UKH

Exposure to high altitude poses a risk of developing one of three forms of acute altitude illness: acute mountain sickness, high altitude cerebral edema and high altitude pulmonary edema. Medications are available to prevent these problems and are commonly used by travelers at moderate elevations (e.g., 3000-5000 m) for this purpose. Recent reports suggest that climbers traveling to extremely high elevations on Mount Everest and other peaks are also using these medications to improve physical performance and/or increase their odds of reaching the summit without developing altitude illness. Despite these reports, little is known about exactly how common these practices are.

We are conducting a research survey in order to estimate the number of climbers on Mount Everest who are using medications in this manner. People who have attempted to climb Mount Everest – whether they were successful in summiting or not – are eligible to participate. If are eligible and choose to participate, you will find a link to the anonymous on-line survey at the bottom of this email. The survey will less than 20 minutes to complete and does not require you to provide any personal information.

Participation in this study is voluntary. You may decline to answer any question in the survey. All of the information you provide in the survey will remain anonymous and no one will be able to identify you from the information you provide in the survey. Although you will not benefit directly from this survey, we anticipate that information learned from the survey will help guide medical practice with regard to climbers on Mount Everest and other large Himalayan mountains.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at aluks@u.washington.edu, although please be reminded that the confidentiality of emails cannot be guaranteed. We appreciate your time and effort in completing this survey and look forward to reviewing the information you provide.

Click here to complete this survey: https://catalyst.uw.edu/webq/survey/aluks/252982

If the link does not work, you can copy and paste it in your web browser.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO CLICK ON "SUBMIT" AT THE END OF THE SURVEY TO ENSURE THAT YOUR ANSWERS ARE ALL SAVED PROPERLY.

Sincerely,

Andrew M. Luks, MD
Associate Professor, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
University of Washington

Luanne Freer, MD
Everest ER
Himalayan Rescue Association

Colin Grissom, MD
Professor of Medicine
University of Utah

Peter Hackett, MD
Institute for High Altitude Medicine
Telluride, Colorado

In reply to aluks:

Ahem....you don't 'climb' Everest, you 'walk' up it. Discuss.

In reply to Wide_Mouth_Frog:

In reverse order of frequency: Some people climb it, many people walk up it, most people do neither.

In reply to Wide_Mouth_Frog:


Walk = use only feet
Climb = use hands and feet
Everest = a climb

In reply to aluks: Yhm.

In reply to aluks:

Wondering how you will make use of the responses if people are likely to under-report drug use, or just not report anything if they aren't super proud of their attempt.

2 year old article that has some anecdotes: http://www.outsideonline.com/1914501/climbings-little-helper

In reply to SenzuBean:

I hated that article. A story in part based on one persons gross ineptitude. I have also never heard of people taking dex for euphoric effects.

In reply to radson:

I schadenfreudely enjoyed the article - always good to see people who think money is a substitute for experience and knowledge get pegged down a notch.

In reply to SenzuBean:

I read a story of gross medical incompetence coupled with naivety and a painful lack of knowledge of high altitude medicine. I dont know Easterlings experience

In reply to SenzuBean:


The guy's life was destroyed, hardly anything to laugh at.

In reply to Mr Trebus:


It is possible to be both fully sympathetic towards a persons plight, and utterly stunned at how stupid they are to have caused it in the first place. Anyway, this is going off-topic - this will be my last reply here on the matter.

In reply to SenzuBean:
I shall give the benefit of the doubt and assume you've come across badly (for what it's worth from someone you will never meet ) but that is one of the most disgusting and hateful things I've seen written on this forum. And that's going some.

Edit: some benefit has been lost following your latter post.

In reply to XXXX:

http://www.salon.com/2013/05/31/sherpas_inexplicably_blamed_for_mounting_ev...
He’s faced criticism for failing to weed out clients who are so weak or unskilled as to pose a danger to themselves — such as Jesse Easterling, who nearly died on the mountain in 2009 as the result of an overdose of the “climber’s little helper,” the steroid dexamethasone.

“I have rejected numerous people because they don’t have the experience or the training,” said Dawa, who maintains that Easterling lied when he was asked if he was taking any medication.

There's always more sides to the story.

In reply to SenzuBean:

Except his side apparently.