Skiing in Vail?

Question

Going skiing at Vail in several weeks, and wanted to know if altitude sickness is a real concern or not? How would I go about preparing for it. I prefer not to take medication.

Thanks

Answer 1

The best way is to acclimatise slowly by gaining height slowly.  Impossible to achieve this usually, unless you are travelling by wagon train.

When you arrive, stay hydrated.  This means drinking lots of water and avoiding alcohol and coffee.  Another tough call.

Whether it will be a problem depends on the individual.  People have different tolerances for altitude.  When I was in Vail (and what a waste of space the place is) I had a mild headache for a day or so.  Other people have greater problems.  Many people have none.

Answer 2

I think the best way to control altitude sickness is to drink lots of water. If I ever start to get sick I just drink water and it really helps. Make sure you drink some while your driving there because thats were you can get sick the worst. Hope my answer helped you.

                 Brock

Answer 3

Altitude sickness wont be a real problem. If you do have any symptoms, they will be very mild. If you're in well enough shape to ski then Vail's altitude wont pose much of a threat. The worst cases I've seen in skiers on the mountain are headaches or they get lightheaded. It's out of shape people who have the most problems.

Altitude sickness wont really affect you if you're just skiing up and down the mountain. It mainly strikes people who maintain an altitude of greater than about 12,000'. So you'ld have to stay on the peak for any symptoms, and even then my bet is you wouldn't have any. The base elevation is 8,120' and the summit elevation is 11,570'.

I'd wager that the only thing you notice with your health is you get out of breath easier from tasks such as walking up stairs or hills.

Have fun and great skiing!

Answer 4

Stay hydrated and if it really becomes a problem go to an oxygen bar

Which by the way they have on the mountain now

Vail is awesome by the way, gonna be there myself starting this weekend but go to Beaver Creek as well, its really nice