Altitude Training Guide
Introduction:
I’m back after a pretty long break from writing new blogs! In the same way that I needed some time off from training after the season ended, I also wanted to take a little break from writing. A lot of effort goes into these blog posts and I wanted to make sure I was feeling ready to create quality content.
As I type out these words you are currently reading, I am sitting inside of a plane on my way to Utah. I, along with Team Birkie, will be spending three weeks living and training in Park City for my first altitude camp of the year.
Those who know me well probably know that I like to avoid travel that I don’t feel is strictly necessary. I have such amazing resources in Minneapolis that I often feel like I can keep my training and recovery higher quality by staying home. That being said, there are certain things that I consider essential to my success in the winter that can’t be achieved from the comfort of home.
For the past 6 summers, I have made a point to do at least one 14-21 day training camp at altitude. These camps have always been one of the major building blocks in my successful years of racing. I am writing this blog today to talk about the specifics of why I go to altitude, what I do when I am there, and how I think it makes me a better skier.
On top of a big mountain in Bozeman, Montana during an OD Run/Hike at a 2018 summer camp.
Part 1: Why should you train at altitude?
As a human (sorry to any non-human readers), you have extraordinary capabilities when it comes to adapting to stress and changes in your environment. Altitude is a type of stress that causes your body to undergo certain beneficial physiological changes. Basically, there is much less oxygen in the air at higher altitudes so your body makes some neat adjustments to keep your systems operating effectively.
It’s actually super intuitive. If you go from Minneapolis (830 feet) to Park City (7,000 feet), your body will notice that you aren’t getting as much oxygen as you were previously. In an effort to combat this, your body will create more red blood cells to improve your ability to carry oxygen through your blood. This is the process of “acclimating” to altitude and it can take roughly 3-4 weeks to be fully adjusted. This process of acclimation is the reason most people will feel like complete garbage in the first week or so, but fear not! Your body is working hard to improve the situation. Pretty funny that all of this happens behind the scenes without any conscious effort on your part.
Another huge benefit of altitude camps is the change of scenery from the Midwest. It is widely accepted that Minneapolis is the greatest place in the world, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to train somewhere else once in a while. The U.S. cities I have gone to for altitude camps have been some of the most beautiful places I have visited. It can definitely provide a huge boost to your morale and motivation to visit a super sunny place in the mountains. It also allows you to do some training sessions that aren’t as easy to do in the Midwest, such as long hikes in the mountain trails or skiing up a scenic mountain road.
Not much to complain about with scenery like this! Post L3 bounding workout at Bozeman summer camp in 2021.
Part 2: What makes a good altitude destination?
One of the first and most important considerations for an altitude camp is where you will go for the camp. We are really fortunate in the United States to have plenty of super high quality destinations for altitude training.
Here are the main things I consider when choosing where to go:
1. How high is it above sea-level?
Bear in mind I am talking about where you will be living, not how high you might get on your training sessions. I find the ideal elevation to be between 5,000 and 7,000 feet. There are pros and cons of being either higher or lower, but these are the limits I use for picking a quality training camp site. If you go too much below 5,000 feet it won’t be quite high enough to illicit the desired physiological response from your body. We want the air to be thin enough so your body creates more red blood cells to adapt to the less oxygenated environment. However, going too much above 7,000 feet will cause your training and recovery quality to suffer too much due to how little oxygen there is at those higher elevations. It really is a balancing act between being high enough to create the desired response while also not being so high that you can barely move while you train and struggle to recover from your training sessions.
2. Is there easy access to high quality roller-skiing, running, biking, etc?
This one is pretty self-explanatory. If you’re going there for a training camp, you better be sure that there are good places to do the basic types of training you’ll be doing. More importantly, make sure that wherever you’ll be staying — AirBnB, hotel, house, etc — is in a good spot for training. It can be helpful to reach out to locals or people that have done training camps there previously. Pro Tip: Strava is an awesome way to find good training routes pretty much anywhere in the world.
3. How expensive is it?
One definite bummer about a lot of the traditional altitude training sites in the U.S. is that they are in some crazy expensive areas. Places like Sun Valley, Park City, and Aspen, for example, are all awesome places for an altitude camp but are also a few of the most expensive places to live in the whole U.S. Luckily, visiting these places is usually much cheaper in the summer and fall “off-season” as most people tend to visit for ski trips in the winter when AirBnBs are able to charge the most. Team Birkie and I have been really fortunate in the past to have good friends or supporters help us with housing as it can definitely be a big obstacle to overcome.
