Tips for Ajusting to Altitude
 

My husband and I will be staying in Grand Lake, Colorado, for five days in early August. We plan to spend much of the trip exploring Rocky Mountain National Park via drives and short (half-day) hikes.

I'm curious about what to expect in adjusting to altitude. I know that we should plan to drink more water than usual to combat dehydration and renew the sunscreen often, since UV rays will be stronger there. Also, I plan to bring lots of Advil, since headaches are a common problem with altitude, as I understand it. And of course, we'll have to take shorter, easier, or slower hikes than we would at home.

How long should we expect that it will take us to adjust? We currently live in northern Virginia and my husband grew up at about 4 feet above sea level. We've never lived anywhere higher than 600 feet and have very little experience with altitude. We're in our late 30s and moderately overweight, though outdoorsy.

Should we avoid going high in the park---such as over Trail Ridge Road (or whatever the name is)---until we've been there for a day or two? What other preparations would be sensible?

We'll be arriving in Denver at midday (from Virginia via Houston) and driving straight to Grand Lake, so we won't be doing much adjusting on the way.

Thanks for any and all advice you can give.

Hi Chris,
Yes, you should drink lots of water and use sunscreen more often. It should only take a day or 2 to adjust. The first day, just walk slowly, relax, don't do much, eat lightly. By the second day, do more and see how you feel, your body will tell you if it is too much. Go easy on aspirin related products. Enjoy, it will be fine.

Altitude sickness is a very personal and variable thing; the same altitude change can affect one person one day but leave another person unaffected, and then the next day the symptoms are completely reversed at the same altitude.

Since you'll be going from Houston to Denver to Grand Lake, you'll no doubt experience some symptoms. The only question is how severe they will be. The only advice I can give is what you have already know: drink extra fluids (absolutely NO alcohol), take pain relievers for headache, spend one day to acclimate, and DON'T RUSH THINGS! You may be able to drive on Trail Ridge the first day, but maybe you won't. Just be prepared to admit you're more susceptible than you would prefer. It's not a moral failure to experience altitude sickness; it IS one to keep driving full blast when you're not 100% alert.

I find that going from the SF Bay Area to Denver, I experience altitude sickness for the first day, but by the time I wake up the next morning, I am fine. Water, advil, taking it easy, no alcohol, and orange juice are what I use to make it easier. I don't know if the OJ actually helps, but it can't hurt - LOL.

I feel it at Tahoe. The main "prescription" is: take it easy. Drink - juices, water, herbal tea. Try to avoid caffeine (don't take Excedrin for headache,contains caffeine!) If the weather is hot - stay away from the sun at least for a day.

The only additional thing that I can say about altitude sickness is that
a) keep in mind that grumpiness is one of the subtler symptoms, so just keep an eye out for little spats that escalate.
b) eat lightly for the first day or so. One thing that can happen is that if you eat a heavy meal and all the blood rushes to your belly to digest it, you can get quite lightheaded as a result.

Lived in Denver for 10 years and now when travelling noticed that all of the aforementioned symptoms-and additionally-goes along with grumpiness-very sleepy-lots of napping the 1st-2nd days. We are hikers and had to tone it down on the 1st couple of hikes. Your body will help tell you what to do-Have Fun!

It is important KEEP drinking water.

We drove from Boulder to Breckenridge via RMNP and drank lots of water.

When we go to Breck we were less vigilant about drinking water and my wife got mild altitude sickness.

It is beautiful country..much prettier than the DC area you are from(We are from MD).

Another note - the humidity in Denver and the surrounding areas is really low so make sure you use a lot of lotion. By the second day there my hands were cracking. A friend recommended Vaseline Creamy lotion which worked great.

CHRIS, one more thing -- the tips on drinking water are right on, but it is useless in preventing altitude sickness unless you are well hydrated several days BEFORE you go to altitude. You can't simply get there, drink lots of water, and expect everything to be okay. 11 glasses of water per day for 2 days before you get here (remember, flying and drinking beverages which have caffiene or alcohol will require you to drink even more) and moderate exertion for the first day or so will go a long way toward lessening the effects. Also, bring with you a wide brimmed hat (sunscreen is fine, but remember that having the sun off your head to begin with is equally important), and if you are on a particularly long, strenuous hike you should consider a product like GU, which is essentially a gooey powerbar... which will get absorbed right away. Remember while you're here to really take it easy on the booze as well.

Wow, BayArea, you are SO right about the food thing. Every time I go to Denver on business (pretty often), I feel fine until we go out to dinner that first night. Then I feel like I'm going to faint. I always thought it had to do with alcohol - though it seemed strange to feel so dizzy after 1/4 of a beer - I had no idea it had to do with eating a heavy meal! Thanks for the tip. By the way, I'm always fine by the next morning.

I think the booze hits you harder at high altitudes and you don't need as much to get a buzz. At least I don't.