NSW Nordic Ski Club
How much Water do you carry
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In recent years inventors have come up with some clever devices for delivering water to the mouths of cross-country skiers and bush-walkers. These save the time it takes to stop, open one's pack, take out a drink bottle, drink and replace same. Regardless of how the water is delivered it still has to be carried, and, being a heavy item, it adds to the burden on one's back.
In warm conditions cross-country skiers can require substantial quantities of water in order to maintain their bodily fluids at safe levels. However in cold conditions much more modest amounts may be needed.
Last year, whilst on a long trek in warm weather, my 1.50 litre supply, which had proven to be adequate previously, was quickly exhausted. Reluctantly I accepted at least another litre from one of our party. Thank you Susan!
Our individual needs for water vary widely so each of us could benefit from making personal assessments at the start of each day by evaluating the current temperature, the weather forecast, the length of the proposed trek, the amount of uphill work involved and the load on your back. In future I propose to carry two litres as a minimum volume but three litres where a long hot day lies ahead. That is a considerable weight to carry but at least it reduces as the day wears on.
My usual practice is to carry water in small containers. This helps me keep tabs on how much I have consumed. Also carrying a number of small full containers largely eliminates the weight transfer caused by water sloshing about in a single larger container. I usually add a small amount of cordial to lift the taste. I have no expertise in regard to "sports-drinks" and their claimed benefits. Can others enlighten us?
Whether it is worthwhile to use insulated containers in order to keep water cool or hot depends on individual choice. I find luke-warm water not as thirst-quenching as cold water.
One trick learnt by troops operating in the Middle East during WW1 was to deny themselves access to their water-bottles until noon. Those who started earlier found that their supply was exhausted long before the end of the day and they suffered accordingly.
Lack of water can bring on cramp and convulsions. Under some conditions these might involve danger to health and certainly constitute an added risk for the party. Drinking from our mountain streams is not recommended but in an emergency that is a risk one might have to take. If one can spare the time to brew up that could solve the problem.
Those who watched the Agassi/Rafter singles semi-final were amazed to see the amount of sweat falling off Pat Rafter. Even more amazing to me was the authoritative statement made by sports medical specialists that, in such conditions, one cannot drink at a faster enough rate to replace the liquid lost as sweat. Such conditions could apply in cross-country skiing so there is medical support for the practice of maintaining a slow but steady pace, rather than "rushing the fences."
Years ago I went on a climbing trip with a fellow who was convinced that cocoa was the drink of choice. So we made a lengthy stop, melted some snow, and made a cocoa drink. Let me assure you that cocoa might be energy building but thirst-quenching it is not!
On the matter of sports drinks it has been found by studies that the glycogen (the source of energy for endurance sports) is exhausted from the liver after 30 minutes of hard exercise. So fluid or food replacement must commence then (fluid is the most quickly absorbed). From Danish studies of bicyclists, it was found that performance improved by 18.5% if they were given water every 15 minutes over a 2 hour period compared to if they were given nothing and 42.5% if they drank a sports drink which replaced glycogen. -eds
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