Alaska and asthma planning
 

Hello all,
I am in the early stages of planning a trip to AK in 2008 with another couple. When we visited in 2006, we hit the Denali area in mid-August and it was very smokey from wildfires drifting down from Fairbanks. My DS stayed in her room and fortunately, the next day was clear. We have one person who is asthmatic and what date would you suggest visiting Denali? Late July? Also thinking about the Brooks Falls bear viewing, land of 10,000 smokes -- would that be a problem for the asthmatic as well? Thanks ...

I would recommend that you have them check with their doctor first.

I'm an MD, and I can tell you that asthma is triggered by different things in different people. For some, it is cold air. Others, pollutants. Others, stress or getting a cold. So there is no one good or bad time for an asthmatic to go somewhere. Depends on their specific asthma.

Your friend's case of asthma is unique.. the only way to get a good read on when to go is to reference her medical record, and then compare that to the different characteristics of Alaska seasons.

The other poster was right.. a better question for the MD whose care she is under.

The problem is you never know if it going to be smokey when you get there if you start planning now.
I have this same problem, I am planning a trip to Canadian Rockies and BC this July and I know in past years some of these areas had had major wildfires and smoke (I have asthma)so I am concerned but you can never tell what the weather will be like.
I have been to Denali in June before and had no problems but there were no fires in the area. Early June should be a good time to go.

In the summer of 06 when I was in Alaska, I developed a cough, which I noticed in Seward, Denali, and Valdez but not in Fairbanks. It wasn't a deep cough, just a "tickle." A Valdez native said that maybe I was allergic to "glacier dust." I thought she was teasing, but is there any truth to being allergic to glacier dust--whatever that is?