Ski fever: The highest slopes can cause mountain fever

For doctors and nurses at Colorado’s highest elevations, ski season means a steady flow of casualties from a little-understood problem: acute mountain sickness.

Skiers are already for the risk of broken bones and frostbite, but they often don’t know how mountain sickness works, and resorts don’t tell them. The condition is caused by a decrease in oxygen in the blood at higher altitudes. It affects people who travel rapidly from sea level to elevations over 8,000 feet. A more serious condition, high-altitude pulmonary edema, is fatal in 1 percent of cases.

Thousands of skiers experience symptoms within a day of arriving: headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, and vomiting. About 25 percent to 40 percent of visitors experience symptoms of altitude sickness. Copper Mountain Ski Resort warns would-be visitors about it. Their flier says it creates a “hangover” feeling and pregnant women, people with anemia, or people with chronic heart and lung conditions should be cautious.

Aspen, Vail, and some other Colorado mountains have bases at or above 8,000 feet, but people at hotels experience less altitude sickness. The hotels lie at lower elevations, allowing visitors more time to adjust. The peak at Aspen rises to 12,510 feet. At Telluride, the peak is 12,255. Breckenridge peaks rise to 12,998 feet and Copper Mountain peaks top out at 12,313 feet.

Skiers coming from sea level locations such as Chicago (668 feet) or Michigan (839 feet) should allow time for their bodies to adjust before going to the higher peaks.