prepping for altitude

So it looks like I'm going to be chugging around between 5000 and 9000
feet altitude (up to 2900m for the rest of the world). Since I'm a
flatlander who lives at 40m above sea level, I'm wondering about
acclimation. I'll be on site for 4 days, skiing for all but the first.
With jet lag (ha!) but I have a separate plan for dealing with that.
I'm 40, in fairly good shape (weight appropriate to height, ran most of
last year), have been skiing most weekends since the new year, blah
blah blah.

So as not to waste my time with headaches or other symptoms once I
arrive, does anyone have any suggestions for what to do to minimize
altitude sickness ? Around here, the highest available elevations are
3000-4000 ft; I once did a day trip to a 13,700ft peak (in a car) and
spent a few days in Boulder CO, both without incident, but I hear
altitude sickness crops up slowly. Any way to acclimate to lower
oxygen availability ? Maximize O2 transport ? Not smoking would seem
a plan (bummer), and some aerobic exercise (more than usual...), but I
can't think of anything else. If there are medicines (non-prescription
preferably) that work, I'd be glad to hear about them too.

TIA!

(if your first response to this is "whatta dork, he's not gonna get
altitude sickness at 9000 feet", pardon the dorkdom, I just don't want
to burn my vacation. Forewarned is forearmed.)

Skiing at the high elevation resorts has caused problems for some
flatlanders, sometimes serious but thats rare. The times I'm aware of
occurred to people in fairly good health. Often its not altitude
sickness but rather just plain out of breath such as taking a bad tumble
and landing on your stomach. Ever have the wind knocked out of ya?
It's far worse at high altitude if you're not prepared for it. The
biggest single thing I've found and backed up by my doctors is to
consume tons of water. I do not know the mechanics of it but drinking
lots of water somehow allows your body to make better use of O2. It has
worked for everyone I know who said they used to have trouble until they
started drinking lots of water. Not smoking is a very good plan. Not
just while you are skiing but a day or two prior will greatly improve
your lung capacity.


wrote:
So it looks like I'm going to be chugging around between 5000 and 9000
feet altitude (up to 2900m for the rest of the world). Since I'm a
flatlander who lives at 40m above sea level, I'm wondering about
acclimation. I'll be on site for 4 days, skiing for all but the first.
With jet lag (ha!) but I have a separate plan for dealing with that.
I'm 40, in fairly good shape (weight appropriate to height, ran most of
last year), have been skiing most weekends since the new year, blah
blah blah.

So as not to waste my time with headaches or other symptoms once I
arrive, does anyone have any suggestions for what to do to minimize
altitude sickness ? Around here, the highest available elevations are
3000-4000 ft; I once did a day trip to a 13,700ft peak (in a car) and
spent a few days in Boulder CO, both without incident, but I hear
altitude sickness crops up slowly. Any way to acclimate to lower
oxygen availability ? Maximize O2 transport ? Not smoking would seem
a plan (bummer), and some aerobic exercise (more than usual...), but I
can't think of anything else. If there are medicines (non-prescription
preferably) that work, I'd be glad to hear about them too.

TIA!

(if your first response to this is "whatta dork, he's not gonna get
altitude sickness at 9000 feet", pardon the dorkdom, I just don't want
to burn my vacation. Forewarned is forearmed.)

wrote in message
oups.com...
So it looks like I'm going to be chugging around between 5000 and 9000
feet altitude (up to 2900m for the rest of the world). Since I'm a
flatlander who lives at 40m above sea level, I'm wondering about
acclimation. I'll be on site for 4 days, skiing for all but the first.
With jet lag (ha!) but I have a separate plan for dealing with that.
I'm 40, in fairly good shape (weight appropriate to height, ran most of
last year), have been skiing most weekends since the new year, blah
blah blah.

So as not to waste my time with headaches or other symptoms once I
arrive, does anyone have any suggestions for what to do to minimize
altitude sickness ? Around here, the highest available elevations are
3000-4000 ft; I once did a day trip to a 13,700ft peak (in a car) and
spent a few days in Boulder CO, both without incident, but I hear
altitude sickness crops up slowly. Any way to acclimate to lower
oxygen availability ? Maximize O2 transport ? Not smoking would seem
a plan (bummer), and some aerobic exercise (more than usual...), but I
can't think of anything else. If there are medicines (non-prescription
preferably) that work, I'd be glad to hear about them too.

TIA!

(if your first response to this is "whatta dork, he's not gonna get
altitude sickness at 9000 feet", pardon the dorkdom, I just don't want
to burn my vacation. Forewarned is forearmed.)

Sleep at the highest altitude you can the night before you start skiing.

Avoid alcohol.

Eat a nutritious, but not too big, breakfast.

Stop and rest a lot the fist day (and the second, etc., if you are not up to
strength by then).

Consider a portable oxygen system. There are devices available now that
make oxygen-enriched air out of tha available air (thus stealing oxygen from
the rest of us!) and pump it into a portable breather.

