When you moved to Denver, did you 'notice' the elevation difference? Did it take time to adjust? (congested, humid)

[TCHP]

or a mine

[Ruby Hill]

I don't recall any shortness of breath, light-headedness, or nose bleeds from the altitude, either when we moved here from Illinois when I was 15 or when I moved back here in my late 30s after living in Seattle a few years.

But the dry air is definitely noticeable! Moisturizers, lip balm, hair conditioners, & humidifiers are your friends when you live in CO. Also, every night I use a cotton swab to dab a little bit of coconut oil inside my nose to keep my nostrils from drying out.

[Indigo Cardinal]

I actually didn't have any adjustment problems when I moved here--if anything, things seemed to work out for the better for me physically.

The drier air here seems to have been better for my hair and skin--prior to Denver, my hair was incredibly frizzy (it still is a bit, just not as bad as it used to be), and my skin (prone to acne breakouts) started to clear up.

The knuckles of my hands will get dry and cracked in the winter, but that's the worst of it for me. (The rest of my hands are oddly okay.)

[iSudo]

Originally Posted by Indigo Cardinal

I actually didn't have any adjustment problems when I moved here--if anything, things seemed to work out for the better for me physically.

The drier air here seems to have been better for my hair and skin--prior to Denver, my hair was incredibly frizzy (it still is a bit, just not as bad as it used to be), and my skin (prone to acne breakouts) started to clear up.

The knuckles of my hands will get dry and cracked in the winter, but that's the worst of it for me. (The rest of my hands are oddly okay.)

I'm sure you've found a solution by this point, but this moisturizer is top notch. Put it on my hands every night before I go to bed, and it's like a fresh layer of skin each morning.

[Norrov]

I’ve always lived between 4800 and 6500 feet.

I didn’t really notice anything different living in CA, and I didn’t notice anything moving back to CO after 2 years at sea level, and I moved back to Frisco before getting settled in Denver.

Affects everyone differently. My old man says he feels funny above 8000 feet.

Edit: I do notice more nosebleeds in Denver from the drier climate, definitely didn’t get that problem as much in CA

[NinjaHitsAWall]

I moved here from the NYC area mid-2018. Overall, no I did not. I only notice it going into the mountains (like 9k+), I get winded more quickly. It might be because my endurance is subpar anyway (my HR shoots up pretty fast), but when I first worked out here, I didn't feel more winded than normal.

This is also strange but I seem to experience less ear clogging in CO from altitude changes? Last winter, I was driving through NY with my family (NYC to Niagara Falls), and my ears were popping constantly. There is maybe a 2k altitude change at most somewhere in that trip (goes up and then back down). It was bugging me more than it does when I drive say, from Denver to Copper.

Originally Posted by Westerner92

One thing you might not expect to change is cooking and baking. You have to boil things for longer. General rule of thumb is that the more air is an ingredient in a confection, the less baking soda, higher temperature, shorter cook time you need.

This is hit or miss IME. I tend not to adjust recipes unless they explicitly say to (some instructions also do not consider you to be high enough altitude to adjust until like 7-8k anyway). I know professional chefs and bakers in the area will say it makes a huge difference. But maybe for the everyday person it isn't as noticeable at Denver's altitude. For cooking at home, the only time I've ever noticed a difference to the point I was having a hard time was trying to cook rice on the stovetop with a friend in Breckenridge

One of my roommates has a pressure cooker and weirdly can't get rice to come out right in that!

Originally Posted by Indigo Cardinal

I actually didn't have any adjustment problems when I moved here--if anything, things seemed to work out for the better for me physically.

The drier air here seems to have been better for my hair and skin--prior to Denver, my hair was incredibly frizzy (it still is a bit, just not as bad as it used to be), and my skin (prone to acne breakouts) started to clear up.

The knuckles of my hands will get dry and cracked in the winter, but that's the worst of it for me. (The rest of my hands are oddly okay.)

A lot of this happened to me too, I had more skin issues before I moved. I also got nosebleeds every winter and they aren't as frequent now, seems backwards but I think that's more to do with indoor heating (I moved from NY and the heat was overkill for most of winter). I often woke up in the middle of the night bleeding on my bedsheets, so that was fun...

That has happened so far once this year, but in September when it was still pretty warm out () and once last winter.

Had issues with adult acne & backne and most of that has cleared. With the exception of a few months ago when I put cheap sunscreen all over my face lol, don't do that.

I've always been eczema-prone and had weird skin issues pop up (like itchy bloody spots on my shins this spring and summer, more itchy spots on my torso for several months which seems to have been an allergic reaction to deodorant?, and this weird condition several months before I moved here... so that kind of thing isn't necessarily gone, but seems like symptoms have changed a bit and are milder.

Interestingly, I have heard that people who live at higher altitudes produce more hemoglobin (here is a paper on that). I would guess it's some sort of feedback mechanism that compensates for thinner air.

[pikabike]

Ear clogging happens regardless of the specific base elevations involved. I’ve gotten it just as badly in CO as in low elevations.

It probably has more to do with amount of mucus in the sinuses than anything else.

[NinjaHitsAWall]

Originally Posted by pikabike

Ear clogging happens regardless of the specific base elevations involved. I’ve gotten it just as badly in CO as in low elevations.

It probably has more to do with amount of mucus in the sinuses than anything else.

Maybe it was worse for me at lower elevation b/c of humidity, then?

Even during my flight out of Denver a few days prior, I didn't have as much ear clogging as I did during the drive.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by NinjaHitsAWall

Maybe it was worse for me at lower elevation b/c of humidity, then?

Even during my flight out of Denver a few days prior, I didn't have as much ear clogging as I did during the drive.

Likely. Humid air can be a bit moldy or mildewy, both of which cause me to become congested.

[Badger09]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Not a local or native here, but its something that pondered my mind after passing through Denver for my first time. I was coming from Atlanta and heading to Seattle and I remember that the sky looked pretty.. ..I dunno, I don't want to say close, but just not as big. Otherwise I felt pretty much no difference but my gas mileage did drop considerably while passing through Denver and my 200 HP car at the time (older car) felt a bit sluggish on the freeway.

How was it with you? Did you notice any differences?

I lived in Denver for a bit a few decades ago. I was heavily into cycling before going there and young. It took me two weeks to feel good enough to ride. Nosebleeds will happen. I had one on a ride that was so bad that I looked like I’d been in a crash. Stairs will gas you from time to time even in the best shape. Don’t know how football players do it with a quick turnaround. Best home field advantage in the NFL.