Preventing Altitude Sickness

HYDRATION, HYDRATION, HYDRATION and Electrolytes!!

Spend the night at a lower elevation. Fly in to Salt Lake City, spend a night there, then drive to Brian Head. This will give your body time to adjust to the changes in altitude to ensure you acclimatize appropriately. This is especially important if you are coming from sea level. Another option is to fly in to Las Vegas, spend a night, drive to Cedar City, spend a night, then come up to the resort. (Las Vegas is only at 2,200 ft,; Cedar City is at 5,900.) Drive instead of Fly. If you or your guests must fly into your destination, consider flying into a lower altitude city and driving up into the mountains. This will give your body time to acclimate as you slowly ascend into the mountains. If you are worried about staying at altitude and wish to sleep at lower elevation, there are hotels in cedar city, found in our accommodations portion of the website. This can be especially helpful to let your body recharge at night. Stay Hydrated. The air is drier at altitude and can exacerbate symptoms of altitude sickness. It’s important to drink plenty of water at altitude. A good way to test if you’re hydrated is to look at your urine. Clear urine indicates you’re hydrated, and dark yellow urine indicates that you need to drink more water. Keep in mind it is possible to drink too much water. You should start hydrating a few days prior to your tip, double your water intake, especially if you are planning to drink alcohol at our wedding. Replacing electrolytes with things like Nuun Tablets, EmergenC packets(sports drinks like Gatorade and PowerAde are high in sugar and cause the opposite effect, so steer clear of them when trying to get hydrated) Talk to your Doctor about medications that can help prevent altitude sickness. Diamox® is a prescription drug that is known to prevent altitude sickness in 75% of adults when taken a couple of days before ascending to altitude. We don't want to scare people with this warning and we think it's important everyone has this information. We are getting married at altitude and want everyone to be safe and have fun! If you want to talk about this with us further just give us a call and we can chat through it. If you are really concerned or have other medial issues, we recommend consulting your doctor.