Mountain altitudes
 

I have a history of coronary artery disease and wondering if the Alps would pose a problem. Last year when I was at 7000 ft. in the Dolomites I had some shortness of breath. Anyone have similar experiences in Murren, etc? Thanks.

Just returned from a tour to Switzerland and Austria. A lady on our tour said she was worried also--no problem on Mt. Pilatus, but all of us had a problem when walking a slight incline at 10,000 ft. at Gonergrat near the Matterhorn--just take it nice and slow and watch the ice at Gonergrat!

M&uuml;rren is lower than 7,000 feet, so hopefully you will be relatively symptom free if you visit there. I just looked at my topographic map and the elevation is given at 1,638 meters, or about 5,400 feet. That is about the altitude of the western part of Denver.<BR><BR>You might be interested in some of the elevations for other popular places in the area to help your planning.<BR><BR>The Jungfraujoch is much higher than Wengen or M&uuml;rren; it is listed at 3,454, or 11,330 feet.<BR>The Schilthorn is 2,970 meters or 9,743 feet.<BR>Wengen is 1275 meters, or about 4,200 feet. <BR>The First Gondola station is at 2,167 or 7,100 feet.<BR>The top of the M&auml;nnlichen Ridge is 2229 at the gondola station, or 7,300 feet. <BR>Lauterbrunnen is the lowest of the various bases in the area at 800 meters or 2625 feet. The M&auml;nnlichen towers about 4,500 feet above the valley.<BR><BR>

A tip for higher altitudes:<BR><BR>Avoid alcohol and drink a lot of water.<BR><BR>US

Sharing ideas here is fine, but the person you need to talk with most seriously is your cardio--tell him/her your itinerary, the altitudes, your planned activities, etc. If you haven't had a cardio checkup recently, you should have one before your trip. (crossing fingers that your health has improved!)

Thanks for the info you all.

Rocky - I just got back from Pontresina, which is at 1800 meters altitude, where I stayed 1 week and did lots of hiking around the 2400-2800m level. Can say that, while for some people they notice nothing, the first few days were more "difficult" adjusting to altitude - ascending on paths required more huffing 'n puffing, and sleeping was not as easy. However, after a few days, things were practically back to normal sea-level "conditions". So I'd suggest: if you can spend more than a few days, do so; anticipate some time for adjustment and don't do too much then; and take in long, deep breaths of the mountain air, because it's got it's own special powers!

TP