Altitude Question (Denver, Evans: live, activity, car)

[MattBowser]

I understand the air is a lot thinner in Denver but what can I really expect? I've lived my entire life in either Vermont (where it feels like a basement since its all granite) or Florida where it's muggy as hell.

Is it drastic? Easy to adjust to?

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by MattBowser

I understand the air is a lot thinner in Denver but what can I really expect? I've lived my entire life in either Vermont (where it feels like a basement since its all granite) or Florida where it's muggy as hell.

Is it drastic? Easy to adjust to?

DH and I had no difficulty at all adjusting to this altitude (5280) when we moved here from Champaign, IL, altitude ~600'. However, I still get short of breath (SOB as we say in nursing) when I go to 10,000' after 32 years here.

[alpha_1976]

Denver is no big deal IMO. I think going to 5-6K is not a problem. If you go higher say 9K and above you have to go slow.

[Prodigal Native]

Without bothering to look up the details, I seem to recall that after roughly a week your body will have adjusted to the altitude enough that you won't really notice it. You may be a little winded after climbing the stairs and if you time your 5 mile run I am sure it will suffer for another few weeks, but it really isn't any big deal after that first week or so.

If you really want to experience the thin air drive up Mt. Evans and take the 1/4 mile walk to get to the very top (100 some odd feet above the parking lot) - NOT recommended until you have been in Denver for a couple of weeks, but take a picnic lunch to enjoy at Echo Lake and you have one of my favorite day trips.

[WiW]

We moved from NJ - essentially sea level.

Except for climbing stairs, daily activity did not cause any issues. Stairs caused a bit more strain than in NJ. Bicycling was no issue since Denver is very flat. For me, running was the big one - it took a couple of months for to run the same speed & distance as I did in NJ.

[AceShopper]

I have gone back and forth between WI and CO and rarely noticed any effects due to altitude. Maybe I recall a minor headache one time, but that's about it. Not been up in the mountains, but I am sure you will notice it there.

Originally Posted by Prodigal Native

You may be a little winded after climbing the stairs and if you time your 5 mile run I am sure it will suffer for another few weeks, but it really isn't any big deal after that first week or so.

But after I climbed a flight of stairs here, I immediately noticed that I was breathing hard .. kinda felt like I was totally out of shape

[loveautumn]

do you think older people would have more difficulty (say 60+) adjusting? I've read it can be a problem, even with relatively healthy seniors.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Prodigal Native

Without bothering to look up the details, I seem to recall that after roughly a week your body will have adjusted to the altitude enough that you won't really notice it. You may be a little winded after climbing the stairs and if you time your 5 mile run I am sure it will suffer for another few weeks, but it really isn't any big deal after that first week or so.

If you really want to experience the thin air drive up Mt. Evans and take the 1/4 mile walk to get to the very top (100 some odd feet above the parking lot) - NOT recommended until you have been in Denver for a couple of weeks, but take a picnic lunch to enjoy at Echo Lake and you have one of my favorite day trips.

I think it's about 3 weeks to develop more red blood cells, again w/o looking it up. Altitude sickness doesn't usually kick in until around 8000 ft, IIRC.

[JrzDefector]

I know I got much drunker much quicker for the first few weeks I was here

[ChrisFromChicago]

You know, its hard to say. I arrived by Car on Thursday. Saturday into Monday I had a monster headache that I was just now recovering from. Who knows, but Alltitude could have factored in.

From what I read, I screwed up by not staying hydrated. So do that.