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Skiing And Cold Weather Fluid Replacement Needs.
By Edmund R. Burke, Ph.D.

"There are three times when a skier should drink water: when he's thirsty, when he isn't thirsty, and in between."
- Dr. Burke

 
To get the most out of your skiing, you need to understand how the cold weather affects your body's fluid requirements. While skiing, your body generates six to twelve times the heat it does at rest which, when you're dressed properly, is more than enough to maintain your body temperature. (That's for chair lift-services skiing. If you're hiking ridges or climbing with skins, the rate is far greater).

However, the decrease in relative humidity of cold, dry, mountain air, combines with hard exercise, results in marked fluid losses. Whether you're an expert skier concerned with maximum performance, or a beginner who wants to stay more comfortable during a full day, you need to stay hydrated. That means drinking early and often, throughout your skiing day.

 

These are some of the ways dehydration may affect your skiing performance and health:

Sweating and Respiratory Water Loss
Not only can you lose between 1.0 to 2.0 liters per hour through sweating, but you also lose fluids by inhaling cold air, which must be warmed and moistened in your throat and lungs. You also lose water as you exhale -- up to 1.5 liters per day. The drier throat and sinus we all experience in the winter are body's efforts to compensate for the lower humidity content of cold air.

Loss of Muscular Strength and Endurance
As little as a two percent decrease in body weight, due to dehydration, has an immediate impact on your muscular strength and endurance. For a 150 lb. skier, two percent is just 1.5 liters. This level of weight loss can occur after just two hours of hard skiing without fluid replacement, or even less if you're visiting from sea level. The effect of this dehydration-related fatigue can be as minor as an occasional missed turn, or as severe as a hard fall.

My years on the National Ski Patrol lead me to believe that many accidents on the hill result from dehydration. As any patroller will attest, the majority of accidents occur in the afternoon, especially on sunny days, when tired skiers push themselves to take one more run. Sound familiar?

Decreased Blood Volume
Fluid losses through dehydration leads to a decrease in blood volume. Your body reacts by restricting blood flow to your skin and extremities, leading to more rapid cooling and greatly increasing your susceptibility to hypothermia, frostbite, or just an uncomfortable chill. In my experience, those suffering from hypothermia are nearly always dehydrated.

Caffeine and Alcohol
Both are poor choices for skiing, as far as they promote dehydration by speeding urine production. Sports drinks containing glucose, sucrose, or glucose polymers are an excellent choice, as is plain water along with an energy bar, or carbohydrate gel.

Acute Mountain Sickness
Proper hydration is critical - mandatory is not too strong a word - preventing Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). Often, the headaches, nausea, and dizziness associated with AMS can be prevented with proper hydration. The simplest way to gauge hydration is by monitoring your urine output. Dark yellow urine indicates dehydration and the immediate need for fluid intake. Frequent light or clear urine indicates proper hydration. AMS is preventable and treatable; it need not spoil an expensive ski vacation.

Unavailability of Fluids
It's safe to say that most alpine skiers don't give much thought to fluid intake while skiing for two to four hours. Those that do go often struggle with convenient ways to carry water while skiing. Bottles are bulky and painful when fallen upon. In addition, fluids are only available at the base lodge or mountain restaurant and who wants to stop for a drink on a powder day?

Conclusions
Most skiers don't drink enough. Nor do they realize the implications of dehydration. No matter what your level of skill, to get the most out of your sky day, both in terms of safety and performance, carry fluids with you and don't wait until you're thirsty to start drinking