4. Will you be able to avoid wildfires and smoke?
Sadly, one of the major effects of climate change in recent years has been a huge increase in wildfires. The Western U.S. is especially vulnerable due to a combination of an incredibly dry climate and a massive amount of forest area. My favorite time for a summer altitude camp is July, but this year we are going in June in hopes of minimizing the chances of our camp being derailed by wildfire smoke. When I do another camp in the same year, going again in October has worked really well for me.
Pure blue skies are much healthier for your lungs. They also make for much better pictures. Davos, Switzerland in December 2021.
Part 3: How does one train at altitude?
I could easily write a super long blog about this question alone. If you want to maximize the benefit of an altitude camp while minimizing the risk of overdoing it, it’s incredibly important that you train, eat, and live “correctly.” Altitude is a huge stress on your body that has to be managed appropriately. This means tweaking certain things like your training intensity, fluid intake, macronutrient intake, and several other things.
Disclaimer: These guidelines become increasingly important the higher you train above 5,500 feet.
1. What to do when you first get there?
Day 1-5: Super easy training. Should be basically walking around compared to your pace at sea-level. I don’t do intervals until day 5 at least, and even then only very light/short L3 (4-5 x 6 min, for example).
Day 5-9: Gradually build into more normal workout durations. This is where I like to start doing some really good volume. Can still do intervals, but try to have at least two days between harder sessions and make long, easy sessions the priority. I would still stick to L3 sessions and go MUCH easier than you think. Your body is working much harder than it may feel. By the 8th or 9th day though, my L3 sessions are more like 40-60 min of L3 (5 x 10 min, for example).
Day 9-14: One of these days can be a good time to do a slightly harder L4 workout. It can be a good opportunity to learn what it feels like to push your body at higher altitudes, which is a valuable learning experience for when you may race at altitude in the winter. It also can give the body a nice break from just walking around. You should still keep a lid on how hard you go and keep in mind that you won’t (and shouldn’t) be able to push yourself as hard as you can at sea-level. Example session can be 6 x 4 min L4, making sure that you aren’t pushing too hard at any point.
L3 roller skiing intervals with Xavier in Bozeman.
2. How much slower should I train at altitude VS at sea-level?
This really depends on how high you are, but in general you should be going much, much slower. Especially in the beginning. This is an area that almost everyone screws up.
First, you should have a Heart Rate Monitor, as well as a good idea of what your heart rate normally is when you train at sea-level. A good rule of thumb for when you are acclimating to altitude is to try to average 10-15 BPM lower than you would at any given intensity than at sea-level. For example, if a typical two hour easy run in Minneapolis would give me a HR avg. of 115, I will try to avg. 100-105 on a similar run in Park City. You’ll almost certainly find yourself going much slower as a result, but that just means you are doing it correctly.
If you have access to a blood-lactate monitor, you can periodically spot-test your lactate levels during easy sessions to make sure you are damn near 1.0 (if this doesn’t make sense just ignore it). You’d be surprised how easy it can be to creep into the high 1s and low 2s without feeling it at all.
Nothing wrong with a little walking. I was doing a lot of it on this 4 hour run/hike behind Coach Leo in Bozeman.
3. Eating and drinking at altitude.
It would be easy to make this one super complicated as well, but I think the best way to approach this is from a practical standpoint. Basically, it comes down to two basic changes:
Drink a lot more water than usual
Eat a lot more carbs than usual
That’s pretty much it. I’m always blown away by how I can basically drink water all day at altitude and still have yellow pee. Your body just uses so much more water for all of its normal processes during the process of acclimation. The same is true for carbs, which are in heavy demand during the acclimation period. Your water bottle should be glued to your hand.
Focusing on extra carb intake can be the difference between feeling terrible 7 days in or feeling great. You should always have some sort of carb-mix in your drink belt when you train. Gatorade powder is cheap and easy, but there are definitely some better ones out there if you want. Hammer Heed, Hammer Perpetuem, and Tailwind are some that I have used. I’m not sponsored by any of those. When you eat, it could be something as simple as adding a glass of apple juice with breakfast if you normally wouldn’t, or substituting some nuts/avocados for a more carb-dense option.
The Montana State University dining hall made it super easy get enough to eat during our 2021 summer camp. French toast + mixed berry jam.
Conclusion:
Altitude is a pretty fun and amazing challenge to take on as an athlete! Regardless of whether you are a professional skier or just someone looking to try something new, I think it is definitely something that is worth a try. I have done some great camps in Park City, Truckee, Bozeman, and Davos. I look forward to trying some new places in the future.
I will be on a three week altitude camp in Park City, Utah from May 30th to June 20th! Follow along on my Instagram and Strava to see what I do while I am here.
Thank you for reading, I know it was a long one!
