Tip to Prevent Altitude Sickness

Deer Valley Ski Area from Flagstaff Mountain

Here is a good tip to help prevent/minimize altitude sickness.

In a previous trip to Park City, a friend of mine landed at the airport and we headed right up to the house at an elevation of 7000 feet.  She had mild symptoms of altitude sickness for a couple of days after arrival.

This trip, we went to a Salt Lake restaurant for lunch.  We drank a couple of glasses of water with to Park City.  We spent about four hours in the city before driving on to Park City.

The next day she told me that she had no symptoms of altitude sickness.  She felt that the time we spent in Salt Lake at lower elevation helped her acclimate.   Apparently, spending a short time in Salt Lake City helped her adjust to the elevation.

Altitude affects every person differently.  The rule of thumb is to acclimate 1000 feet of elevation every 24 hours beginning at 4000 to 5000 feet.  Many times on a ski vacation it is not feasible to do this, but if your schedule allows you to spend several hours at a lower elevation it may help you prevent or minimize the onset of altitude sickness.

When we place people in Park City lodging, a criteria in selecting a property is the elevation of the property.   If you are affected by altitude, obviously the lower your accommodations, the better.

Approximate Park City altitudes are: the Canyons (6400 feet), Park City proper (6900 feet), lower Deer Valley (7100 feet), and upper Deer Valley (8000 feet).

Feel free to contact us if we can help you with Park City accommodations.