We had a few days in Pheriche to acclimatize to a higher
altitude and to allow for the staggering of people up to the Pyramid. We stayed
at Nowang’s family’s Teahouse. We enjoyed wonderful hospitality and great food
(I still can’t get behind dal bot- rice and lentils), but the higher we’ve
gotten the more ‘difficult’ the accommodations have been. Colder rooms,
stranger toilets, yak dung fires rather than wood and of course, all the
symptoms of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). At these altitudes it really hasn’t
been that bad other than increased rate of breathing (I’m still planning to do
the physiology post) and maybe some difficulties sleeping.
I was “lucky” enough to be in group 2. This meant that I
didn’t have to rush up to the Pyramid to set up the labs! So, I stayed an extra
day in Pheriche. We watched a movie, did some reading and I worked on my annual
report for work (hopefully it came out ok- if not, I blame AMS!). We had very
limited internet access, hence the lack of posts. I decided I’d take the rest
rather than go on an adventure with some of the others, as they decided to head
off for a hike near Pheriche. Following the extra day Group 2 started the trek
up to the lab. My partners were: Gord Binsted (Dean of Health & Social
Development at UBC), “Echo” Mike Stembridge, Dr. Dave McLeod, Katie Burgess
(sleep tech), Kate Sprecher (sleep tech) & Akke Bakker (medical technology
student from Holland). We tackled the first bit with ease (it was flat) and
then made a steady climb up to Dhugla. I have to say it was rough- about 400 m
elevation in a short distance. We then had some tea in Dhugla. Now, tea in
Nepal consists of black tea (what you’d expect), orange tea (think warm Tang)
and lemon tea (think Neo Citron). We chose lemon tea. Following tea we tackled
another very difficult hill (harder than the first) of another 400 m in an even
shorter distance. A break at the top of the hill at the Everest memorials
(stone structures in honour of those who died on Everest). Then it was a
straight line to Lobuche where we met Nima to take us to our final destination.
Another 30 min and the Pyramid was in site!
I have to reiterate that I can’t for the life of me figure
out how I got here. Sure, I put my name on the whiteboard and it didn’t come
off, but when I think about it really hard I still have difficulty figuring out
why it stayed on. I don’t bring a ‘special’ skill like a lot of the members of
the expedition. I’m not a student in need of data. If anything I’m a generalist
whose area is neither brain blood flow nor altitude! But perhaps that’s what I
bring to the table. I’ve had a lot of experience in the lab doing a variety of
projects from ultrasound (a huge component of the projects), to respiratory
work (Neil Eves’ PhD projects), to exercise testing of every sort. I’ve trouble
shot (shooted?) a variety of issues and I don’t really lose my cool in the lab.
I’m sure there isn’t too much left for me to see in the lab, but I’m always
looking for these new opportunities. I was speaking to Gord last night about my
position at Okanagan College being essentially a full teaching load and here I
am half way around the World, 5000 m up doing research. At first we both found
it a little strange that I would put this much effort into something that
doesn’t really make up my job description. But after some reflection I think
it’s the opposite. The knowledge that I’m gaining on this expedition will serve
to improve my teaching immensely. I’m gaining new expertise and experiences
that I can pass on to my students, which I hope will spark them into wanting to
gain more knowledge. As Trevor Day often says “Science is cool”. And on this
trip there is no denying that. Hopefully I can pass some of that on. Okay,
enough with the self-reflection, but it has to be said again… Thanks Phil
Ainslie for keeping me on the roster as it would have been quite easy to ask me
to step aside for someone else. And thanks to Okanagan College for supporting
me in this crazy scheme of coming to Everest.
Back to the story… To reach the Pyramid you come up this
narrow valley into a wide-open space (it only takes a few minutes to get there
from the main trail). But the Pyramid sits in a calm, protected space with the
Lobuche Glacier on one end and Mt. Pumori (Pumo- daughter, Ri- hill- so is
Daughter of Everest) behind. The facilities are AMAZING… like a fine Italian
shoe or car. The rooms are spacious, with working lights and heaters (a big
deal after 9 days in teahouses). The dining hall is cozy (dinner was minestrone
soup, margarita pizza and this banana cooked in liquor for dessert). There are
flush toilets and showers (enough hot water that you can have on every 4 days).
