Pike's Peak

On Feb 29, 1:38 pm, Judy Heuman wrote:
We will be going to Pike's Peak this summer. Looking over the web
site, I'd like to know if anyone has been there, is it more
interesting to drive up to the summit or take the cog railway? Is it
a difficult drive? Is it hard to breath at the summit? (We're in
reasonably good health, but both of us are 65 years old.)

Thanks.

Judy

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Judy Heuman


It's been a long time since I went up, but I went by "limousine"
-- i.e. one that had several passengers -- and came down by the
cog RR.
Although I have driven many roads in the Rocky Mountains,
many times under extremely adverse conditions I still think
for the average person the way I did it is the best. Remember
the driver never really gets to take his eyes off the road and
enjoy the scenery.

Our cross country trip is over and we are home now. I'm writing in to
thank everyone who replied to my questions about Pike's Peak and give
my little report.

The road was fine except that there is an area under construction so
it's one lane just for a short time. We had NO trouble driving,
stopped at many of the look outs for photo opportunities.

Having gone up to about 11,500 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park a
few years ago, we were concerned about going up to 14,100 feet. RMN
Park was fine for us, but I must confess that 14,000 feet at the
summit of Pike's Peak was a little high. Indeed, my husband was
light-headed and did not get out of the car when we got to the summit.
I, being so determined, did get out of the car to take photos. I
found, to my surprise, I was light-headed too! I held on to the guard
rail to walk and leaned on the fence to take my photos. Back in the
car, we hightailed it DOWN! We were fine a few thousand feet below.
Still, it was an adventure I wouldn't have wanted to miss.

There were quite a few people at the summit - some others also seemed
light-headed, although I didn't notice anyone who was actually sick.

The scary thing is that we left around 12:30 pm and later that night
on the news, we heard a 17 year old fellow drove OFF the summit and it
took 7 hours to rescue him. When we left the area the next day, there
was no news on his condition. Does anyone know what happened to him?

For those who like shopping, I'm recommending Manitou Springs! Yes,
it was overpriced, but I got some really nice stuff I haven't seen
elsewhere. My favourite store was a music box store - what a
selection! All were pretty and charming! I bought one for my DIL.

Just to add to our adventure, we drove on Independence Pass through
the mountains - going east to west and on into Utah. It was a very
exciting drive -- perhaps, even nicer than going up Pike's Peak.

Judy
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On Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:06:59 -0000, (Mark Brader) wrote:

Really the only way to find out whether you can tolerate these altitudes
is to try it -- and be prepared to go back down if you have trouble.
Certainly you will tire more easily from small exertions than at low
elevations. Some people have headaches and other symptoms.
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Judy Heuman