An East Coaster headed West

[Gidget415]

I moved to NM from the East Coast years ago and now live at 6400 ft and ski at 10k plus, so I'm fine with it now but I still feel altitude at times. Everyone above has great suggestions.

Definitely remember to hydrate. I saw some great hydration bottles at Taos last week that collapsed flat in your jacket and then pop up as you fill them on breaks. I am going to look for them online for the family. Eating soups for lunch, etc., and hot herbal teas are a great way to sneak in extra fluids.

Listen to your body, and if you are feeling tired, it could be the altitude and it may be a good idea to end the day early until you adjust. You don't want to get an injury because you normally can ski all day at lower elevations and you want to push. There are days when I'm skiing out here and go to bed by 8pm or earlier because that's what I need that day, it's a function of the conditions up here and you won't regret it.

Definitely pack sunscreen (and reapply), lip balm with SPF, and a gentle moisturizer (wind burn + our sun can make the chemicals really burn). Be careful about humidifiers in hotel rooms, because they can have mold built up. I sometimes take a small essential oils diffuser, which acts like a small packable humidifier and use a little lavender in it or one of the oil blends that help you breathe (one is actually called "breathe" and it sells on Amazon I think).

Yes, we don't have the same ice out here on our runs, but you may find some real ice on bumps that warm up a bit in the afternoon and freeze overnight. You may also like to demo some powder or all mountain skis if you don't have those. Enjoy!

 

[kiki]

Lol! @MissySki i too tend to hold my breath if i don’t think about breathing, nice to hear I’m not the only one.

I bring mineral drink packs to add to my water at lunch, i think it helps with the stamina

 

[Kimmyt]

chapstick

 

[Serafina]

I don’t have altitude sickness per se, e.g. headaches, nausea, but I do have trouble sleeping at night. I’d wake up every couple of hours and sometimes have period breathing while falling asleep, where I jerk myself awake feeling like I’m suffocating and have to take deep breaths.

That difficulty sleeping *is* altitude sickness.

It shows up with trouble sleeping, or shortness of breath, or nagging headaches, or viciously bad postnasal drip (this is how it hit me when I went to Tahoe, and I was inhaling antihistamines for three days before someone there let me know it was the altitude and not allergies. When I went to Steamboat, it showed up as edema - my hands and feet swelled up like a blimp, which caused HUGE trouble with my ski boots. That edema was so darned bad that I decided if I was going to make a habit of skiing out west I was just going to have to go out, wait for my feet to swell up, and buy another pair of high-altitude ski boots.

 

[QCskier]

There is lots of great advice here. I skied the Rockies for the first time last winter and here is what I learned from the experience:

1) Go easy at first. The mountains out west are much more challenging then what we are used to in the east. You can always increase the intensity if you find something too easy but you don't want to find yourself in a situation where you are in over your head.

2) Bring sunblock! I got a nasty sunburn on my face at Lake Louise because I failed to account for the fact that the sun is stronger at higher altitudes because of the thinner air.

 

[teppaz]

Re: altitude sickness. I'd never had a problem until last season at Grand Targhee and Jackson Hole, where I'd get terrible nausea. I think it wasn't so much altitude sickness (I've never had a problem in Colorado and Utah) as the overcast, low-visibility conditions messing with my balance. Anybody has any advice on how to deal with that? For some reason what helped me last time was eating a Snickers bar but there might be a healthier way? (Don't get me wrong, I love Snickers!)

 

[Skisailor]

Re: altitude sickness. I'd never had a problem until last season at Grand Targhee and Jackson Hole, where I'd get terrible nausea. I think it wasn't so much altitude sickness (I've never had a problem in Colorado and Utah) as the overcast, low-visibility conditions messing with my balance. Anybody has any advice on how to deal with that? For some reason what helped me last time was eating a Snickers bar but there might be a healthier way? (Don't get me wrong, I love Snickers!)

I’m sure the grey low visibility didn’t help, but this sounds like classic altitude sickness. One of the features of it can be that you have never had a problem before, then all of the sudden you do. It may be the only time you ever do. It’s very unpredictable.

Also - raising your blood sugar can help - so the Snickers bar makes sense.

 

[teppaz]

Great, so it could be a one-time thing or it could come back! It had never happened to me in decades of skiing, most of it at high altitude, then last season I had it on three out of ten ski days. But the Snickers bar helped every time so I'll make sure to have a few on hand when I'm in Utah next week.

 

[Tea]

My family and I are headed to Winter Park Colorado next week and this will be my first time skiing out West! What are some tips or suggestions you could give this east coast girl headed out West to ski for the first time?

We are having a huge snow year but the temps have been really variable. Bring layers, hydrate like crazy before you come out and while you are here, and if you think anyone in your group could be affected by altitude-try to spend 4-5 hours in denver before you drive up-it will help a bunch. Remember hot tubs and alcohol will make altitude sickness much worse.

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

We are having a huge snow year but the temps have been really variable. Bring layers, hydrate like crazy before you come out and while you are here, and if you think anyone in your group could be affected by altitude-try to spend 4-5 hours in denver before you drive up-it will help a bunch. Remember hot tubs and alcohol will make altitude sickness much worse.

I did not know that hot tubs make altitude sickness worse. No wonder DH and I were huffing like rhinos going up the stairs after the hot tub.

+1 for drinking a lot of water. I drank it till I looked half preggo, and then had some gatorade to boot.