Don't ignore symptoms (headache, labored breathing, dizziness, reduced
vision). Brain damage is no joke.

Bob Lee wrote:
js2004def wrote:


So it looks like I'm going to be chugging around between 5000 and 9000
feet altitude (up to 2900m for the rest of the world). Since I'm a
flatlander who lives at 40m above sea level, I'm wondering about
acclimation. I'll be on site for 4 days, skiing for all but the first.
With jet lag (ha!) but I have a separate plan for dealing with that.
I'm 40, in fairly good shape (weight appropriate to height, ran most of
last year), have been skiing most weekends since the new year, blah
blah blah.

So as not to waste my time with headaches or other symptoms once I
arrive, does anyone have any suggestions for what to do to minimize
altitude sickness ? Around here, the highest available elevations are
3000-4000 ft; I once did a day trip to a 13,700ft peak (in a car) and
spent a few days in Boulder CO, both without incident, but I hear
altitude sickness crops up slowly. Any way to acclimate to lower
oxygen availability ? Maximize O2 transport ? Not smoking would seem
a plan (bummer), and some aerobic exercise (more than usual...), but I
can't think of anything else. If there are medicines (non-prescription
preferably) that work, I'd be glad to hear about them too.

TIA!

(if your first response to this is "whatta dork, he's not gonna get
altitude sickness at 9000 feet", pardon the dorkdom, I just don't want
to burn my vacation. Forewarned is forearmed.)


Water, water, water, then more water...and take it easy on the alcohol.
There is a (Rx) drug called Diamox that is widely used to combat the
effects of altitude sickness - ask your Dr. for a scrip. Alcohol seems
to have a bigger kick at altitude, so cut back. Not smoking is a
no-brainer.

There are people that will tell you that your aerobic conditioning
doesn't make any difference in how altitude affects you , and they may
be right, but I've always figured that if you're in shape then that's
one less thing that'll make you huff and puff and feel crappy. So I
suggest building/mainaining an aerobic base before you leave - you may
still get altitude sickness, but once you get used to the altitude (or
dose with Diamox) then you'll be better able to have a great time
without having to bend over and suck Os from the exertion.

I suppose if you really wanted to address the issues, you could go get
blood doped with some extra red blood cells, and maybe an extra lung
implanted. Or maybe some kind of hypobaric oxygen deprivation chamber
to sleep in and pre-acclimatize?

BTW, most people I've seen get altitude sickness got it right away -
wasn't much sneaking up about it.

Bob

My history is similar to yours js2004def,
I live at 900 ft, I ski to 4000 feet most of the time. I had
no trouble skiing at 9000 feet (in the Sierra's). I had a beer
with lunch, I had a beer after skiing. No particular ill effects.

I haven't smoked in 15 years and I'd highly recommend that you
not only don't smoke for this trip, but don't take it up again
afterward.

I know it's a dirty habit, but I kicked smoking by taking up dipping
snuff for about a year. I found that I needed a very tiny dose
to keep the creepies away and that by getting rid of my psychological
addiction (hands, mouth, etc.) without getting rid of the physical
addiction right away helped a lot in getting rid of the physical
addiction by using the lowest dose patch for two weeks made me clean
at the end of that time. I haven't wanted to smoke since then.

I have more stamina now than I did when I was 40. Just because
I quit smoking and did so soon enough so that the damage could
repair itself before causing serious illness.

Oh, and back to altitude, I'm 62 yo, in good shape, not a physical
specimen by any measure, a little overweight, continually active.
I tend to puff a bit more at altitude, but I recover in about the
same time I do at 5k feet lower. No other symptoms.

Oh, yeah, and as others have said, water. Lots of water.

Bob Lee recommended Diamox too, this is something I haven't
felt the need for.

VtSkier

wrote:
So it looks like I'm going to be chugging around between 5000 and 9000
feet altitude (up to 2900m for the rest of the world). Since I'm a
flatlander who lives at 40m above sea level, I'm wondering about
acclimation.

Don't worry about it - when you return to the thick, soggy, oppressive
air at 40m you'll feel bad for about 4 days but then you'll get used to
it and you won't know why you're feeling bad and just chalk it up to
overwork fatigue. Almost everyone can sort of acclimate to soupy air.

The other responders have adequately addressed acclimating to higher
altitude - I just thought someone should point out that you need to be
prepared for the lassitude and general unease you will feel upon leaving
clean, pure, cool, low-density air.

On 17 Feb 2005 16:55:19 -0800, wrote:

So it looks like I'm going to be chugging around between 5000 and 9000
feet altitude (up to 2900m for the rest of the world). Since I'm a
flatlander who lives at 40m above sea level, I'm wondering about
acclimation. I'll be on site for 4 days, skiing for all but the first.
With jet lag (ha!) but I have a separate plan for dealing with that.
I'm 40, in fairly good shape (weight appropriate to height, ran most of
last year), have been skiing most weekends since the new year, blah
blah blah.

