Posted on 12/10/2008 12:06:19 AM PST by fightinJAG
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2008 (Reuters) — A brain swelling condition related to low oxygen levels in the air may have caused many of the deaths of people climbing Mount Everest, researchers said on Tuesday.
A brain swelling condition related to low oxygen levels in the air may have caused many of the deaths of people climbing Mount Everest, researchers said on Tuesday. An international team led by Paul Firth of Massachusetts General Hospital studied the 212 reported deaths from 1921 to 2006 on Mount Everest, the highest on Earth.
Hazards awaiting those who dare to climb the 29,000-foot (8,850 meter) Himalayan mountain include extreme cold, whipping winds, changing weather, treacherous climbs and avalanches. Oxygen content in the air is only a third of that at sea level.
"Nobody was attacked by any Yeti or anything else," Firth said, referring to the "abominable snowman" of legend.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsdaily.com ...
I wonder if they’ve ever done a study on the lifespan effects of a Mt. Everest climb.
Low oxygen, extreme cold, and extreme physical stress would most likely do irreparable damage to the heart and lungs, as well as the brain; possibly shortening the life of the person that “survived” the climb.
Then again, I can see the point in such an act in any case.
But the view is pretty, right ?
Sir Edmund Hillary lived to nearly 90, FWIW.
Don’t most potential climbers get physicals first? Considering that a number are wealthy, why not choose to do a full head to toe check including MRI and CTSCAN before and after. That could provide good information for comparisons. I wonder if any place in Pakistan has an excellent Radiology department to do these tests? Thus getting the best results as close as possible to getting off the mountain.
So they say.....
But I’m not willing to risk death for the view, when there are many lovely views to be had w/o such a risk.
I don’t remember where this comes from but i remember reading that 1 in 6 people climbin Everest die in the attempt.
Don’t give a d@mn for those odds!
I would suspect that any rational peoson would be certain of good health before attempting such a climb. Heck, even getting to Everest in the first place is no pleasure cruise.
However, I’ll bet that a goodly percentage of people making the attempt don’t get past one of the lower-altitude base camps before deciding they don’t have the physical stamina to attempt the summit.
Thank god I didn’t climb Everest.
When I was young and dumb I set my mind to climbing Everest right after graduating High School to prove my undying love for some girl in my class.
That plan flew out of the window when I went to college and discovered that there were hotter girls out there who were easily impressed with a bottle of Jack and loud music.
Edmund Hillary lived to 88... I'm thinking that the fitness requirements to climb to altitude are more than able to compensate for the stresses of the climb.
I was thinking that maybe pre-climbing with treatment of diamox or dexamethasone may be the way to go and study those that took it versus those that didn't.
Anecdotal evidence re: E. Hillary
I’d really like to see the data of death age vs. life expectancy for the exact demographic represented by each successful summiter, as well as the cause of death.
That might tell a clearer story.
I also read that a group of climbers reached the summit only to find that another group was already there, and that their first act on attaining the peak was to urinate.
Kind of removes some of the spirituality, eh?
Among the things it's cluttered with are frozen corpses of climbers. I think one of the victims of the disaster described in the book Into Thin Air is still sitting right by the trail in freeze-dried condition.
Here’s a guy who had a 50% success rate:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0927_020927_siffredi.html
I’ve seen cattle which were pastured at about 8000’ elevation dying of pulmonary edema, which is what kills many climbers (or used to). The only cure is to get the animal down to a lower elevation where there is more oxygen. I once heard one of the early Everest climbers say that above 20K feet, the human body inevitably starts to deteriorate. I would guess that the highest permanent human habitation on earth is roughly 1/3 the elevation of Everest.
Bet it smells great, too.
And the sherpa guides have multiple climbs under their belt.
That seems unlikely given the extreme temperatures on the summit.
Actually, there are some South American Indian tribes that live at 18,000 feet (2/3) and the capital of Bolivia (La Paz) is over 12,000 feet in elevation. The Indians in question are short and have very large lungs :)
I grew up at about 9000 feet in Utah, - I guess that explains it!
Check out the altitude of the copper mines in South America.
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