In the spring of 2013 there was a well-publicized incident between Western climbers and Sherpas on the slopes of Mount Everest. Here are some links to the many new stories on this incident: Alan Arnette (and read the links inside) New Yorker piece Ed Douglas (with links) Rather than discuss the individuals involved and judge their actions, I want talk …
A mystery solved/ exercise tip
I found out a few weeks ago that I had giardiasis, an intestinal parasite. I have no idea where I got it or how long I’ve had it. Maybe since this fall, or this summer, or since I’ve been back from Everest, or from K2—who knows? It certainly wasn’t a typical case; most cases of Giardia start ‘explosively’ but about …
Decision making link
Best wishes to all in 2010! Be happy, be safe. Here’s an interesting article from Wired Magazine on the science of screwing up. Since proper decision making is critical at any altitude, I thought you might enjoy it.
The Walmart book/DVD price war
I urge you to avoid supporting the Walmart-Amazon-Target price war over books and DVDs. You might save a couple of bucks, but authors lose, publishers lose, and other booksellers lose. Do you really want the big-retailers to control what you can read and watch? Allowing these large corporations to kill off competition is a step in that direction. Please support …
Farewell Charlie
Dr. Charles Houston died recently at the age of 96. I first started learning about high-altitude physiology from his book Going Higher. He was the godfather of high-altitude medicine and climbed in Alaska and Asia. My book wouldn’t have been possible without the research he conducted and inspired over the years. Read a fitting tribute by journalist Bill Moyers. Watch …
Two good books
Neil Heil’s ‘Dark Summit’ and Lincoln Hall’s ‘Dead Lucky’ both describe events on the northside of Everest in 2006. Hall’s book talks about his person experiences (surviving a night out high on the north ridge after developing cerebral edema) while Heil covers the entire tragic season (11 deaths I think). Also, famed Italian alpinist Ricardo Cassin died yesterday at the …
You are unique: more interesting research
If you’ve read my book, you know that I talk a lot about your uniqueness, and how that affects your response to altitude, training, etc. Here’s another study which confirms this. Researchers at Tufts University published a study that examined differences among people’s glycemic index (GI) for white bread. Recall that the GI measures the degree to which a food …
New Year’s Resolutions
As we start the new year, I have a few suggestions for resolutions that you might want to adopt this year: Strive for quality in your activities. It does no good to lift big weights if you’re out of control, or climb ice by thrashing and dangling. Strive for excellence and control. Train your smaller muscles. Work the shoulder stabilizers, …