Straight Dope on Medicine: Mountain Climbing

Author

Scott Ganser
April 24, 2023

K2 was an enthralling movie I saw ages ago. In this visual extravaganza, two mountain climbers aspire to conquer the most technically difficult, dangerous climb in existence. Harold’s wife tells him, “Half the people who go to K2 don’t come back.” K2 is the second highest mountain in the world. Everest is the reigning champion.

Notice I said highest. Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain from base to peak at more than 33,500 feet [10,210 meters].[i]

· Mount Everest's peak is the highest altitude above mean sea level at 29,029 feet [8,848 meters].

· Mount Chimborazo's peak is the furthest point on Earth from Earth's center. The summit is over 6,800 feet [2,072 meters] farther from Earth's center than Mount Everest's summit.

Taylor is the mountain climbing rock star. The rock face is his instrument, and he is a musical virtuoso. Harold is his “tag-along,” but does help to ground the audacious personality. Taylor sells an adventurous billionaire on having them on his team. Mountain climbing is expensive and requires a lot of gear and safety measures. Eventually the expedition comes down to Taylor and Harold because the rest have cut out. They summit, and the billionaire gets his conquest, by proxy. Yet, on the way down, things go awry. Harold, the safety monger of the two, gets hurt. He tells Taylor to leave him.[ii]

Taylor won’t.

I love the line Harold gives him. “You hadn’t had a problem with selfishness until now.”

What Taylor does next surpasses all the solo exploits he has performed so far.

Best Mountain climbers.

These peripatetic adventurers come from all around the world.

Nims Purja blasted through the world’s 14 highest mountains in little more than six months in 2019 – which certainly gives him some pretty high credentials in the world of mountaineering.

The former Gurkha and soldier of the Special Boat Service (SBS) climbed Everest, Lhotse and Makalu within two days and 30 minutes and smashed the previous 14 summits record of seven years, 11 months and 14 days. In 2021 he was part of a team that completed the first summit of K2 in winter, something that was often referred to as 'the last great mountaineering challenge.'

“International attention and sponsors rush easily towards foreign climbers, but Nepalis don’t get such opportunities. I hope my climbs put a spotlight on the talented climbers here.”[iii]

Not only does this headline-hitting alpinist scale the toughest mountains at super-fast speed, Bargiel often skis back down them. In 2018 he became the first to ski down from the 8,611m high summit of K2 without removing his skis.

Before that, he'd done the same on Manaslu (8,163m), Broad Peak (8,051m) and Shishapangma (8,027m) and won the ‘Snow Leopard’ award for climbing the five highest peaks of the former Soviet Union.

He abandoned his attempt to climb and ski Everest in 2019 but will no doubt go again. “Today, I know that I’m able to compete with the best, break all records and ascend every summit.”

This speed climber has made 22 climbs on 8,000m high mountains in the last 20 years – and he’s not done ticking off new routes, starting the new decade with a winter attempt on the world’s 12th highest summit, Broad Peak.

He’s one of only eight climbers to have reached the top of all the world’s 8,000m mountains with no supplementary oxygen and has set countless new routes around the world including the Himalayas, Tien Shan and Patagonia.

His aim, according to a report on Twitter account @russianclimb, is to finish his career with a winter climb of the world’s second highest summit, K2.

Just how dangerous is mountain climbing?

. Falling: Maybe the most common danger, and one that almost everyone is afraid of.[iv]

· Avalanches: Avalanches can hit you at any time, and even the best mountaineers in the world sometimes succumb to them.

· Weather: Weather patterns in the mountains change quickly, and you can find yourself stuck if the conditions suddenly turn.

· Exposure: Spending tens of hours in the beating sun or freezing cold can start to mess with your body and brain (I recently dropped a rappel device due to heat stroke).

· Hypothermia: Spending too long in the cold will cause your body to start to shut down.

· Altitude sickness: Not getting enough oxygen to your brain can muddle your thinking and cause fever-like symptoms

· Pulmonary Edema: A specific type of altitude sickness where blood builds up in your lungs.

· Cerebral Edema: An even worse form of altitude sickness, where blood builds up in your brain.

· Exhaustion: Tiring yourself out can lead to poor decision making, falls, and injuries

· Rockfall: Due to erosion and temperature change, chunks of rock will come loose. Once hit from these could easily kill you.

· Icefall: Similar to above, except this time with ice.

