Altitude sickness.

[ski diva]

So what's your experience been adjusting to altitude? Even get altitude sickness?

I usually get a bit winded on my first day or two out west -- nothing too bad. And I have trouble sleeping, too. I'm a poor sleeper, anyway, but in high altitude I can feel my heart beating faster than usual when I'm in bed, and it keeps me awake.

I understand some of the ways to avoid it are as follows:
1) avoid alcohol (before your trip and during)
2) drink plenty of water (again, before your trip and during)
3) adjust gradually, if possible.

Anyone have any other tips?

 

[Jilly]

Aspirin or "advil". I lived on the stuff. Headaches, can't fill your lungs, coughing, best snow ever but. That was Copper Mtn. I can tell you exactly when we hit 8000 ft. The breath gets alittle short. Utah-SLC is great because you ski 8500-12000, but come back down to 4000. I could sleep and eat in comfort. Canadian west is lower and better for me. Only once had a problem at Whistler and I think that was the weather and my permenant sinus problem.

 

[Lilgeorg]

One year when we skied Breckenridge my daughter , the psychologist from Alaska, came with us. We were all having very vivid weird dreams. She told us that the dreams were also a symptom of the altitude adjustment. She suggested lots of water and Advil, too. It seemed to help.

 

[Kimmyt]

Slight headache and very easily winded the first 2 days at altitude.

It was either the altitude or the strep throat....:o

 

[Pequenita]

I had altitude sickness (we're talking vomiting all shades of my breakfast and water) in Aspen one summer while hiking. It was my first time at altitude. I'm such a flatlander. 6 months later, I was at Breck and adjusted within a day.

In addition to the tips Ski Diva has listed, others are:

* don't eat huge meals
* avoid caffeine (because caffeine dehydrates you). Excedrin has caffeine, so avoid taking that.
* heed the headache - it's usually the first sign that you're getting altitude sickness. Go down if possible. If you start vomiting, definitely get down.

 

[Lori_K]

Lots and lots of water. The air is thinner and drier at altitude, so you will naturally find yourself drinking more water.

And yes, watch the alcohol. It can affect you more easily at altitude (takes less to catch a buzz).

The plain aspirin can help too, as it thins the blood and makes it easier to deliver what oxygen is available.

Take it a bit slower, and don't over exert yourself. You will run out of breath at altitude a bit quicker, but you will probably find that you recover a bit more quickly as well.

The other thing I've heard is to climb "high" and sleep "low". (Or ski "high" in this case.) You'll sleep better at a lower altitude, and your body will adapt better.

 

[Pequenita]

Here's an article I came across related to skiing at altitude:

https://www.skinet.com/skinet/instruction/article/0,26908,432890,00.html

 

[Lynn]

I seem to have a harder adjustment to altitude than anyone else in my family and take several different meds at altitude.
Acetazolimide (diamox) is an old time diuretic which changes the acid/base count in your body and is recommended to help prevent altitude sickness. You start it a day or two prior to your trip to altitude. Side effects include tingling of mouth and fingers, thirst, peeing a lot!!! and any carbonated drinks taste plain bad. (apres beer not a good idea).
Being a bit vain, I like the side of effect of minimizing eye puffiness(periorbital edema), which gets worse each day, in my case. You can stop or ut back on the third day. I also bring Ambien for sleeping and decrease the dose after a few nights. Ibuprofen daily for any headaches and/or sore muscles is good to have on hand.
As mentioned before, drinking LARGE amounts of non-dehydrating fluids (which doesn't include coffee, regular tea or alcohol) seems key to feeling your best.
Despite doing all of the above, when I went to Beaver Creek in december, I felt the worst I ever have at altitude. I came back from five days of skiing weighing 114, down from 120. 5 liters a day just wasn't enough. I think I needed to be downing 2 gallons a day.
Another thing, it is best to NOT ski the day you arrive. Give yourself that time to acclimate a bit. The first day at altitude, take it easy. Don't go for the burn. Save THAT for the third day!

 

[ski diva]

There's been some mention of Diamox (in another thread) as a drug to counter altitude sickness, and I have to second the comments of Quiver Queen:

Also, Diamox isn't without side effects, and isn't generally recommended for empiric altitude use.

My husband took Diamox a few years ago for a trip out west and experienced awful effects: terrible headache, dizziness, auditory hallucinations, sweating. He stopped taking it because he figured the altitude sickness was a better alternative.

 

[SnowHot]

I've been told by friends and relatives who ski west, nothing beats Hydration. Drink drink drink WATER!!!!

But if you drink from a camel back, don't bust your bladder, huh Kris?;)

 

[num]

I've been told by friends and relatives who ski west, nothing beats Hydration. Drink drink drink WATER!!!!

But if you drink from a camel back, don't bust your bladder, huh Kris?;)

Let's hear that story!

 

[ski now work later]

Diamox

There's been some mention of Diamox (in another thread) as a drug to counter altitude sickness, and I have to second the comments of Quiver Queen:

My husband took Diamox a few years ago for a trip out west and experienced awful effects: terrible headache, dizziness, auditory hallucinations, sweating. He stopped taking it because he figured the altitude sickness was a better alternative.

I am someone who typically experiences all kinds of side effects with medications, but I did very well with the Diamox, much to my surprise. The first day, I did urinate more frequently, and as time went on, I felt a little tingling, but nothing else. I was free from the lack of sleep and had good stamina and wasn't so dry. I also skiied with a Camelback and drank tons of water. My husband attended his 3rd Wilderness Medicine Conference last week in Big Sky. I think he learned of the use of Diamox for altitude sickness through that conference, but I am also interested in what Quiver Queen has to say as she is also a physician who works in ER and therefore is exposed to all kinds of medical situations....