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

Also, we got some drink mix that seemed to help the best. Skratch labs hydration drink mix with strawberries.

 

[Am716]

I, too, am heading out West for the first time this coming March and definitely some great tips here! NSP supposedly just posted a good article about altitude sickness and hydration according to a friend. I haven’t had/taken the time to read it yet.

I plan on hydrating well the week before the trip and during the trip. And I know altitude sickness can affect anyone. But when I go I plan on flying in Saturday night. Is it unwise for me to TRY to ski Sunday? I only ask because Sunday is the last day for a couple people in the group that’s going for week 1 of a 2 week ski trip and I really would like to ski with them. Plus my friend that lives out in Utah can only ski Sunday due to work. If it’s a completely insane thought I will skip Sunday and rest because I don’t want to ruin the rest of the week.

 

[Christy]

Where are you going? AMS doesn't hit people until 8000 feet and above. So if you are going to Utah, Tahoe, or plenty of other places it won't be an issue. It doesn't mean you won't feel some elevation but it will not be AMS.

 

[Am716]

Where are you going? AMS doesn't hit people until 8000 feet and above. So if you are going to Utah, Tahoe, or plenty of other places it won't be an issue. It doesn't mean you won't feel some elevation but it will not be AMS.

Utah to ski Snowbird/Alta. Okay, I have been told by a lot of people to watch out for AMS, as well as try to take precautions because a couple people that have gone skiing with the group have had problems.

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

FWIW, my grandparents went out to Utah over the summer and were really feeling the altitude. Some local told them to go buy some peaches and eat them, and they tried it and said it really helped. They were pretty shocked that it did. I don't know if there is anything to this, or just placebo, but hey, peaches are good.

 

[Christy]

Utah to ski Snowbird/Alta. Okay, I have been told by a lot of people to watch out for AMS, as well as try to take precautions because a couple people that have gone skiing with the group have had problems.

Snowbird goes up to 11k, right? So that is high.

I just mention the difference between true AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) and just feeling elevation because a lot of folks seem to conflate the 2. AMS can be serious/life threatening and generally doesn't happen unless you are over 8000' feet. But a person might get winded more easily or have some trouble sleeping below that--it's just that it's not a serious thing that requires immediate attention the way that AMS does.

 

[Christy]

FWIW, my grandparents went out to Utah over the summer and were really feeling the altitude. Some local told them to go buy some peaches and eat them, and they tried it and said it really helped. They were pretty shocked that it did. I don't know if there is anything to this, or just placebo, but hey, peaches are good.

I think there is a mental component of feeling altitude so I'm not surprised. Here in the Seattle-Tacoma-Everett area millions of us live between sea level and 500', and we go hiking or skiing for the day up to 7000' (above that it's all rock and ice and mountaineering territory). But no one, and I mean no one, ever says anything about feeling altitude. I don't think it occurs to anyone that we would feel anything so we don't feel it. But when you hear so much about how you might feel it in, say, CO, then people are acutely aware of how they feel.

 

[volklgirl]

I start super-hydrating 2-3 weeks out, and always ski with a Camelback. On the strap of my Camel are a med tube with ibuprophen, a chapstick, and an SPF 55 sunblock stick, so I have it all on me at all times. Make sure you take appropriate eye protection, too - high end sunglasses and/or goggles with dark or mirrored lenses.

When you get there, take it easy, but go for a 1-2 mile stroll ASAP. It'll help loosen things up and aclimate your body to the altitude.

 

[marzNC]

I, too, am heading out West for the first time this coming March and definitely some great tips here! NSP supposedly just posted a good article about altitude sickness and hydration according to a friend. I haven’t had/taken the time to read it yet.

I plan on hydrating well the week before the trip and during the trip. And I know altitude sickness can affect anyone. But when I go I plan on flying in Saturday night. Is it unwise for me to TRY to ski Sunday? I only ask because Sunday is the last day for a couple people in the group that’s going for week 1 of a 2 week ski trip and I really would like to ski with them. Plus my friend that lives out in Utah can only ski Sunday due to work. If it’s a completely insane thought I will skip Sunday and rest because I don’t want to ruin the rest of the week.

Utah to ski Snowbird/Alta. Okay, I have been told by a lot of people to watch out for AMS, as well as try to take precautions because a couple people that have gone skiing with the group have had problems.

Where are you going to see on Sat night? If in the city, you probably won't feel the altitude as much. I only have minor symptoms for a couple days when I go directly to Alta Lodge, which is around 8000 ft. When the snow is good, I'll ski the afternoon I arrive. I've always skied the day after arrival even when I was an intermediate sticking to blue groomers. Back then I was usually done skiing by 2:30 or 3:00 even though the lifts run until 4:30. I live pretty much at sea level.

However, I take it easy the first day or two anytime I fly out west. Doesn't mean I don't ski a full day, but more groomers and not as many adventures on the more challenging terrain off-piste. For Alta, it's even easier because I know the terrain well.

If you plan on taking more breaks, meaning a rest stop pretty much every hour or perhaps even less depending on your system for water in and water out, I don't see any reason to not ski on Sunday.

 

[marzNC]

Snowbird goes up to 11k, right? So that is high.

Almost all of of the skiable terrain for Alta/Snowbird that is lift-served is under 10,000ft. The base of Alta is at 8000 ft and Snowbird is a bit lower.