Welcome to Telluride! Get high-altitude smart. Even an in-shape low-lander can feel the difference while in the high country. Telluride and Mountain Village reside at 8,750 and 9,545 feet above sea level respectively. The best way to prepare for a high altitude trip and stave off the headaches, nausea or lethargy that can accompany Acute Mountain Sickness (altitude sickness), is to up the ante of your exercise program. If higher elevations are not readily available, get on a stair machine and pound out some steep ascents. The best advice an accomplished high country athlete can give you is be prepared for all aspects of your mountain adventures. Know that for every 1,000 feet of elevation gained, the temperature drops 12 to 14 degrees. Also, expect the unexpected. Always bring along a hat, sunscreen, goggles, gloves, plenty of water and a water-resistant shell when in the high country. If you're going into the backcountry, please be aware and respectful of wildlife and avalanche danger, travel with a partner and always let someone know where you are going. To avoid altitude sickness: drink lots of water; avoid alcohol, smoking, caffeine and overdoing it. Ibuprofen seems to relax fatigue and headaches, but if feeling ill, call the Telluride Medical Center at (970) 728-3848.

LOGISTICS

Telluride has a rough and rugged history foreshadowed by the nomadic Ute Indians. Naturally rich in silver, zinc, copper and gold, Telluride became one of the West's foremost ore producing towns in the late 1800s. Other notables are: Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank in Telluride; L.L. Nunn created the first alternating current plant in the mountains above Telluride; and in 1961, Telluride was awarded status as a National Historic Landmark.