Altitude: what to expect in the first week
Denver is a mile above sea level, and many popular mountain towns are far higher. The CDC’s Yellow Book divides altitude illness into three syndromes: acute mountain sickness (the common, mild one), high-altitude cerebral edema and high-altitude pulmonary edema (the dangerous ones). Mild symptoms include headache, fatigue, nausea and poor sleep.
- The CDC recommends avoiding alcohol and strenuous exercise for the first two days at a higher elevation, and ascending gradually when you can.
- Staying hydrated matters because dry air and extra breathing cost you fluid, but a physician quoted by Denver Health notes there is little evidence that drinking excessive water prevents altitude sickness.
- Severe confusion, trouble walking, breathlessness at rest or a wet cough call for emergency care. Call 911.
- Talk to your doctor before you move if you have heart or lung disease.
Sources: CDC Yellow Book, High-Altitude Travel and Altitude Illness; Denver Health, altitude sickness in Colorado.
For moving day itself: schedule the heavy lifting for day two or three, not the hour you step off the plane, and keep water and snacks within reach of the crew.
Hail: schedule around it
The Front Range sits in the part of the country known as hail alley. Local reporting and insurance-industry figures put the damaging season at roughly mid-April through mid-August, with severe storms most common from May through July. The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association is quoted as counting about 7 to 9 hail days a year along the Front Range.
Sources: 5280 magazine on Colorado hail; Denver7, hail season. These are news and industry figures, not National Weather Service climatology; for local data see the NWS Boulder office.
Heading into the mountains
From September 1 through May 31 the Colorado Department of Transportation runs its Traction Law automatically on I-70 between Dotsero and Morrison, and it can activate it on other highways. CDOT’s 2025 update calls for tires with at least 3/16-inch tread that are winter-rated, all-weather rated or mud-and-snow rated; vehicles that do not meet it must carry chains or an approved traction device. The fine is $50 plus a $17 surcharge. In severe storms CDOT can also activate the Passenger Vehicle Chain Law, and commercial vehicles have their own chain rules. For the current rules, read CDOT’s traction law notice and check COtrip before any pass crossing.
Dry air and sun
Expect static shocks, chapped lips and thirstier houseplants for the first month. Furniture with glued joints can loosen in very dry air, which is one more reason not to leave wooden pieces sitting in a hot truck.