Posted for MattHapgood@carolina.rr.com:
Greyhawk-

THanks for the advice.  We'll probably do as you suggest.  I usually stay around 10k feet but crossing from the east into Aspen the MEA is 16,800 - so IFR required 18k for the most direct route (we went a less direct route at 16k).  I almost always wear o2 to keep from being a complete idiot.  Matt