I just finished planning a trip to Breckenridge for my family and I, and I'm worrided about Altitude Sickness.  I got it last year and spent my first night awake and sick.  I was fine the next morning, but that first night was horrific.  Breckenridge is 9600 feet above sea level.  Do you have any ideas how I can avoid altitude sickness? Thanks.

Breck04 wrote:

I just finished planning a trip to Breckenridge for my family and I, and I'm worrided about Altitude Sickness.  I got it last year and spent my first night awake and sick.  I was fine the next morning, but that first night was horrific.  Breckenridge is 9600 feet above sea level.  Do you have any ideas how I can avoid altitude sickness? Thanks.

Strange stuff, next year you might not experience it at all.  However, standard advice is drink lots of water, go easy first day/night. Easy on booze. Many folks benefit from staying in Denver first night then going up to altitude next day.

Here's an article that has good background and advice about dealing with adjusting to high altitude, meaning over 8000 ft.  Also includes the truth about a few myths.  Written in 2006 by a physician on the faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

http://www.epicski.com/a/altitude-adaptation-and-acute-mountain-sickness

Here is a nice summary from near the end of that article,

"Is there anything I can do to enhance acclimatization?

The first, best, and most obvious thing is graded ascent. If you can, come up slowly- spend a night in Denver or Salt Lake City before going up to the resort. This, of course, is not always practical, but may be an option for some.

Limit exertion on the first day out.

Don’t smoke!

There is some evidence that a high carbohydrate diet beginning about 3 days before ascent may speed acclimatization.

Climb high, sleep low. This old climber’s maxim makes a lot of sense, especially since sleep disordered breathing is a common manifestation of AMS, and AMS is often worse during sleep. If you are prone to AMS, you may feel better at a resort with a lower base elevation.

Avoid alcohol for the first few days."

While visitng Taos about a quarter centery ago (and still lving in Parkton) a local told me about a drug that helps. It's brand name is Diamox, and the generic is Acetazolamide. It's a diuretic  that improves the ability of blood to transport oxygen. It is by prescription. It works for me. I basically call Breck home for most of the season, and I take it before my first trip of the season. After the first trip, I don't need to take it again as long as I return to altitude within a month.

Start taking it 2 or 3 days before going to altitude, and keep taking it for a day or 2 after arrival. Downsides: it will make any diet drink taste awful, and it sometimes causes a case of the sniffles. Neither is a big deal for me.

Using it I was able to fly to Denver or Albuquerque in the a.m.. Drive driectly to the ski areas, and be skiing by noon, with no altitude effects - not something I could do without using Diamox.

edit: It just looked at the link, which, near the end, does mention Acetazolamiode.

Good points from others and from Bob specifically about Diamox.  I have used it three or four times, esp good for short duration visits. Its very cheap to get a prescription, <$10.  It seemed to help me, but it has some quirky side effects that hit some folks and not others.  Last time it gave me crossed-eyes.  Since I was driving from VA to CO while taking it, this was not good :-o

I did not take it most recently, but stayed in Denver first night and was making a long duration visit for two months at altitude.