case of elevation (mountain, altitude) sickness.
I was skiing with Liliann which was very exhausting because she was
going straight down and my job was to slow her down with the long
harness, constant "resistance training" on my legs. After that Sławek
took me to do some "real skiing" and somehow I just could not keep up,
I was breathing very heavily, but feeling like chocking, I was
lightheaded, even after a long rest, on the way back I was on the
verge of passing out. At that time I just thought I was just
dehydrated and out of shape, which sadly I am. My friends mentioned
it is because of the elevation.
After coming back to the hotel room the whole evening I had attacks of
coughing even if I did NOT get cold at all. That is when I realized it
is definitely elevation sickness. I loaded up on NyQuill, drunk lots
of Gatorade (in case I was dehydrated), and passed out.
I woke up feeling good and ready to ski. Yesterday was a pure woo-doo,
I cannot explain it otherwise. Today, I have been skiing the whole day
both with Liliann and alone in the conditions and elevations as
difficult as yesterday. I did some crazy runs like "Psychopath" some
12,000+ feet up (the mountain sickness starts at 8,200 feet). Nothing
wrong with me, I felt good and had energy on the end of the day.
I remember from school that it takes for the body about 48 hours to
create red blood cells to carry decreased oxygen levels to the body
and brain. Since I have been in Rockies for over 2 days, I guess I am
slowly adjusting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_altitude_pulmonary_edema
