Dealing with Altitude

[Chainsaw_Willie]

I'm a lowlander. Been living in chowder-like sea level atmosphere all my life. Rarely get above 6000 feet and the highest I've ever been in my adult life while standing on solid ground is a shade over 9000 feet.

I definitely begin to notice the thinning atmosphere at around 6000 feet and would say that it begins to affect my performance by 7-8000 feet.

So what's my best bet for dealing with the fact I'll be skiing above 8000 feet and as high as 11000 for a few days in February? I won't have more than 24 hours to acclimate to the higher elevation.

I figure the best I can do is go jogging and biking as much as possible and make sure my cardiovascular system is in as good of shape as it can be.

Is there anything else to do that will help? Maybe I could put my head in a plastic bag for a few seconds longer each day to simulate a thinner atmosphere and help me get used to it?

[mtaylor]

live in a hot air balloon for a week?

[bio-smear]

I figure the best I can do is go jogging and biking as much as possible and make sure my cardiovascular system is in as good of shape as it can be.

I think that's about the best you can do. I live at 4500 ft, and I'm a sedentary desk jockey. I'm useless at altitude too unless I've been working out and riding consistently for a few weeks.

[f2f]

sleep in one of those barometric chambers so many athletes use nowadays.
if that's not on the menu, grab 'mountaineering: the freedom of the hills" or "the mountaineering handbook" from the library and see what they have to say about dealing with altitude.

i grew up as a low-lander, now live at 7000ft full-time. the only advice i can give you is to be fit beforehand. 11000 is nothing to sneeze at, but it's not everest either. i've seen people adjust in a week, i've also seen others develop asthma-like symptoms after just one day.

good news: you're not going to die, so just enjoy yourself. you'll get a better buzz apres-ski too

[wstdeep]

Stay hydrated when you get there, keep alcohol consumption to a minimum, arrive in as good as condition as you can, Lift some weights and get your legs in shape as those big muscles use a lot of oz so make em efficient. Diamox is a perscription drug used to both treat and prevent altitude sickness but most people in reasonable condition will do fine without it. Viagra is now thought to have some benefits at altitude but thats a whole nother thread. If you have a chance to go easy on day #1 do so, if you get a steady headache drink fluids and rest a bit. A bit of nyquil at night helps open nasal passages and the little bit of boose helps you sleep a bit better as well. Run a humidifier in the room, mountain air is very dry.

Most likely you'll do fine, the large majority of people have reduced physical capacity for up to a couple of weeks but thats just part of the deal.

[cj001f]

I live at sea level. Keep hydrated, no booze, eat low fat, SLEEP WELL (the last is the biggest for me). That works for me to about 11k, after that it takes time. 14k+ kicks my ass for gaining altitude - 3 nights to 15k was brutal.

No shit most people have reduced capacity for a few weeks; if we didn't have those constraints we wouldn't care!

[Camel Toad]

what they said about hydration. yeah that stuff. believe them. (the abridged reason for this is, very roughly, you breath more as your body grasps for the diminished oxygen particles, your breath is slightly acidic, your pee is basic. as you dump the acid (breathing) your body wants to balance out the pH (homeostasis), it does this by producing urine, not hydrated = no pee = body way out of wack. there is slightly more to it than that but you get the idea)

also if you are going to play high sleep low that will help a bit (even if low is 6,000' compared to 8,000' ski op base). also if you aren't feeling to well the first couple of days take it easy, your body will come around in time.

oh yeah, diamox can have some interesting side effects (tingling and such, probably not good with booze either) ymmv with the stuff to, didn't help me, well at least before the serious AMS kicked in.

[cj001f]

oh yeah, diamox can have some interesting side effects (tingling and such, probably not good with booze either) ymmv with the stuff to, didn't help me, well at least before the serious AMS kicked in.

Diamox didn't particularly benefit me either - or at least the massive diuretic effect counteracted the benefit.

[Ripzalot]

chew coca leaves.

[ulty_guy]

ginko was supposed to help, but then studies have now shown it isn't that great. i think that it works a bit for me, but could be placebo affect.

in any case, alititude can be a bitch. i live at the wonderfully high altitude of 8 ft above sea level. i'm pretty ridiculously fit (can run a 5:00 mile) and even still i suffer from light headedness, etc above 9,000 ft or so. up until then, i'm pretty much ok, but above there i feel a bit drunk. a good friend of mine is a physiology phd and has been doing altitude studies etc. basically what she's working on is the pin-pointing of a gene which makes people better at dealing with altitude. the physical test for it are insanely hard. you ride a bike at v02 max while your air mixture gets steadily diluted of O2, trust me, it's painful.

[bklyn]

-start increasing your water intake 3 days before you leave
-double up hydration while you travel by plane
-no alcohol until you get acclimated
-one baby aspirin per day (St Joseph's)
-breathe right strips if you have trouble at night
-humidifier
-Boost your calcium and vitamins C&D with supplements

[Bluebird]

Viagra!!

