Q: I am going on my honeymoon on September 28-October 6. What precautions can I take. Denver residents please!!!!
A: Hello. I moved to Denver several years ago and can attest to the fact that the slightly thinner air does affect you to a degree at first. But the truth is it effects you along the lines of I felt like I should have been finished with a 2.5 mi. run as far as fatigue when I had only gone about 1.5 mi. The altitude in the city is just not that severe. Unless you have many aerobic activities planned (and since it's your honeymoon I imagine you do ;-) you are unlikely to have any ill effects here in Denver. If you are here in the city for a day or two that will go quite aways as far as allowing your body to acclimate a bit to even higher altitudes. In my own personal opinion and experience most folks in reasonable shape and relatively young age (under 50) have no trouble at all up to around 8000 feet of elevation. However, you don't have to be very far west of Denver to reach that elevation and if you had any of our famous "14ers" on your agenda (mountains over 14000 ft elevation) you should be very cautious. I personally have had a relatively "fit" flatlander friend go down with HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema.... which is quite dangerous) at around 12,000... she got an ambulance ride down to Denver where the air is dense enough for most people to function with no problems. She had no permanent ill effect but it was very frightening, not least for her. Drink lots of water (our climate and air are dry so you lose water without feeling sweaty) because dehydration makes the effects of altitude much more evident and aspirin does help if you get an "altitude headache" because not only is it a pain reliever but it also thins your blood slightly. Hope this helps... and congratulations in advance.