Boacrow - "At 6k, is there any oxygen loss to contend with? "
I moved from Scottsdale (~1000') to Colorado Springs(~6000'). Initially any type of exertion caused hard breathing. I could no longer jog for any distance. A doctor at the Olympic Training center advised me to monitor my red blood count. It took 6 months to stabilize. I then moved to Woodland Park (~9000'). Jogging every day at HP in Colorado Springs and once a week at Woodland Park, it took another 6 months for the red blood count to stabilize.
I was in shape. I hunted every year on Stewart Peak south of Gunnison. Camp was at 11,000' We hunted the same area for 17 years. One year I let myself get dehydrated on a hard climp. I got pulmonary adema (altitude sickness). We were able to treat it at camp and I was ok in a day.
Over the 17 years we saw altitude trigger a number of health problems for our camp. If you have any health issues, ask a doctor if altitude is a problem. In most cases it isn't - walk slow and work slow.
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Cliff Harrison
PonderosaSports.com
Horseshoe Bend, ID
American Redoubt
N43.9668 W116.1888