Peter, our host, is so accommodating and wants us to succeed. He has been here
for multiple months every year for 23 years (since the Pyramid’s inception). He
is a mountain guide and an engineer, so has already been helping us work out
our power issues. The lab itself is excellent. It is in the shape of a Pyramid
(yes, surprising I know). With multiple floors and multiple lab spaces, so we
can have a number of studies going at once. Since I was in group 2 I’ve had
relatively little work to do with the set-up and was able to jump right in to testing
with Nia when we arrived (she will be contributing to the Experiments post in
the next day or two, so you’ll get an idea of what we’re working on). We are in
the top lab, so it was quite warm (we’ll see how cold it is in the morning).
A lot of the team have been feeling quite sick with symptoms
of AMS. I survived until about 4:00 without much trouble and then the headache
came on. It’s a good one, but not as bad as some. I hope tomorrow brings milder
symptoms. It really is difficult to be at 5000 m. Here comes some cool science
stuff or as I often say to my students “I’m about to science geek out”. At this
altitude the barometric pressure is nearly half that of sea level, but no
matter where you go on Earth the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere is
20.93 %. Let’s do a little math as physiology is all about math no matter how
hard we try to avoid it:
Sea Level: Barometric Pressure 760 mmHg x 0.2093 = 160 mmHg
(or so)
Pyramid: Barometric Pressure 380 mmHg x 0.2093 = 80 mmHg (or
so)
Now, it’s late and I can’t quite remember the barometric
pressure at 5000 m, but I think you can get the picture.
Remember, oxygen travels from high pressure to low pressure
and if we come to altitude we essentially cut that high pressure in half! This
doesn’t bode to well for getting oxygen into the lung and then into the blood
to get to the muscles. So, we compensate for this drop in “driving pressure” by
what’s called the hypoxic ventilator response (hypoxia means low oxygen or low
pressure of oxygen). I won’t do the math for this one, but there are ‘sensors’
in our neck (carotid bodies) that sense a decrease in oxygen and cause us to
ventilate (breathe) more. When we ventilate more this allows us to bring in
more oxygen to help combat the drop in driving pressure (allows us to get more
oxygen into our blood). Now it’s a bit more complicated than that, but I need
to make sure my mom understands!
So, think about having to breathe harder at rest just to get
enough oxygen into your blood to maintain resting function and then add walking
up steep stairs to the Pyramid, climbing the stairs and ladders in the Pyramid
and in a few days, doing maximal exercise tests. It’s going to be fun to say
the least!
The goal over the next few days with the blog is to update
it with some more details about the experiments and then to follow up with some
photos and thoughts about how things are going. It’s the start of a long 3
weeks and we’ll be at it from dawn until dusk, but I’ll do my best to keep up
with the blog.
Thanks to all who have been visiting and the comments link
is now active, so you can leave your thoughts.
Cheers
Very interesting Greg - we enjoy the updates
ReplyDeletethanks for the updates Greg
ReplyDeleteHI from Division 4 at Eagle Ridge Elementary School in Coquitlam, BC! We've been following you guys ever since you left Vancouver. We've been reading most of your blog posts, and learning about Kathmandu and Lukla and all the little villages you've mentioned on the trek. We even know about Greg's aches and pains and stomach problems. We've also been studying about climbing Mt. Everest. We have a big map of Everest on the wall in our classroom, and we've been climbing in groups to the summit! Your team inspired us to learn about Mt. Everest and about the lower oxygen levels at that elevation. Congratulations on getting to the Pyramid! Good luck with your experiments and keep up the blog posts - we'll keep reading.
ReplyDeleteHi Greg.
ReplyDeleteI am the proud father of Kate Sprecher and I am looking forward to hearing all about the trip when she gets back. It sure sounds great so far. As you say, "science is cool". Enjoy the trip, learn heaps and make many good memories.
Don George.
Hi Dad! I'm on the night shift now, wishing for more sleep and less science right now. But the sunrise on the mountain out the window makes it worthwhile. I'll test you on the science when I get home.
ReplyDelete