luv2sail Posted July 5, 2021 Report Share Posted July 5, 2021 We have an Alaskan cruise booked for June 2022. I have lived in Houston for many years, but grew up in North Carolina. I have visited the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia many many times throughout my life. I have only been to the Rocky Mountains once. We stayed in Breck and I had a hard time breathing. This had never happened to me before. Is this a possible issue in Alaska? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisellama Posted July 5, 2021 Report Share Posted July 5, 2021 19 minutes ago, luv2sail said: We have an Alaskan cruise booked for June 2022. I have lived in Houston for many years, but grew up in North Carolina. I have visited the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia many many times throughout my life. I have only been to the Rocky Mountains once. We stayed in Breck and I had a hard time breathing. This had never happened to me before. Is this a possible issue in Alaska? Are you going to Denali? The national park is where you'll start seeing real elevation. If you're staying near the coast you shouldn't feel any altitude effects. Breckenridge is at 4500 or so. I don't recall the coastal areas to get to that elevation. Even the small town near the base of the mountainous part, Talkeetna is only a around 350-400 ft ASL. If you go to the mountains, the smaller ranges in the area are around 5K ft and of course Denali is around 20K, but you can only get to the basecamp via air if you're a climber or taking a base excursion. luv2sail 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditchdoc Posted July 5, 2021 Report Share Posted July 5, 2021 Generally not an issue. Sea level is sea level. Not much difference from one ocean to the next. Doing a land tour, say from Seaward to Denali, takes place over a few days a and your body has time to adapt. Unless take a helicopter tour to glacier/mountain top I don't think elevation will be an issue. I do remember, several years back, I had a layover in Denver after flying from near sea level. I climbed a couple flights of stairs could have sworn someone sucked all the air out the room. That was a sudden and pretty dramatic change that combined altitude with exercise. luv2sail 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted July 5, 2021 Report Share Posted July 5, 2021 Coastal Alaska isn't high enough to cause elevation sickness. Few visitors to Denali scale the mountain to the peak. The Eielson Visitor Center for example sits around 3,800' in elevation, well short of the peak's elevation. If you take the well know Skagway train or fly in a helicopter to Mendenhall Glacier you are still well below 3,000'. The city of Denver in Colorado sits around 5,280'. Most visitors to Alaska will never come close to that elevation. luv2sail 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2sail Posted July 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2021 Thank you for all of your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2sail Posted July 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2021 56 minutes ago, Ditchdoc said: I do remember, several years back, I had a layover in Denver after flying from near sea level. I climbed a couple flights of stairs could have sworn someone sucked all the air out the room. That was a sudden and pretty dramatic change that combined altitude with exercise. We drove from TX to CO, so I was OK in Denver. But I had the exact feeling you described once we reached Breck. Also on the strange for me was the weather. The temperature on the thermometer was cold by Houston standards, but it didn't actually feel cold at all. Thanks for easing my worries. Back to excursion planning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baked Alaska Posted July 5, 2021 Report Share Posted July 5, 2021 Isn't Anchorage, Seward, Skagway, Juneau, Icy Strait, etc at sea level? luv2sail 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.