Wookie Kim | Fighting For His Life in the Maroon Bells
Wookie Kim started out his weekend like many of us do. He’d planned a fun run in Colorado’s Maroon Bells with a buddy and they’d given themselves 12 hours to finish the 27 mile loop.
All was going well, until fit hit the shan.
Faced with an excruciating headache that spiraled into loss of balance, vision, and ultimately consciousness, Wookie was dealing with severe High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) and High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE), two conditions that often lead to death.
This interview is about that weekend run and how he was ultimately rescued from the trails and the recovery process—both physically and emotionally—that followed.
Wookie Kim Episode Notes:
Here’s the HURT running group.
Here’s our interview with Kyle Pietari.
You must read Wookie’s blog post about his ordeal and watch the videos.
Here’s a Spot 3 Satellite GPS Messenger 
Here’s some research by Wookie’s neurologist Dr. Philip Yarnell where he writes about HACE.
Intro/Outro music used with permission from David Rosales.
Episode Sponsor: XO Skin
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Gear Talk with Ben:
HOKA ONE ONE Evo Speedtoat: More info here.
Salomon X Alpine Pro | More info here.
Altra Olympus 3.5| More info here
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