Altitude Sickness

[kjurgelewicz]

When do you need to worry about altitude sickness? I am traveling from New Jersey to Park City, Utah. What do I have to do to prevent this?

[Fae]

The first time I went to Colorado, the altitude really got to me. Breathing became difficult, my vision got screwed up, and my body felt like lead. I also got a terrible migraine. I found that by taking two exedrin once I got to the mountain, I felt fine. It takes your body a little time to adjust, so on your first day out there, keep that in mind.

The other times I've been west, I haven't had nearly as much trouble with the altitude.

Check out this page for information on altitude sickness and how you can deal with it: http://www.traveldoctor.co.uk/altitude.htm

Here are some of the more important points:

The Causes of Altitude Sickness The percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere at sea level is about 21% and the barometric pressure is around 760 mmHg. As altitude increases, the percentage remains the same but the number of oxygen molecules per breath is reduced. At 3,600 metres (12,000 feet) the barometric pressure is only about 480 mmHg, so there are roughly 40% fewer oxygen molecules per breath so the body must adjust to having less oxygen.
In addition, high altitude and lower air pressure causes fluid to leak from the capillaries in both the lungs and the brain which can lead to fluid build-up. Continuing on to higher altitude without proper acclimatisation can lead to the potentially serious, even life-threatening altitude sickness.

Acclimatisation
The main cause of altitude sickness is going too high too quickly. Given enough time, your body will adapt to the decrease in oxygen at a specific altitude. This process is known as acclimatisation and generally takes one to three days at any given altitude, e.g. if you climb to 3,000 metres and spend several days at that altitude, your body will acclimatise to 3,000 metres. If you then climb to 5,000 metres your body has to acclimatise once again.
Several changes take place in the body which enable it to cope with decreased oxygen:


Some Tips:


If possible, don't fly or drive to high altitude. Start below 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) and walk up.
If you do fly or drive, do not overexert yourself or move higher for the first 24 hours.
If you go above 3,000 metres (10,000 feet), only increase your altitude by 300 metres (1,000 feet) per day, and for every 900 metres (3,000 feet) of elevation gained, take a rest day to acclimatise.
Climb high and sleep low! You can climb more than 300 metres (1,000 feet) in a day as long as you come back down and sleep at a lower altitude.
If you begin to show symptoms of moderate altitude sickness, don't go higher until symptoms decrease.
If symptoms increase, go down, down, down!
Keep in mind that different people will acclimatise at different rates. Make sure everyone in your party is properly acclimatised before going any higher.
Stay properly hydrated. Acclimatisation is often accompanied by fluid loss, so you need to drink lots of fluids to remain properly hydrated (at least four to six litres per day). Urine output should be copious and clear to pale yellow.
Take it easy and don't overexert yourself when you first get up to altitude. But, light activity during the day is better than sleeping because respiration decreases during sleep, exacerbating the symptoms.
Avoid tobacco, alcohol and other depressant drugs including, barbiturates, tranquillisers, sleeping pills and opiates such as dihydrocodeine. These further decrease the respiratory drive during sleep resulting in a worsening of symptoms.
Eat a high calorie diet while at altitude.
Remember: Acclimatisation is inhibited by overexertion, dehydration, and alcohol.

[SnoChica]

I didn't feel the effects in Utah (Park City). But did feel it a little in CO. But do what Fae says and you'll be good to go. And watch what you drink, in terms of alcohol. You WILL get drunk faster at a higher altitude if you're a sea-level person like we are.

[kjurgelewicz]

thanks for the info

[Nevereversummer]

I've never gotten altitude sickness, anywhere, whether it's Breckenridge, Park City, Steamboat, etc.
My only tips for getting rid of it is drink ALOT of water, I don't, but my mom gets it really badly and she'll go through 8 bottles a day.
Eat. Snack food is great because it has fat calories that you will burn off later. Tostitos and salsa are great.
Relax. WHen you get home from boarding, rest for a couple hours and then have some fun. Plop down in front of the TV and just rest. Don't overexert yourself too much and remember to breathe.

[shreddergod]

for me only the first night is a little rough with cold sweats and a headache but if you drink eat and chill you should be fine. I dont know about Utah but when I went to Telluride last year I found I got tired a lot quicker for the first day or so so just make sure to check yourself and dont try to pull off 8 hours of riding straight break it down to two chunks at the very least. This is the hard part for me beacause im like holy **** im in colorado!! O ya and never summer is right dont forget to breath :)

[snowboarding_bear]

i went from florida to the tops of keystone and florida to the tops of squaw n i never felt anything...

i thought altitude was only like major high up like mainly mountian climbing were u get like 19,000+ feet?

