Last year around this time, I met up with some college buddies of mine for a week in Breckenridge. I was psyched, as this was going to be my first time snowboarding on the fabled slopes of Colorado.

I ended up having an absolutely shitty time despite the fantastic snow conditions due to Acute Mountain Sickness, more commonly known as altitude sickness. I got this pounding headache that was bad enough to wake me up in the middle of the night, as well as severe nausea. I could have handled the symptoms for a night or two, but they never went away the entire time I was there.

It definitely didn’t help that I flew in from sea level, then took a shuttle directly from Denver International to 9,000 ft. The fact that I arrived at Breckenridge around 1 am and promptly started drinking and smoking until the early morning also played a role. Still, I’m anxious to avoid a repeat of this debacle.

Come February, I’ll be spending a month or more in Tibet. Its capital city boasts over 12,000 ft of elevation. I’ve got prescription medication that should treat AWS, but I’ve got a nagging suspicion it might not suffice.

I’ve done a bit of research and it turns out that when most people exert themselves, they alter the rate at which they breathe, rather than the depth of each breath. Considering the average lung utilization is 10-15%, there’s certainly room for improvement. Based on these findings, I’ve started a new training program, designed to increase lung capacity/oxygen absorption.

I’ve been running ~1.5 miles every day, but carefully monitoring my breathing the entire way. This usually is a cakewalk for me, but its a completely different story when I’m forcing 3 counts of exhalation to only 2 counts of inhalation. I’m always wheezing and light-headed by the time I’m done.

Here’s to hoping this pain will pave the way to gains while I’m trekking in the Himalayas.