Recent studies have shown that it really helps. SOmething to do with allowing your blood to carry more oxygen. I have also heard that iron pills help.

I spent every summer of my childhood at 8,000 ft with lots of climbing in the 10-14,000 range. Somehow it conditioned my body to accept it. Even now after many years in VT my trips to higher elevations are no problem.

[lemon boy]

as above also I find blow off breathing can help* during athletic performance: purse your lips and make it so you have to actively force the air out of your lungs...helps increase the CO2 offload or some blah blah blah. (You won't be able to do this all the time duh) Otherwise...as above.


*if even psychologically

[ggski]

There is an herbal supplement called Altitude Adjustment that works really well. When my buds come visit me from Vt they struggle mightily unless I pick up some of these no side effect herbal tabs for them.

[BushwackerinPA]

Last year was my first time in my life over 5000 feet in elevation. I lived at 1000 feet all my life.

In 2 weeks I will be returning to utah living at 5000 feet and working at snowbird 8000-11000 feet. The first week up there was bad. Green groomers made me out of breath, walking and talking at the same time was hard, and overall I was miseable besides being in paradise. With in a few weeks this start to go away and I was able to enjoy being there. Last year I was out of shape this year I am Mountain biking about 4 nights a week. I have also heard your body remember whats its like that high, and changes over quicker. I hope this is the case.

[MeatPuppet]

There is a lot of good advice here.

Take some ginseng with you. It helps your body use oxygen more efficiently. Siberian ginseng is the best, but true Siberian ginseng is hard to find. Normally panax pseudo ginseng is sold as Siberian ginseng. It's not a true ginseng but rather a close cousin with similar benefits.

If you can't find Siberian ginseng, Korean ginseng is a good alternative.

The benefits normally lasts 4-5 hours, so take one capsule in the morning before you head out and another mid day.

Ginseng won't do anything for you if you aren't active. But if your muscles are burning oxygen, it makes a noticeable difference.

[chaka]

can't emphasize enough the importance of hydration for combating altitude side effects. Also, if you are a coffee/tea drinker, make sure you don't skip that in the morning. I find that I get headaches if I don't feed my caffiene addiction in the morning at sea level, and the altitude compounds that headache. For adventures where taking time to brew up prior to an alpine start is not an option, I have to remember to bring some sort of edible caffiene, like chocolate covered espresso beans, or I get spanked.

[BeanDip4All]

You could buy one of these:
http://www.hypoxico.com/home_work.htm

or you could work out in an alititude simulation chamber if any of your local gyms have them. Asphalt Green and NY Athletic Club have them in NYC.

I asked the same question to one of the trainers (whos opinion I formerly respected) and here were his suggestions:
1.) Run with a surgeon's mask on
2.) Wear an athletic mouthguard while training and breath through the little hole in the mouthpiece
3.) Buy a gas mask at an Army/navy surplus store and train with that on

I have a couple issues with his suggestions: namely, I don't even think that limiting the amount of oxygen you breath is the same thing as limiting the % of oxygen you are getting? Anyone with more knowledge want to clear that up?

Also, could you imagine someone running around the streets of NYC in a GAS MASK for pete's sake?! If you don't get stopped for terrorism, you are going to at the very least look completely nuts.

[kidwoo]

-one baby aspirin per day (St Joseph's)

What does that achieve?

Aspirin thins blood no?

[skiing-in-jackson]

#1

Stay hydrated when you get there

#2

keep alcohol consumption to a minimum

#3

arrive in as good as condition as you can

There you have it.

The tough one is #2

[cj001f]

chew coca leaves.

works as least as good as Diamox

[zion zig zag]

I have a couple issues with his suggestions: namely, I don't even think that limiting the amount of oxygen you breath is the same thing as limiting the % of oxygen you are getting? Anyone with more knowledge want to clear that up?

There is not a lower % of oxygen in the air at altitude, there is less atmospheric pressure. So his suggestions make since, kind of.

The percentage of oxygen remains constant thoughout all altitudes, about 21%.

[FrankZappa]

Stop smoking cigs and start smoking hash oil - that shit expands like a muther fucker.


Heh. Somebody had to say it.

[strawjack]

ive read (and tried) that complex carbo's and hydration are a couple good ways in dealing w/ altitude adj. but, the bottom line is always....time at elevation.

whoever said don't drink alchohol is just...well...fucking nuts!

[Cruiser]

You'll want to start having sex at least once a day three days before your trip. Then when you arrive at your destination plan to have sex at least twice a day, preferably after a nice soak in a hot tub with a bottle of champagne, untill you head back down to sea level. I can't guarantee that it'll help with the effects of altitude, but it will certainly make you care a lot less about them.