gs, I am 28 and am in pretty good shape. I workout all year long and have kicked it up a notch to get in shape for the mountains. I went backpacking in Rocky Mountain National Park last summer and didn't have too many problems with the altitude, although I stayed in Colorado Springs for 2 days prior. When I got up to about 10,000 ft., I had a slight headache, but nothing life threatening. Hopefully I wont' have any problems like your friend from NE.

Redclub, thanks for the info. I wish we had two weeks, but unfortunately, we will leave for CO on a Saturday and return the following Sunday. I know that a lot of luck will be involved, so I will just plan on hunting hard and learning as much as I can as we go along. I have a lot of work to do before September. I have been trying to get my hands on any book that I can find to increase my knowledge on elk hunting. I will have to check out the Flat Tops area and see if there are any OTC units. That x on teh map would surely be appreciated.