Be it a high-end hotel or the family townhome in Frisco, more of Colorado’s high-country dwellings are being outfitted with a technology aimed at thwarting the state’s most regarded health hazard: elevation.
Home oxygenation systems take many forms, but essentially allow for guests to up the oxygen content beyond what nature allows in Colorado’s ski towns. Kyle Bassett, Chief Operating Officer for Altitude Control Technology, says interest in the systems has expanded well beyond customer curiosity in recent years.
“When we took over (five years ago), there were probably 50 projects in a year. Now there are probably 300 or 400,” Bassett said.
The mention of building ski chalets to be rich in oxygen instead of just real estate is a good way to elicit a scoff from many Coloradans, and Bassett has heard the skepticism before. He says it remains a luxury item, but that may change faster than Coloradans realize, in large part driven by older ski-town residents looking to stay in the high country a little longer.
Matt Formato, founder of Mile High Training, has seen the same shift in clientele. His company specializes in complete oxygen integration systems. They’ve done a six-bedroom house that featured two oxygen bars in Summit County. But, the interest is not just for tourists anymore as older ski-town residents have sought out his company, Formato says.
“We've found many, many families —folks who have lived at high altitudes for many years, for decades,” Formato said, pointing to research that shows blood oxygen levels decrease with age. “And so for those people who maybe felt okay at 55 by the time they hit 60 or 65, the altitude is starting to affect them to a greater degree. I would say that it's become a significant portion of the clientele.”
Both companies have installation projects, big and small, in high-elevation towns across the state as the "it" technology for alpine living prompts new innovation and even new thinking about fire codes.
Where’d this come from?
The interplay between athletic performance, oxygen and elevation has been in the atmosphere for decades and Bassett said that some of the idea is actually reverse-engineered from training practices for cyclists.
Competitive cyclists who live at lower elevations are at a disadvantage if they need to suddenly race in, say the French Alps. Bassett points to former British Olympic cyclist Shaun Wallace, who also ran a company called Hypoxico.
Wallace in fact spoke to the International Olympic Committee about specialty tents that endurance athletes could sleep in to simulate higher elevation environments. At the time, such modifications were seen as potentially unfair.
“And then there was a project in West Palm Beach for a guy who wanted to convert his whole bedroom for a performance enhancement room. And his neighbor had a house in Aspen and was like, I wonder if they could go the other way and lower the effect of altitude. And that was kind of how it was born,” Bassett said.
The emphasis on oxygenating a room or a house is primarily about recovery, Bassett said. When someone leaves their Avon apartment, they’re still at 7,400 feet. But, Bassett said they’re hopefully feeling a little better.
“The majority of our interest comes from people who can't sleep,” Bassett said. “I can't tell you how many people contact us between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Probably half of our inquiries are people that are up late at night in the mountains and can't sleep in the mountains.”
Formato, with Mile High Training, worked in sports sciences first and said the increased oxygen in a room does help the un-acclimated sleep and recover better.
“By increasing the oxygen in the room, we can in turn increase their body's blood oxygen, which dramatically reduces any symptoms of altitude sickness,” he said.
Wait, isn’t oxygen flammable?
A massive growth in at-home oxygen systems in Colorado’s densely packed ski towns is sure to prompt questions about fire risks but, given the way the systems work, it’s not to the degree that may be expected.
It is a newer issue for fire codes, and Bassett said industry representatives are working with fire officials on drafting rules around the systems. A spokesperson with Summit County Fire & EMS said the systems aren’t a major concern.
“Those oxygenation systems will raise the O2 content in a room on the order of only a percentage point or two — not enough to significantly raise the likelihood of a fire starting nor to noticeably affect fire behavior, especially because all of the excess oxygen would be consumed quickly by the fire,” Summit Fire said in an email.
Still, Bassett said they do have systems for decreasing risk, including avoiding installations in places where extra oxygen may be dripping near some flammable material like drapes.
Formato said it is true that added oxygen will speed up a fire to some degree. A candle burning in Long Beach will burn a little hotter than one in Leadville but, only slightly. Also, the oxygen systems won’t let you take your bedroom all the way from Leadville to Long Beach.
“The code more or less says you can't go all the way to sea level, but you can go to about a thousand feet or 1,500 feet above sea level,” Formato said. “So we increased the oxygen level from about 20% or 21% to anywhere from about 26 or 27%.”
An expensive proposition
Much like Colorado’s ski towns themselves, the systems aren’t for the budget-minded. Bassett’s team at Altitude Control Technology is doing the oxygenation for the new Four Seasons hotel project in Mountain Village. Developers on the Four Seasons effort put the total cost of the hotel at $1 billion.
Installation of systems in homes can run from $20,000 to well into the six-figure range, depending on the project, Bassett said.
Mile High Training does integrations in homes that functionally allow homeowners to adjust their oxygen levels wherever they are.
“We could have five or six rooms that are oxygenated, and we can also offer features such as an oxygen bar outlet where we can divert the air from our oxygen machines to other spaces within the home,” Formato said.
Still, Formato said the technology has utility beyond the boutique. He said they get many inquiries from high-country lifers who are trying to stave off having to move to Florida just because they can’t sleep at elevation anymore.
“I want to retire in the mountains. You don't see a lot of retirement homes in the mountains primarily because it's really difficult on the human body,” Bassett said. “And that's where we could help.”