· Snow blindness: When the sun reflects off the snow, it sometimes becomes so bright that it causes temporary loss of eyesight.

· Crevasses: Cracks in glaciers that can be up to hundreds of feet deep. A fall into one of these can be life-ending.

· Broken equipment: Although this rarely happens, it can leave you stranded when it does.

· Navigational errors: If you end up in the wrong place while mountain climbing, your situation could turn out a lot more dangers than you planned.

· Summit Fever: Becoming obsessed with your goal can lead to poor decision making, accidents, and exhaustion.

· Injury: Whether it’s a twisted ankle, a broken bone, or a concussion, unforeseen injuries can strand you while mountain climbing.

· Animals: Wild animals like bears, cougars, and wolves need to be considered when climbing mountains.

· Hunger and Dehydration: Not giving your body enough fuel to operate on can wear you down.

· Carelessness: Becoming overconfident or over relaxed is a death sentence while mountain climbing (especially if combined with any of the other factors.

Statistically speaking, not all mountains are created equal.[v]

· The main peak of the Annapurna massif is the most dangerous of the world's mountains, with a 29% fatality rate of everyone who tries to climb it.

· Since 1900, an estimated 244 expeditions have resulted in 72 deaths.

· The next most dangerous, is the Kangchenjunga is with a 29.1% death rate.

· Mount Everest, the highest mountain on earth, attracts hundreds of climbers every year, and has a 14.1% fatality rate.

Mountain Climbing Nutrition

There is what people do and what they should do. It doesn’t always match.[vi]

Nothing tastes as good as sending feels. If Kate Moss was a climber, I’m sure that would be her mantra. Many sport climbers follow this mantra living off a diet of broccoli crowns and Diet Coke while many hard-core aid climbers live off of a six pack of King Cobra and potato chips. So what’s the best diet for a climber? Fortunately, it’s neither starving yourself nor non-stop gorging.

Proper climbing nutrition starts with eating a balanced and appropriate diet with a focus on healthy nutrition. A basic climbing diet should consistent of plenty of fresh vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, healthy fats, and unprocessed foods, plus a limited amount of refined sugar and unhealthy fats. The most important part of a solid climbing diet is to be knowledgeable about what you’re putting into your body.

The nutrition ratio in the diet for climbers should contain 60-70% carbs, 10-20% protein, and 20-30% fat. This means a climber needs more amount of carbs than usual, especially when they are at heights. This includes complex (bread, rice, potatoes, etc.) and simple carbs (sugar, chocolate, etc.). Because digesting fat is hard and might cause stomachache, it’s better to mainly use low-fat food.[vii]

For each kilogram of body weight, a climber uses 1.5 calories every 10 minutes. This means a 70 kg climber uses 630 calories per hour. So, for 6 hours of climbing, considering 1500-3500 calories for other activities, the body will need 5000-7000 calories. Don’t forget the amount of energy we burn depends on the height, backpack’s weight, and climber’s weight. We can’t provide this amount of energy for our bodies in one day. So, we can take some extra food during lunch or dinner on the day before climbing. This lunch or dinner should also include carbs.[viii]

Health Benefits

Climbing uses lots of muscle groups, both in the upper and lower body. Your back, abdominal and leg muscles all get exercised as well as your fingers, shoulders and arms.

Regular climbing can improve stamina and endurance as well as muscle strength. In addition, all the reaching and stretching for holds improves flexibility and agility. Getting out and about in the outdoors, walking to reach the crag you wish to climb on, is also good aerobic exercise.[ix] 

You can also lower your risk of heart disease and increase bone density.[x]

The Pay

According to Ascentionism, “The best professional climbers can earn as much as $300,000 per year, although most get paid less than $10,000 per year.”

Examples: Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell, Adam Ondra, Emily Harrington, Lynn Hill, Chris Sharma

Popularity

Since the turn of the millennium, climbing has undergone a growth spurt. In the United States, the number of climbing gyms has quadrupled since 2000. The pandemic brought a variety of challenges for climbers and climbing gyms, but the industry is rebounding strongly.

Rock Climbing Demographics

The best data on climbing demographics in the United States comes from the American Alpine Club’s 2019 State of Climbing Report. Of 7.7 million participants, more than 80% are white. Among non-AAC members, the report found that AAPI climbers made up 7%, Hispanic climbers 5%, and Black and Native American climbers just 1% each. Male-identified climbers made up 72% of AAC members and 58% of non-members.[xi]