[Burton Doom]

It barely effects me a 9000 or 10000 feet and i live like 600 above sea level. Maybe just cuz im young. But drink a **** load of water constantly it helps a lot for people who do get it. And if its really bad they do have oxygen bars

[Fae]

i went from florida to the tops of keystone and florida to the tops of squaw n i never felt anything...

i thought altitude was only like major high up like mainly mountian climbing were u get like 19,000+ feet?

No. It can start to affect people at 8000 feet, and generally becomes a more serious problem around 12,000 ft. I didn't have trouble in CO until I went to the summit of the mountain, which was over 12,000 ft I believe.

Here's the breakdown:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b98/FaeRae/Picture1-3.png

[SnoChica]

I was just going to say the same thing... I didn't have a problem with shortness of breath until we hit the peak of MJ which was 12,000 something.

[Fae]

I was just going to say the same thing... I didn't have a problem with shortness of breath untill we hit the peak of MJ which was 12,000 something.

Yeah, I was fine (except for the headache, but that was probably also from flying) until I was going up the Timberline lift to MJ and was like, "whoa....my vision is getting all weird." Then I proceeded to ride trees up there for the rest of the day. I'm so smart!

[E-DUB]

Never had a problem in Utah. First time in Colorado got killed going up the lift in the back bowls of Vail. My body adjusts better now just get tired my first night in the higher altitudes of Colorado (Summit Co. area).

[snowboarding_bear]

i never got headaches or was short of breath anything...

not fair...i wnat to have problems hahaa

[kjurgelewicz]

and remember to breathe.

thats for the info haha

[SnowboardingJunkie182]

I had it once...I just had to go down about 300 feet lower below the threshhold and I was ok. It sucked though. Water is a must and stay off salty foods beforehand.

[BadMongo]

you should also stay away from caffiene and alcohol because they can make you sick at high altitudes

[Nevereversummer]

thats for the info haha
No problem, just though you might forget:shock:
you should also stay away from caffiene and alcohol because they can make you sick at high altitudes
It makes you pee and then you lose the water which contains the extra oxygen. Salt does the same thing, so if you're eating salty foods, drink oodles of water.

[crhsnow56]

it helps with the olympians and their blood doping. lol.

[kreator]

i go from like 100 ft to squaw
it has never done any thing to me

[Fae]

^Well the highest elevation at Squaw is under 9000 ft, I believe. Most people are fine up to 9000 ft, it's after that when the altitude is generally a problem.

[bc1718]

When I went to Jackson, I was just more tired by the end of the day. The only time I think it really effected me was when I started to hike. I hiked a bit on the first day and I was gasping. Haha. I just drank some water and I was good though.

[kreator]

^Well the highest elevation at Squaw is under 9000 ft, I believe. Most people are fine up to 9000 ft, it's after that when the altitude is generally a problem.


ya squaw is only like 6000 at the bottom then like 8000 at the top

[djstealth]

I've never gotten any altitude sickness and I've been high (no pun intended), I guess is because I was born at over 8000 ft above sea level, and then I used to spend half of my time in the Family Ranch chasing crazy horses and and stuff like that and that **** was at like 13000 ft above sea level. Plus we would go to that huge glacier in our "backyard" to play in the snow and get ice cones that was pretty high tough, close and over 18000 ft, I've seen a lot of people get REALLY sick up there.

So back home we had this remedy for altitude sickness, is called "chewing on myrtle tree leaves or coca leaves", someone should patent it for shreds!

Aaaahhh the beauty of living in the Andes...

I used to get rosy cheeks up there tough

[punkrock89]

I've never gotten altitude sickness. The first few times I've ridden, I noticed that it was harder to breath, but it doesn't seem to bother me anymore. Where I live is actually below sea level! So when I take the trip up to the mountains I do feel a little bit more "dragged down." But as long as I drink plenty of water, when I always do, then it hardly affects me.

[snowboarding_bear]

I've never gotten altitude sickness. The first few times I've ridden, I noticed that it was harder to breath, but it doesn't seem to bother me anymore. Where I live is actually below sea level! So when I take the trip up to the mountains I do feel a little bit more "dragged down." But as long as I drink plenty of water, when I always do, then it hardly affects me.
wtf? virginia is below sea level?

