Whether you are cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, skiing, hiking, or even rock climbing, exercise at altitude and in the cold presents a unique challenge to your body. How you approach nutrition and hydration at elevation in the winter can make a big difference in the way you feel, how you perform, and how effectively you avoid injury.
Altitude and cold challenge fuel reserves
If you’re not a regular mountain dweller, one of the first things you’ll notice as you make your altitude ascent is that you get winded faster. That’s because the air is thinner at higher altitudes, meaning there’s less oxygen available in each breath you take. At higher elevations, your body also depends more on glucose circulating in your bloodstream as a fuel source. Your reliance on muscle glycogen stores remains as high as ever, but your fat stores are used proportionally less. This metabolic transformation means that your limited reserves of carbohydrate fuel — glucose and glycogen — get tapped faster. In fact, in a study of skiers, a full day on the slopes reduced their muscle glycogen stores by 50%. What this means for you is that if you start your day in the mountains with your carb fuel reserves half empty, or you don’t actively replenish carbs while you’re in the elements, your limited fuel reserves can run dry. And when that occurs, your energy level and concentration plummet. If that happens when you’re flying down a mountain at high speed, your risk of injury escalates. To further complicate matters, a rise in elevation also boosts your metabolic rate, meaning it takes more energy to function. And yet, ironically, elevation saps your appetite, which often leads to a decrease in food intake.
As if altitude weren’t enough of a hardship, cold exacts its own personal metabolic toll. The shivering you do in the chairlift when you’re being blasted by icy winds, howling over the mountain ridge or on the shady side of the mountain, is nature’s way of generating some internal body heat to boost your rapidly falling core temperature. But those self-made BTUs come at a hefty price. Shivering boosts the burning of your limited stores of glucose and glycogen by up to sixfold! So if you’re already running low on carbs, shivering is like siphoning off the last drops from the fuel tank.
Higher risk of dehydration, too
Working together, altitude and cold challenge your hydration as well. In fact, one of the first things to occur in response to exposure to a higher elevation is a rapid reduction in the amount of water that circulates within your body. This rapid elimination of water from your body, through urination, concentrates red blood cells that carry oxygen in your blood, and this helps to offset the thinner air at altitude. But less fluid circulating means that less fluid is available for blood flow between heat-generating muscles and your skin, where that heat can be released. Also, with extra layers of clothing, sweat losses can quickly add up, especially when you’re hoofing it uphill. With less internal fluid, losing fluid in the form of sweat increases the chance that you’ll become dehydrated.
Another challenge to hydration is the fact that air at altitude is very dry and cold. Your body combats these harsh elements by warming and humidifying each breath that you take in. But as you exhale, the air you’ve worked so hard to moisten is released, and the moisture is lost with it. Over time, fluid loss from respiration adds up.
In the face of these multiple routes for fluid loss, you’d ideally want to consume more fluids while on the mountain. And yet, true to form, exposure to cold and altitude reduces your drive to drink fluids.
Finally, you wouldn’t be the first to cop to the strategy of forgoing fluids as a way of getting more time on powder instead of in the powder room.
Avoiding injury
Emergency room and first-aid personnel can attest to the fact that skiing and snowboarding injuries often occur late in the day. Depleted glycogen stores, low blood glucose, and dehydration are likely culprits.
Whether you’re taking on black diamond moguls or you’re looking to shred on a snowboard, injury prevention relies on quick maneuvering and the ability to react instantly to inconsistencies in terrain. Muscle tissue fibers depleted of glycogen may not be up to the challenge. Glucose also happens to be the primary fuel for your brain, and for snowboarders and skiers alike, maintaining concentration and focus during a high-speed run can be influenced by your blood glucose level. Finally, dehydration can also dull your reflexes. So sports nutrition on the slopes is not just about going for gold — it’s about staying healthy and injury free, to ski or board another day.
Fluid and Fuel Recommendations
Whether you’re competing on the mountain or just having fun, a day in the cold at elevation is hard work. Focus on hydrating and fueling to meet the demands of exercise at altitude in the cold.
Breakfast
The best way to prepare for a day on the mountain is to be fully hydrated and fueled.
To ensure that you’re hydrated and not carrying a fluid deficit from yesterday’s events, consume about 2 cups (480 ml) of fluid 2–3 hours before you head out. This fluid can be water, or a sports drink if you need the carbs.
