boiling water? high altitudes?

[piasabird]

It would be possible that a visitor from the Hemalayas might be in danger of burning himself from drinking boiling water thinking it is not as hot as it actually is. At home he might boil water for tea and immediately drink it.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Don't understand your remark. What do you think are conflicting statements?

At higher elevation, atmospheric pressure is less, and it takes a longer time per BTU to boil water, compared to same at sea level. Trust me!

Actually, you did not really state the situation correctly. If you apply a heat at a given rate or amount to water at a high altitude, the water will boil sooner at the high altitude.

Conversely, if you try to cook something in boiling water at high altitude, the cooking will take longer and take more heat as well, because the water will boil at a lower temperature, and will lose more heat as well as the water boils.

Edit: as others posted, the water may be colder to start or the combustion may not be as efficient, but if heat is applied at the same rate at sea level and high altitide, starting at the same temperature, the water will boil sooner at high altitude.
Cooking with the water will be longer, because the temperature of the water will be lower, and more of the heat you are applying will be lost in the heat of vaporization of the water.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Yet I'm a very very very veteran backpacker. Literally hundreds, it's one of my things, back to nature & all.

I've cooked literally hundreds (probably thousands) of times in the California High Sierra mountains at high altitude, and in the Swiss Alps and the in the New Zealand Southern Alps. Some future day... Himilayas!

Trying to get that friggin water to boil so we can have a non-giuardia drink is a real PITA, all the while concerned about conserving that fuel.

I've had to cut backpack trips short solely because we ran out of fuel trying to boil water at >11,700+ feet
(kersarge pass
and another
and another
and another )

I'm pretty sure, based on experience, that I'm right in what I posted.

I don't care if you are the Queen of England. Your methodology is crap, you have no method of reliably comparing such an environment to STP/RTP in terms of variables other than atmospheric pressure, and telling me that you had to cut trips short because of lack of fuel does not prove your point, but rather proves a serious lack of foresight.

And it's giardia.