(Jerking this thread back from you hijackers... 
) Bob's post brought to mind a comparison with Colorado hikers and climbers. We don't hear nearly as much about issues with AMS in that state, because everyone lives at 5k or so. Even though people don't have AMS symptoms at 5k, I am sure there is a benefit. For a person living in Denver, or near Reno, they's have to hike to 19.5k in order to experience similar effects as we lowlanders do when climbing Whitney.
I know from personal experience, when in the past I had the opportunity to spend weekends at a cabin at 5k, that I'd feel unusually lethargic the first day there.
I think Bulldog34 (or someone else), mentioned recently that they were consulting with a Colorado AMS physician at some clinic, and this physician was surprised to hear about AMS problems climbing to 14k. Seems pretty clear to me that the 5k threshold for people in CO provides a completely different reference point.
...and I, too, am in awe of BobP's climbing numbers!
