6 Tips To Avoid Beaver Creek Altitude Sickness
When you arrive at the Colorado ski destination of Beaver Creek, your body can take a toll from the high altitudes. We'll cover everything you need to know about Beaver Creek altitude and our best tips how to avoid Beaver Creek altitude sickness.
Beaver Creek Altitude
Beaver Creek altitude sits at a base of 8,100 feet (2,500 m), with a top elevation of 11,440 feet (3,490 m). It's among some of the highest ski resorts throughout Colorado.
- Beaver Creek altitude - 8,100 ft (2,500 m)
- Beaver Creek summit altitude - 11,440 ft (3,490 m)
Beaver Creek is a ski resort town in Eagle County, Colorado that is just south of Avon. Many people vacation there and it has become a popular location for skiers.
It is located nearby a few other iconic ski resorts, including Vail, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, and Aspen.
- Vail altitude - 8,120 ft (2,476 m)
- Copper Mountain altitude - 9,712 ft (2,960 m)
- Breckenridge altitude - 9,600 ft (2,900 m)
- Aspen altitude - 7,908 feet (2,438 m)
The elevation at Beaver Creek can cause altitude sickness for those who are not used to it.
Can You Get Altitude Sickness At Beaver Creek?
Yes, you can get altitude sickness at Beaver Creek.
At a base of 8,100 feet, going as high as 11,440 feet, it's considered high altitude. RentOxygen.com reports that up to 40% of visitors of Beaver Creek will experience altitude sickness.³
Beaver Creek's high elevation can contain anywhere between 5% to 6% lower oxygen than sea level.⁴
Beaver Creek Altitude Sickness
When you travel to Beaver Creek in the Rocky Mountains, the air is thinner and doesn't contain as much oxygen as it does at lower elevations.
Less oxygen combined with oxidative and physiological stress can lead to Beaver Creek altitude sickness. Symptoms can range from headache to trouble breathing and nausea.
Beaver Creek altitude sickness symptoms may include:
- headache
- shortness of breath or trouble breathing
- dizziness
- nausea or vomiting
- fatigue or feeling exhausted
- weakness
- loss of appetite
- insomnia or difficulty sleeping
- malaise or feeling ill
Beaver Creek altitude sickness can typically show signs in 6-24 hours upon arrival.
If you have not been to this altitude before and are planning on traveling to Colorado, it is important that you take precautions before arriving. We'll discuss our best tips below.
6 Tips To Avoid Beaver Creek Altitude Sickness
Beaver Creek is an amazing place to visit, with beautiful views, fun activities, world class skiing, and a great place to spend time with family and friends.
With the elevation of Beaver Creek at 8,100 feet, which is over 2,000 feet higher than Denver, this mountain trip comes with a high chance of altitude sickness.
As a local Colorado based company, we have years of experience and research on altitude sickness. We'll share with you our best tips to avoid Beaver Creek altitude sickness.
Here's 6 Tips To Avoid Beaver Creek Altitude Sickness:
1. Acclimate Gradually
One of the best ways to avoid altitude sickness is to acclimate gradually
When you go from sea level to high altitude, your body needs time to adjust. If you're going straight to Beaver Creek at over 8,000 feet, your body is not going to have any time to acclimate.
What many travelers do is flying into Denver and stay a night or two before heading to Beaver Creek. At 5,280 feet, this gives your body time to acclimate gradually before arriving at your mountain destination.
This also applies when first arriving at Beaver Creek. With a summit at 11,440 feet, if you're skiing or snowboarding it's best to wait at least a day before hitting the slopes.
2. Maximize Hydration
In order to combat altitude sickness, it's also important to avoid dehydration.
With increased respiration due to the high altitude and the dry climate of Colorado, dehydration happens often without visitors even knowing. As a result, it's vital that you drink plenty of water at all times.
Hydrating can also assist in your blood's oxygen saturation levels.⁵ For proper hydration, experts recommend drinking at least half your body weight in ounces of water. Increase the amount if you're going to be active such as skiing or hiking.
TIP: To maximize hydration you can add sea salt to your water/foods for added electrolytes, or take Zaca
chewable tablets that help increase water absorption.
3. Take it Easy & Rest
Take it easy and rest when you first arrive at your destination. This will give your body time to adjust and recover from the change in elevation.
If you're planning on skiing, try not to go too hard on the first day and take many breaks. While it's tempting to jump right in, it's better to ease yourself into it and not overstrain your body which is already struggling with the altitude.
To maximize your altitude adjustment, sleep is also critical. OrthoCarolina showed that sleep can help with oxygen in the cells by increasing blood flow.⁶
It's recommended at least 7-9 hours of sleep to get the most benefit and aid your altitude recovery.
4. Visit An Oxygen Bar
There's some conflicting information on whether canned oxygen is strong enough to help with altitude sickness. However, supplement oxygen has been found to be effective, which is what is used at oxygen bars.
- Research at UPenn showed supplemental oxygen to have significant effects on high altitude physiological parameters.⁷
Whether you want to be preventative when you first arrive in Beaver Creek, or if you already feel altitude sickness signs, an oxygen bar can help boost your oxygen levels.
To visit an oxygen bar, you'll have to go one town over to
Recovery Lab in Vail where you can get oxygen for $2 per minute, or you can get mobile supplemental oxygen in Beaver Creek from
Peak Oxygen.
5. Limit Alcohol
Alcohol is a diuretic and can lead to dehydration, which does mix well with altitude sickness.
Hangovers ironically have similar symptoms of altitude sickness, including headache, fatigue and nausea.
If you choose to have drinks while in Beaver Creek, limit yourself to 1-2 drinks per day until you're acclimated to the altitude level and don't feel any signs of altitude sickness.
6. Take Glutathione
Oxidative stress has been shown to be caused by high altitudes.
Glutathione is one of the most powerful antioxidants in the body, and can reduce oxidative stress by neutralizing free radicals.
- Research revealed that glutathione was depleted in high altitude conditions by up to 45%.⁸
While some foods can be rich in glutathione, the best way to increase glutathione levels is by supplementation. You can supplement glutathione to help fight off the oxidative stress.
To conclude our top researched tips to avoid Beaver Creek altitude sickness — the list includes acclimating gradually, maximizing hydration, taking it easy and resting, visiting an oxygen bar, limiting alcohol initially, and taking glutathione.
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SOURCES:
1. Beaver Creek Resort
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_Creek_Resort
2. Copper Mountain Colorado
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_Mountain_(Colorado)
3. Oxygen Rental Beaver Creek
https://rentoxygen.com/beaver-creek-oxygen-avoid-altitude-sickness/
4. Oxygen Levels at Altitude
https://wildsafe.org/resources/ask-the-experts/altitude-safety-101/oxygen-levels/
5. Tips to Boost Your Oxygen Saturation Level at Home
https://www.icicilombard.com/blogs/health-insurance/hi/5-tips-to-boost-your-oxygen-saturation-level-at-home
6. Sleep: The Secret Ingredient of Injury Recovery
https://www.orthocarolina.com/media/sleep-the-secret-ingredient-of-injury-recovery
7. Supplemental oxygen and hyperbaric treatment at high altitude: cardiac and respiratory response
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17571664/
8. Effect of high altitude (7,620 m) exposure on glutathione
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11320641/
