Denver's altitude - 5280 feet - is not that high. There are quite a few locations in the Rocky Mountains that are as high, or higher than Denver. The "mile high" moniker is a marketing gimmick. [The Con mine, a copper mine in Butte, MT has a sign that reads "A Mile Up, A Mile Down" reflecting that Butte is a "mile high" and the Con mine is a mile deep. Miners who worked there didn't need to acclimate to daily changes in altitude - up or down.] The effects of going there from sea level are not noticeable in healthy individuals.

It is well established that "altitude sickness" - i.e.; pulmonary or cerebral edema - do not set in until one reaches altitudes in excess of 14,000 feet without acclimation.

I find it very hard to believe that anyone, even a drunk that resides at sea level, would be effected by Denver's altitude. I live in a place higher than Denver and people that come here from sea level have no problem with the altitude. Personally, I regularly go to altitudes of 6,000-10,000 feet without problems.

This is a product of people's over active imaginations...

Echoing those comments, claiming any sort of altitude sickness in Denver is a joke. if you think Denver is something, try flying directly into La Paz, Bolivia. There your multi-day headache will let you know what real altitude sickness is, and you'll be stuffing coca leaves by the dozen into your mouth.

People get altitude sickness below 14,000 ft. I see it all the time where I live. The issue is not the altitude, its the person's ability to acclimate to the altitude that is of importance, often manifesting worse in people who climb too fast, although dehydration and fatigue may confuse the symptoms greatly.

I myself get altitude sickness at low altitudes, perhaps exacerbated by my chronic hypertension - but who can say?

But aside from that, the article is absurd, Denver is as you say only at 5200 or so and the notion that booze would get you drunk faster is even more absurd.

I had honestly never heard of altitude sickness, so when I went from the Mohave Desert to Denver, all I was thinking of was being reunited with my best friends for a gals' weekend.

Maybe it was a coincidence of course, but I was definitely feeling strangely sick when I got there. Like bubbles were going to my brain, I was dizzy and could barely eat because the nausea was so overwhelming. It felt like motion sickness that would not end. My friend said she had the same thing happen when she first moved there, and the neighbor also chalked it up to altitude sickness and told me to drink a ton of water. I was pretty irritated that no one had bothered to mention this to me!!

It could absolutely have been a coincidence. Maybe I just got sick right before I got there, as did my friend before she got there. But I can tell you I was definitely one of the ones who felt too sick to drink. (I gave the bottle of wine I brought to the helpful neighbor!)