 

[Thatsagirl]

We are all so smart! All the tips are already mentioned in this thread. I do extensive traveling to high-altitude resorts and have been fortunate not to have any symptoms beyond a mild headache and being short of breath the first day or so. I put a lot of emphasis on drinking tons of water, avoiding alcohol the first few days and taking aspirin if necessary.

I am about to put all this to the test at the end of March, however, when the day after I arrive in Durango, I am skiing at Silverton, which involves hiking above 11,000 feet (I think highest elevation there is above 13,000). The entire rest of the trip is skiing at high-altitude: Telluride, Durango, Crested Butte and Monarch.

Thatsagirl

 

[sleddog]

I had AMS last year at Winter Park on the third day - didn't ski the 1st day and started "checking out" at dinner on the 2nd day - my SO should have seen the warning signs - no interest in conversation, what type of restaurant, etc. but I had been fine on our last trip, so he thought I was just tired from skiing all day. I got sick early in the morning on the 3rd day and didn't stop vomiting 'til we got down to Denver. I should note though that I also learned that I have sleep apnea and stop breathing several times at night. Now that I use a CPAP machine I don't wake up in the mornings short of breath.

On my most recent trip to CO (3 weeks ago) we stayed in Silverthorne at night which helped tremendously, but two of us who have had AMS in the past, bought the bottles of oxygen that they sell at the higher elevations - they're expensive but not as expensive as a trip to the ER - and took "hits" whenever we felt we were starting to feel the effects of altitude. It seemed to help alot including helping my daughter who has asthma and didn't seem to get relief from her asthma meds.

I also started taking Gingko Biloba two weeks prior to going- it's getting mixed reviews as to its efficacy for altitude adjustment ( but I felt it might be worth a try), and took an asprin daily to thin my blood.

Other than being winded more easily, I didn't have any problems.

 

[volklgirl]

I've been told by friends and relatives who ski west, nothing beats Hydration. Drink drink drink WATER!!!!

But if you drink from a camel back, don't bust your bladder, huh Kris?;)

Verrrry Funnnny .

OK...here's the story:
On Sunday, I joined the Masters Race Clinic to prepare for our league race on the "Big Hill" on Thursday. I finally have one run that rocked(Yay!!), however, the following run I got back and the skis jetted out from underneath me, flinging me to the ground on my back. I got up and finished my run with the coach brushing the snow out of my jacket at the bottom. I just kept thinking "I know I didn't get that much snow in my jacket and down my pants". Turns out that I landed on my Camelback and split the seam on my bladder.....2 liters of water down my back, in my pants, and down my left sleeve into my mitten, Yuck!!! . My stuff was so wet you could literally wring water out of my jacket sleeve and my mitten was 'squishing'. Keep in mind, it's maybe 8 degrees out and for once, I didn't bring extra clothes or mittens (I'm trying to lighten the load). Fortunately, I had my speedsuit and windshirt in my bag and hubby had an extra fleece, soft shell jacket, and mittens so I could keep skiing for the day.

My lesson for the day? Always carry extra stuff 'cuz you never know what's gonna happen. :o Now I gotta go buy another bladder 'cuz I just gotta have water while I'm skiing.

 

[Kimmyt]

Thatsagirl, please post a TR about your trip! I would LOOOOOVE to hear about all of those places!

k.

 

[SnowHot]

Verrrry Funnnny .

OK...here's the story:
On Sunday, I joined the Masters Race Clinic to prepare for our league race on the "Big Hill" on Thursday. I finally have one run that rocked(Yay!!), however, the following run I got back and the skis jetted out from underneath me, flinging me to the ground on my back. I got up and finished my run with the coach brushing the snow out of my jacket at the bottom. I just kept thinking "I know I didn't get that much snow in my jacket and down my pants". Turns out that I landed on my Camelback and split the seam on my bladder.....2 liters of water down my back, in my pants, and down my left sleeve into my mitten, Yuck!!! . My stuff was so wet you could literally wring water out of my jacket sleeve and my mitten was 'squishing'. Keep in mind, it's maybe 8 degrees out and for once, I didn't bring extra clothes or mittens (I'm trying to lighten the load). Fortunately, I had my speedsuit and windshirt in my bag and hubby had an extra fleece, soft shell jacket, and mittens so I could keep skiing for the day.

My lesson for the day? Always carry extra stuff 'cuz you never know what's gonna happen. :o Now I gotta go buy another bladder 'cuz I just gotta have water while I'm skiing.

Look SAC has just what you're looking for, Right NOW!

 

[Thatsagirl]

Thatsagirl, please post a TR about your trip! I would LOOOOOVE to hear about all of those places!

k.

Kimmyt, I plan to write a short TR for SkiDivas. I am doing this trip for work , so I will be writing a front-page story for our website. I'll check with Ski Diva, but I think she'll allow me to provide a link to the story. There also will be photos in our galleries.

We went to Crested Butte last year, too, and a story and some photos are already on our site. We watched the Extreme Championships, which were pretty incredible and awe-inspiring to watch.

Thatsagirl

 

[skimama]

I use Ginkgo Biloba. I used to get mildly nauseas whenever we stayed at a mountain over 8000 feet, and the Ginkgo has seemed to take care of it really well.