Purposeful idleness

Tuesday 30th April 2013. I am here in Tibet to climb a mountain (Everest) yet it might surprise some of you that this is our sixth day in a row at Base Camp.

I am actually enjoying the down time as I rarely get to rest and relax when in the UK. However, it is also serving to be of benefit to our bodies too.

Everest Base Camp is at an altitude of almost 5,200m – this is higher than anywhere in Western Europe, Antarctica and Oceania/Australia.

If you were suddenly dropped into Everest Base Camp most of you would feel fairly debilitated and even walking the shortest distance would leave you completely breathless (some may even drop dead).

The majority of people in the UK could not cope with being thrown straight in at this height and would need to acclimatise on the way here similar to what we did en route. We have seen some tourists come to Base Camp to take a few photos of Everest and I was surprised to see them sucking on cans of oxygen. Our oxygen cylinders are much further up the hill for when we really need them.

In order to safely ascend/descend Everest it is vital that we let our bodies adjust to the high altitude as much as possible.

Our bodies compensate for the lower oxygen availability in the air by producing more red blood cells to carry the limited oxygen around to our organs and muscles. Our hearts also beat quicker to force the limited number of red blood cells around our body quicker so that they can become re-oxygenated and be used more frequently.

One of the tools that I have with me here is a pulse oximeter. This measures my pulse rate and the amount of oxygen saturation in my blood stream. At sea level most people have 99-100% oxygen saturation of their blood stream and this may drop during heavy anaerobic activities. I don’t know the exact number but if someone had less than 90% oxygen saturation then I would be very worried about them and they may even be in intensive care with an oxygen mask on. Things are very different at altitude as it depends on your level of acclimatisation.

At sea level my resting heart rate is low – perhaps about 60 beats per minute (I have measured it lower than this).

When I first arrived at Base Camp my resting heart rate was of the order of 110 beats per minute constantly – this is very tiring and the high metabolic rate promotes weight loss (Yay).

Having now been up higher and acclimatised further my resting pulse rate has been fluctuating between 60 and 90 beats per minute depending on how little I am doing lying in my tent.

As far as oxygen saturation goes when I first arrived at Base Camp I was occassionally as low as 65-70% but now when resting I am up at generally 85-90%. This shows that I am acclimatising but probably have more to go – come on body, keep producing more red blood cells please.

The one down side of more red blood cells is that your blood is thicker and there is an increased risk of strokes and heart attacks – hence why I am attempting Everest when youngish (35) to help minimise this potential risk (hopefully my Scottish diet hasn’t clogged my arteries too much already – my most recent annual medical showed nice low blood pressure and the doctor had no concerns about me attempting Everest so hopefully all will be fine).

I expect that after the second cycle on Everest that my stats at Base Camp will be even better. As I go higher my pulse rate will rise and my oxygen saturation will decrease especially whilst trying to do anything.

Throughout this expedition we are watching out for each other and absolute numbers on a pulse oximeter are not as important as how you actually feel at the time. Even when resting we are getting a work out.

Tomorrow, we should be heading uphill again for the start of cycle 2 – this will start with a 12 or so mile hike gaining a comparable elevation to Ben Nevis when already at high altitude. We are going to push all of the way up to Advanced Base Camp (ABC) in a oner just to give ourselves a long hard day in preparation for a future summit bid.

Everything else is quiet and normal at Base Camp on the North side (as far as I know). Keep following the adventure.