Ice Baths: A Chill Way to Enhance Your Skiing Recovery

• Lead Image Photo Credit: Seth Lowe

Picture this, you and your friends are hanging in the hot tub apres ski. While you’re soaking your sore muscles, sharing a few beers and laughter, your spirits (pun intended) grow bolder. Suddenly you decide to go full send from the top of the hot tub into the snow in just your swim suit. You squeal with delight as you roll around in the powder, snow melting on your hot skin. Sound familiar? Odds are it does. As it turns out your après ski hot tub shenanigans might have been the elixir you needed to help your muscles recover and get back on the mountain the next day. Welcome to the world of ice baths.

As winter approaches, ski and snowboard enthusiasts eagerly anticipate hitting the slopes for an adrenaline-fueled adventure. Skiing and riding not only offer an exhilarating experience but also provide a full-body workout. However, the physical demands of skiing can take a toll on your muscles and joints. To optimize your recovery and enhance your performance, consider incorporating ice baths, particularly the use of the Ice Barrel, into your post-skiing routine.

The Power of Ice Baths

Ice baths, also known as cold water immersion therapy, are not new. Athletes have been using them for centuries as a method of recovery. The principle is rather simple. Ice baths rely on the application of cold therapy to reduce inflammation and promote muscle recovery. When exposed to cold temperatures, blood vessels constrict. This helps to flush out waste products, reduce swelling and decrease muscle soreness.

Benefits of Ice Baths for Skiers

1. Reduces Inflammation: Skiing and snowboarding can be strenuous and result in muscle and joint soreness. Ice baths help to reduce inflammation by decreasing blood flow to the sore areas. This ultimately reduces swelling and alleviates pain.
2. Speeds Up Recovery: Whether you are hardcore and really getting after it or just a weekend warrior, skiing and snowboarding can cause microscopic muscle damage. Ice baths help repair these micro-tears by stimulating blood circulation and delivering oxygen and nutrients to the muscles. In the end this promotes faster recovery for your body.
3. Relieves Muscle Soreness: Skiing and snowboarding involve repetitive movements, especially in the lower body. Constant use of the same muscles over and over can lead to excessive soreness. Ice baths offer immediate relief from muscle soreness and stiffness by numbing nerve endings and aiding in recovery.
4. Enhances Performance: If you are looking to improve your overall performance on the slopes incorporate regular ice bath sessions. Reduced muscle fatigue and optimal recovery, helps you maintain peak performance throughout your ski trip.
5. Keeps You Warm: Yes, you read that right. Regular ice baths can actually keep you warmer in colder temperatures (and colder in hot temperatures too). Using the ice bath converts white fat which is stored to brown fat which is used for fuel. When brown fat is activated, your body can better regulate your internal temperature thereby keeping you warmer in those cold winter conditions.
6. Mental Fortitude: Obviously, the weather in the mountains can be quite cold. Regular ice baths can build your mental toughness while conditioning you to these colder temperatures. The more ice baths you take, the more your body and mind will become accustomed to the colder temperatures thereby allowing you to prolong your ski day.

The Ice Barrel Advantage

If you have ever been around a training facility you’ve probably seen huge tubs of ice and water just waiting for athletes to get into. While these may work just fine, they are far from efficient. The Ice Barrel offers a far more optimized and convenient option. The Ice Barrel does not take up too much space, is (moderately) portable and very user-friendly. The design, particularly the 300 model, (which I demoed for this story) allows for a comfortable and immersive experience. Ultimately, this ensures maximum contact between your body and the cold water.

Some of the key features of the Ice Barrel include:

1. Optimal Temperature Control: The insulated Ice Barrel 300 maintains a consistent temperature range. After the initial cooling down period with bags of ice, the tub typically maintains temperatures between 40°F to 50°F (4°C to 10°C). This is ideal for cold therapy.
2. Quick Recovery: The Ice Barrel is not necessarily small but it is compact. This is by design and enables faster cooling of the water. By limiting the time required to reach the desired temperature your recovery process is accelerated.
3. Versatility: The Ice Barrel is suitable for ski trips with friends and family. It is ‘moderately’ portable and allows you to take it wherever your skiing adventures may lead. However, if you have your own vacation house, it is probably best to just leave it there.
4. Easy Maintenance: The Ice Barrel is easy to maintain with Ice Barrel’s maintenance kit. Drain the water first. Then, using their cleaning solution and brush, scrub the interior of the tub down thoroughly and rinse it out. Once clean you can refill it and use their silicone ice blocks to get the barrel back down to temp.

Prioritize Your Recovery With Ice Baths

As skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts, it’s important to prioritize our recovery. Doing so will ensure we can continue enjoying the slopes to the fullest. By incorporating ice baths, such as the Ice Barrel, into your post-mountain routine you can significantly enhance your recovery process. They reduce inflammation, speed up recovery and relieve muscle soreness. This will ultimately enhance your performance while offering a refreshing and effective way to keep your skiing adventures on track. Turns out our après ski rolling around in the snow antics of our youth was actually the key to recovery just in a more simplistic way.

Rich Stoner is the founder of the après-ski lifestyle clothing and media brand, All About Après. He is also the co-host of the Beyond the Après podcast. No stranger to the ski and après-ski scene, Rich has been a long time contributor for many publications on topics like skiing, gear, beer and food. However, his passion is on the slopes and enjoying good times with good people. You can find him perfecting his craft carving turns and drinking beers in the Green Mountains of Vermont.  @allaboutapres