A high-carb breakfast that is low in fat is ideal for topping off glycogen stores and providing the liver with plenty of carbohydrates for sustaining blood glucose levels through your morning activity.
Example breakfast (about 2–4 hours before heading out):
1 cup of cooked oatmeal with a sprinkling of raisins
1 or 2 scrambled eggs
1 banana
¾ cup of yogurt
8 fl oz of fruit juice
16 fl oz of water or sports drink
If your day is going to be particularly rigorous, you may need to allow more time for digestion before the action begins.
Between runs or at regular intervals
Regular snacks and fluids will help ensure that your blood glucose level is maintained and that you remain hydrated during exercise.
PowerBar
® Gels are a fast and convenient way to get a carb boost when riding on chairlifts. For something extra special, try placing a chocolate- or double latte-flavored PowerBar Gel in a pocket with an activated hand warmer. The warmth will quickly turn it into an incredibly delicious treat!
PowerBar
® Performance Energy bar, PowerBar
® Nut Naturals Energy bar, PowerBar Harvest
® Energy bar, and PowerBar
® Triple Threat
® Energy bar are also packed with energy and carbs to keep you going strong. Performance Energy bars are best carried in a pocket close to your body to keep them soft and easy to chew.
A well-designed sports drink, such as PowerBar
® Endurance sports drink, is a better choice than water on the mountain. A sports drink provides carbs, to help sustain blood glucose levels, and electrolytes such as sodium, to help maintain the proper balance of fluid and electrolytes in the body. A sports drink can also minimize urine production as compared to consuming plain water, and that means more time on the slopes for you as a skier and/or snowboarder. Endurance sports drink can be made with warm water and carried in a sports bottle or squeeze bottle. In the cold at altitude, fluids are more likely to be consumed if they are warm.
Lunchtime
Lunch is an important meal during a long day on the mountain because it’s your opportunity to warm up, rehydrate, and refuel. If the ski lodge is close, warm foods that are packed with carbs and low in fat are your best choices. Recommended selections include soups, pasta and rice dishes, toasted sandwiches, and baked potatoes. If you’re packing your own lunch, sandwiches, fruit, yogurt, and PowerBar
® energy bars are good options. Alcohol is not a good option at lunch because it adversely affects your hydration level and can hamper your judgment and ability to react to changes in terrain when you get back on the mountain.
Recovery
As fun as it is to be exercising in the mountains during winter, it’s also taxing, and your body needs to recover afterward. You can speed recovery by consuming a recovery bar or beverage, or a carb-rich snack along with water or a sports drink, as soon as possible after you get off your feet, like within 30 minutes. So if your trip back to home base and food is going to take a while, make sure you’ve packed provisions to get the recovery process started. Follow that up with a high-carb meal and snacks. If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
PowerBar
® Recovery beverage is a fast and convenient option for jump-starting the recovery process as soon as you finish on the mountain. Just pour the Recovery beverage powder into your sports bottle, add water, and shake. In seconds you’ll have the carbs, protein, sodium, and fluids to start reloading, repairing, and rehydrating. If you take the opportunity to refuel and rehydrate after leaving it all on the mountain, tomorrow will be another incredible day.
References:
Febbraio M, Martin D. Nutritional Issues for Special Environments: Training and Competing at Altitude and in Hot Climates. In: Burke L, Deakin V, eds. Clinical Sports Nutrition, 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd, 2006; 765–784.
Tesch PA, Larsson L, Eriksson A, Karlsson J. Muscle Glycogen Depletion and Lactate Concentration During Downhill Skiing. Med Sci Sports 1978; 10: 85–90.
Vallerand AL, Zamecnik J, Jacobs I. Plasma Glucose Turnover During Cold Stress in Humans. J Appl Physiol 1995; 78: 1,296–1,302.
Meyer NL, Parker-Simmons S. Winter Sports. In: Burke L, ed. Practical Sports Nutrition. Human Kinetics, New Zealand, 2007; 335–358.
American College of Sports Medicine, Sawka MN, Burke LM, Eichner ER, Maughan RJ, Montain SJ, Stachenfeld NS. American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Exercise and Fluid Replacement. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007; 39: 377–390.
Ryan M. Nutrition for Alpine Skiing and Snowboarding. In: Performance Nutrition for Winter Sports. Peak Sports Press, 2005: 218–234.
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