. They also run a variety of physical training sessions aimed at maximising your performance.

Within Loughborough University’s Elite Athlete Hotel are bedrooms that can be programmed to a desired altitude. These bedrooms are there to form part of an elite athlete’s training programme.

It is equally important to know what these facilities can’t do. They cannot replicate the number of days you spend at high altitude, which is what leads to the changes within your body UNLESS you spend that number of days in the facility. You need to sleep, eat, exercise, the lot. And that takes time and money. Lots of it.

In 2018, TV Presenter Ben Fogle and Olympic athlete Victoria Pendleton took on Mt Everest. Their training and the climb was documented on TV. They went through the pre-training including the facilities mentioned above. Ben Fogle summited. Victoria Pendleton was evacuated at Camp 1 with severe altitude sickness. This was an extremely fit lady who went through that training. Did it make a difference? There are too many variables when it comes to altitude to be able to predict with any certainty what will happen when you’re there. Victoria made a full recovery.

Do you really need this type of training before you go? If the acclimatisation programme within the itinerary for your trek is what it should be, then, in my view, you don’t need it. What happens on the mountain is unpredictable and a good degree of flexibility and robustness is always required. Your money is perhaps best spent on any additional days you can afford on the mountain (in terms of both time and money) providing that flexibility to allow natural safe ascent. That extra day or days can make all the difference.

Ascending to high-altitude destinations within the limits of this article is not complicated. If you have a good understanding of the process, and you know your intended itinerary (including the rate of ascent), you should be able to make an assessment yourself. Respect the altitude and if required (and possible), adjust the itinerary to ensure it conforms to what you want, or need it, to be. Assessments, consultations and time in Altitude Centres are great experiences if you have the time and money. That money I would suggest is probably better spent on more time on the mountain itself allowing nature to do its thing.