So as not to waste my time with headaches or other symptoms once I
arrive, does anyone have any suggestions for what to do to minimize
altitude sickness ? Around here, the highest available elevations are
3000-4000 ft; I once did a day trip to a 13,700ft peak (in a car) and
spent a few days in Boulder CO, both without incident, but I hear
altitude sickness crops up slowly. Any way to acclimate to lower
oxygen availability ? Maximize O2 transport ? Not smoking would seem
a plan (bummer), and some aerobic exercise (more than usual...), but I
can't think of anything else. If there are medicines (non-prescription
preferably) that work, I'd be glad to hear about them too.

I wouldn't worry about it too much; I frequently go from home at 700'
up to the 7k-11k range without too much difficulty, other than not
sleeping very well the first night. The dehydration is a much bigger
problem for me than the altitude; minimize (or avoid) alcohol the
first night or so, and drink LOTS of water. The altitude can also
spark a remarkable jump in methane production (to be delicate about
it); if you're sharing a room with someone else, you might want to
bring a small scented candle, just to be merciful and to do your part
about global warming.

bw

wrote

So as not to waste my time with headaches or other symptoms once I
arrive, does anyone have any suggestions for what to do to minimize
altitude sickness ? Around here, the highest available elevations
are
3000-4000 ft; I once did a day trip to a 13,700ft peak (in a car)
and
spent a few days in Boulder CO, both without incident, but I hear
altitude sickness crops up slowly. Any way to acclimate to lower
oxygen availability ? Maximize O2 transport ? Not smoking would
seem
a plan (bummer), and some aerobic exercise (more than usual...),
but I
can't think of anything else. If there are medicines
(non-prescription
preferably) that work, I'd be glad to hear about them too.

TIA!

(if your first response to this is "whatta dork, he's not gonna get
altitude sickness at 9000 feet", pardon the dorkdom, I just don't
want
to burn my vacation. Forewarned is forearmed.)

I too live at about 40 and vacation at about 9000-10,000.

I woof down a couple asprin for my first few days, though I
don't really get headaches.

I've tried Gingko biloba which is supposed to help with something
or other but I didn't notice much.

This year we're gonna try melatonin to aid with the sleeping. I
sleep for **** my first five nights at altitude, and while I don't
might not sleeping much, I do hate the restlessness. I work out late
in the evening and I've noticed that melatonin helps me with down
so I can go to be promptly.

It's a natural hormone your body produces as part of it's circadian
rhythm. Supposed to help a lot with jet lag as well.

If you are prone to altitude sickness you'll know it. Hits
susceptible people like a ton of bricks.

Party on wayne,

-J. Urrrk

No alcohol, including while enroute (especially on a plane). Stay
hydrated. Take lotsa sunscreen, sun is stronger at altitude. Take
aspirin for headache, but if aspirin doesn't relieve the pain, you might
want to think about seeing a doctor (not likely to be a problem at 9K
feet but possible).

--
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield, other days you're the bug.

wrote:
So it looks like I'm going to be chugging around between 5000 and 9000
feet altitude (up to 2900m for the rest of the world). Since I'm a
flatlander who lives at 40m above sea level, I'm wondering about
acclimation. I'll be on site for 4 days, skiing for all but the first.
With jet lag (ha!) but I have a separate plan for dealing with that.
I'm 40, in fairly good shape (weight appropriate to height, ran most of
last year), have been skiing most weekends since the new year, blah
blah blah.

Acclimatization is built into your schedule: your first day is a non-ski
day. That's good; I always try to arrive in the early afternoon (I
come from the East, so that's fairly easy) and just hang around for the
first day - no skiing.

Everybody else's advice is good. Take it easy the first day, drink
plenty of water, avoid booze. Lately, I've been using a Camelbak Zoid
when I ski. It carries enough water to see me through the day, and
makes it easy to drink water frequently in little sips. That's key to
good hydration. Plus, it's insulated, so it won't freeze too easily.
Don't worry about the bad chemical taste - it will disappear by next
season . I'm sold on it.

Dave

bdubya wrote:

The altitude can also
spark a remarkable jump in methane production (to be delicate about
it); if you're sharing a room with someone else, you might want to
bring a small scented candle, just to be merciful and to do your part
about global warming.

I know what you mean. One day last year at Solitude I had a bratwurst
for lunch, and spent the entire afternoon ... um... well... no sense in
being delicate about it at this point. Everytime I turned, I farted. It
was pole-plant, fart, crossover, bring the skis around and finish the
turn, pole-plant, fart, crossover, bring the skis around and finish the
turn, pole-plant, fart, etc. It became part of the rhythm, although
about every fifth or sixth turn the fart wouldn't happen and I'd blow
the turn and go careening down the hill. No more bratwurst for me on
ski days.

I was supposed to hook up with Klaus that day. I wonder why he never
showed up?

--
//-Walt
//
// There is no Völkl Conspiracy