[punkrock89]

Virginia Beach is... along with the entire surrounding area of the Southside of Hampton Roads (the extreme Southeast corner of VA). Well, not all of it is below sea level, but much of it is, and all of it (Southeast, VA) is in a flood zone, with the exception of a giant mound of decomposing trash properally named Mount Trashmore (no joke).

[snowboarding_bear]

Virginia Beach is... along with the entire surrounding area of the Southside of Hampton Roads (the extreme Southeast corner of VA). Well, not all of it is below sea level, but much of it is, and all of it (Southeast, VA) is in a flood zone, with the exception of a giant mound of decomposing trash properally named Mount Trashmore (no joke).
the power of boredom...

Total AreaVirginia covers 42,769 square miles, making it the 35th largest of the 50 states (http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/st_size.htm).Land Area39,598 square miles of Virginia are land areas.Water Area3,171 square miles of Virginia are covered by water.Highest PointThe highest point in Virginia is Mount Rogers (http://americasroof.com/va.shtml) at 5,729 feet above sea level.Lowest PointThe lowest point in Virginia is sea level where Virginia meets the Atlantic Ocean (http://www.oceanographer.navy.mil/atlantic.html) in the east.Mean ElevationThe Mean Elevation of the state of Virginia is 950 feet above sea level.

[punkrock89]

Hahaha... bored a little Bear? Over half of Virginia Beach is water... maybe that explains why the hell the roads here are so damn weired and windy. It is literally impossible to leave Virginia Beach without going through a tunnel or over a bridge.

[snowboarding_bear]

Hahaha... bored a little Bear? Over half of Virginia Beach is water... maybe that explains why the hell the roads here are so damn weired and windy. It is literally impossible to leave Virginia Beach without going through a tunnel or over a bridge.

its easy to find out dumb crap like that...just google everything

[djstealth]

ArE YoU ThReAtEnInG mE!!!!?

yOu WiLl GeT mE Tee Pee!!!

[snowboarding_bear]

ArE YoU ThReAtEnInG mE!!!!?

yOu WiLl GeT mE Tee Pee!!!


tee pee?

tp

toilet papered?

hahahaha
wtf?

[johnnydigit]

a few hours riding at 8000 and i get nausea. i take a break at the bottom and i'm usually ok. was told i need to drink a lot more water than i was. i was drinking about a half liter every 2hours. suggested i double or triple that, which i'm starting to do.

also was told that i should be taking tylenol versus aspirin. i forget why. something to do with thinning the blood versus aches and pains.

[SimonInAustralia]

I went on a US holiday last year, which started with a road trip in Colorado with Kelly (from SBA).

My first day in the US we hit up Aspen Highlands to hike Aspen Highlands Bowl (12392 feet) for some runs, I felt symptoms of altitude sickness...headache, dizziness/light-headed, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea (body wanting to throwup but not really feeling sick).

Second day at Silverton Moutain (12300 feet) wasn't as bad, still had a bit of a headache and was often short of breath.

There are some drugs you can take beforehand to lessen your chances of feeling the effects of altitude sickness, and to treat the symptoms once you get sick, the most popular being Acetazolamide (Diamox).

I tried taking a herb called gingko biloba for a couple of weeks before I went, it apparently helps.

[ski_dude]

anyone have this problem, or get completely dizzy when they're in Colorado?

[ms.amazing]

you made your question directed towards colorado but its really anywhere with a high enough mountain...
anyway...i went from jerseys hills to the mountains in wyoming/idaho for a week and didnt get altitude sickness or anything

[asd]

if you go considerably higher, you might notice a difference.

My mom and dad both had troubles falling alseep in CO, my brother got sick for a day.

THe only change I noticed was when me and my brother hiked, i got alot more winded than I would hiking in WI. But we were also at the top of the mountain...

[SimonInAustralia]

I got headaches, dizziness, nausea, etc. when hiking Aspen Highlands bowl on my first day in the US last year.

[DragonUSMC]

Its simple to solve... just drink LOTS of water... and by lots i mean a couple gallons a day

[stuckintexas]

yea, i go from texas to colorado with no problems

[Fae]

Merged with the other altitude sickness thread.

Who else here loves the "search" feature???

[snowboarding_bear]

i was thinknin that to fae