I’m going to Denver next month, and it just occurs to me that I haven’t been to altitude since I moved to sea level. In fact, the last time I went to Denver–and considerably higher, up Mary Jane peak in Winter Park to 13,000 feet–I lived in a ski area in Vermont. I just checked; I was living at 2,500 feet then. (Now I’m at 4 feet asl.) On the plus side, I went cross-country skiing and didn’t feel any altitude-related issues. But I guess I can’t count on being exempt. Without even thinking about it, I have the trip set up the right way; two days in Denver, and then two days each in Vail (elev. 8,200 feet) and Aspen (elevation 7,930 feet). The powers-that-be, altitude-wise, recommend that intermediate stop in Denver for acclimation before heading into the higher mountains. So that’s good. Several Web sites recommend getting a prescription for something called Diamox to help red blood cells acclimate faster–oops, except if you’re allergic to sulfa, which I am. I see some recommendations for gingko biloba and CoQ10, so those won’t hurt; I’ll try ’em. And then there are the reminders, which I had forgotten, about drinking a LOT of water to fend off dehydration-related symptoms from the dry air–that’s probably a good one, since I’m coming from hot and humid Florida. Also not drinking, and eating light; oh darn. It occurs to me that I was probably fitter the last time I headed for the Rockies; I was running an inn and chasing around a four-year-old. I don’t get out of breath easily with exertion, but neither do I work out much, so I’ve got a month to improve those odds. This month, I was motivated to start getting in better shape by the visit of an old friend I hadn’t seen in 20 years. Now I’ve got my mountain motivation to keep me going. I’ll keep you posted on how handling the altitude change works out. Any and all suggestions gratefully accepted! –Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer