Mountaineering in thin air

摘要: An 8000-m peak bring challenges of extremes hypoxia and weather as well the normal hazards climbing itself. These have taken a severe toll: 604 mountaineers died on those great peaks since 1950. Little is known about whether mountain height, use supplemental oxygen, or team size might influence rates death success. However, such information may provide insights not only to our understanding limits human performance, but also in making decisions these peaks. We present several examples from research program that attempting analyze factors potentially success 8K (1) Apparent risk notorious Khumbu Icefall Mt. Everest has declined dramatically recent years. This decline could reflect improved route finding technique, climate warming, which caused glacier shrink slow decades. (2) Risk during descent an increases with height peak. (3) summit K2 elevated for climbers using oxygen. (4) outline some new studies are exploring how convective heat loss, influences wind chill, changes altitude incidence storms: both will impact probability Himalayan mountaineers.