Surviving Mount Everest Case Study

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Surviving Mount Everest

Surviving any environment that the human body is not accustomed to can be extremely difficult and in this case,

Mount Everest is one of the most dangerous extreme environments that require lots of experience, knowledge and

tools to survive. There are many factors that contribute to staying alive in this environment such as natural ones that

include altitude, temperature, weather, mountain conditions that end up creating physical and psychological issues

for the human specimen. A combination of experience, modern technology and on-feet thinking is used to bypass

these factors.

Mount Everest is the world’s highest mountain peaking into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere at 8848

metres above sea …show more content…

There are many factors that contribute to staying alive in this environment such as natural ones that include altitude, temperature, weather, mountain conditions that end up creating physical and psychological issues for the human specimen. A combination of experience, modern technology and on-feet thinking is used to bypass these factors. Mount Everest is the world’s highest mountain peaking into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere at 8848 metres above sea level. At this level of altitude the weather is drastically different to the normal ground-level weather a human would be familiar to. Freezing winds over 160km/h are a constant hassle that impact the visibility and temperature. With temperature always below minus 50 degrees Celsius and a lack of oxygen by 14%, this becomes difficult for the climber to function physically and psychologically which lead to numerous medical conditions such as headaches, edema, frostbite, confusion, nausea, chest problems which is also usually related to dehydration. To keep the winds out of the climbers’ face they wear glacier glasses with side covers and synthetic bandanas with a balaclava, ski goggles and a baseball cap. This helps the block out the wind and cold enabling the climber to see much more efficiently in winds rushing at their face. Layering is a technique that prevents the human body from freezing to death. It involves of wearing layers of lightweight fleece, synthetic zip-up jackets and insulated synthetic pants. These clothing are designed to insulate the human body by keeping the human body’s warmth within the walls of the clothing. The same material is used to make the sleeping bags which the climbers use. Other mountain conditions

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