SU Mt. Everest Base Camp 2018

Name: Taylor Harman

Age: 21

Home Town: Rocklin, California

Area of Study: High Altitude Physiology and Genetics

Year in School: PhD Student

I joined the Everest Base Camp Expedition because… Tom Brutsaert, one of our fearless leaders, is my graduate advisor. He studies high altitude physiology and genetics, which I’m also interested in pursuing. He mentioned this trip to me when I first started attending SU, and framed it as an opportunity to not only see an amazing part of the world, but to get my first experience with high altitude research in the field. I came to graduate school directly from my undergraduate studies, where I studied molecular biology and worked in an epigenetics lab. That being said, I spent a lot of time doing lab work, and very little time doing field work. I thought this trip would be a great opportunity to dive head first into field research.

I’m involved with the SU research studies by… I’m assisting with the SU research in several capacities. My primary job for this expedition was to perform the baseline testing at SU that took place a few weeks prior to departure. While Wes and Jacob ran the cardiovascular side of the research, I ran the respiratory side. For all of our SU students, the respiratory testing involved performing both a Richalet test and an isocapnic HVR test. The Richalet test is a hypoxic exercise test first designed by a French scientist named, you guessed it, Richalet. For this test, the participants were seated on a cycle ergometer (terminology for what is essentially a fancy stationary bike) while hooked up to a mouthpiece. This mouthpiece allowed us to control how much oxygen our participants breathed, and additionally allowed us to measure ventilatory flow, tidal volume, and oxygen & carbon dioxide levels. The participants were also outfitted with a forehead sensor which measured both heart rate and arterial oxygen saturations. As you can probably imagine, this setup is a bit bulky and not the most comfortable to exercise in. However, all of these measurements provide us with valuable data on our participants’ physiology, which we hope can help us predict their performance at altitude. The Richalet protocol is composed of four 4-minute stages. The participants go from resting and breathing room air, to resting and breathing hypoxic air (at about half the normal oxygen level), to biking and breathing hypoxic air (which all the students will tell you was quite uncomfortable!), to finally biking and breathing room air. The results from this test give us important data about our participants’ reaction to hypoxia in both a resting and exercising state. Given that this trek involves both resting and exercising at altitude, we thought it was important to replicate both conditions in the lab.

The second respiratory test we performed in the lab, the isocapnic hypoxic ventilatory response test (aka the iHVR), is similar to the Richalet test. However, instead of exercising, the participants are seated for the entirety of the test, and they simply go from resting and breathing room air to resting and breathing hypoxic air. The hypoxic air for this test was even more oxygen deficient, cut to a third of the normal oxygen level. Though this test does not offer the exercising condition like the previous test, it imposes a greater hypoxic stress, which produces a more pronounced physiological response. This test essentially allows us to quantify how much faster and deeper individuals breathe when exposed to a lack of oxygen. Everyone tends to breathe at least a little bit more when exposed to hypoxia, but some individuals will hyperventilate much more than others. This metric is important to measure, as hyperventilation is an essential part of the acclimatization process to altitude. Hyperventilation at altitude is a large part of what allows individuals to maintain oxygen levels in their blood, even when environmental oxygen is low. For some, breathing only one third of normal oxygen levels sounds quite daunting. And it is true that when participants breathe hypoxic air, there is a slim chance that they can pass out. To avoid this, we continuously monitored our participants’ physiological measurements to ensure they weren’t in any danger. If at any point a participant’s oxygen saturation dropped too low, they were immediately returned to breathing room air.

Aside from running all of the baseline respiratory testing in Syracuse, my secondary job for this expedition is to assist Ainash with her epigenetic study. I have training in handling human tissue samples, as well as specific training in handling DNA for epigenetic analysis. Fun fact: Ainash and I actually worked for the same professor (years apart at different universities), and met through our current graduate advisors by total chance.

Last but not least, my job is also to be a participant in every study I’m helping run!

My favorite part of the trip so far has been… As far as the hiking goes, I have to say that the trek from Namche to Debuche has been my favorite. The rhododendron forest was absolutely beautiful. White, light pink, and bright pink bunches of flowers hung from the trees over the trail as we hiked. I’m only sad that my pictures didn’t do it justice. Not to mention, we had a very cute dog that followed us all the way from Namche to Debuche. He was so tired afterward that he plopped right down on the dirt and went to sleep. Aside from the hiking, I think my favorite part of the trip has just been playing cards and other games with everyone. We have a great group of fun, easygoing people on this trip, which has made everything extra enjoyable. We’ve passed quite a few hours laughing and playing games along the way.

The worst part of the trip so far… For me personally, the worst part of the trip so far has been having traveler’s diarrhea. I felt absolutely awful for about four days. I couldn’t hang on to any water or food, and ended up dehydrated. Going through that, as well as assisting with research and hiking for several hours was pretty hard for me. If anything, this trip has made me realize what a baby I am! I’m so used to being coddled while I’m sick, I had a really tough time picking myself up to push through a hike. However, due to the advice of our local soon-to-be doctor Anne and the generosity of everyone else, I seem to be through the worst of the sickness and am now feeling great. Woohoo!

A few things I’ve thought were interesting… One of the most interesting things I’ve seen so far are the interactions between our Sherpa guides and other locals we’ve passed while trekking. Many times I’ve seen them recognize each other, call out each other’s names, and reach out to each other to briefly hold hands. I never expected that there would be so many people they were familiar with, and I think it’s really neat that they seem to have a tight knit community of people, even when most of them are traveling from city to city guiding trekkers, carrying goods, or herding cows and yaks.

Another thing I’ve found interesting is the prevalence of cappuccinos. Here we are above 4,000m and there are still many fancy, tasty coffee drinks to be had.

One thing most people don’t know about me… Something most people don’t know about me is that I briefly worked on a computer science team for an archaeology professor in my undergrad, where I helped program a database for his team to store all of their excavation data. It was this archaeology professor who introduced me to the biological anthropology professor who ultimately inspired my interest in epigenetics. It was also that anthropology professor who connected me with Tom, which lead to me coming on this trip. A series of grand coincidences!

Daily Recap

Today we had our rest day in Pheriche. We’re being put up in a beautiful lodge owned and run by the family of our Sherpa guide Nima. Bright and early this morning we started data collection for several of the research projects. We were sprawled all over the common room, measuring breathing and blood pressures, as well as collecting saliva, blood, and urine. Our hosts have been very gracious to let us use their lodge as our lab space. The mornings of measurements (which we call dailies plus) are always hectic. Researchers double as participants, and the morning turns into a tornado of activity. Somehow, we manage to get it all done in about 2 hours (with a few spills here and there). After the morning measurements, everyone sits down to eat breakfast on the very same tables we were using for research. Everyone seemed quite happy to get a tortilla and egg this morning; yay breakfast burritos!

 

After breakfast, the other, more specific research projects continued. Cognitive function testing for all of the Syracuse students. I can only speak for myself, but the tests are way harder at 4,200m! Additionally, Wes ran a brain blood flow research project on a smaller subset of students with the help of the Canadian team. For all those students and researchers not actively participating or running research, the late morning and early afternoon are free and open. Some students walked down to the memorial for those that died on Everest, others did laundry, and a large group of us sat in the common room and played games.

 

At one point, we had a group of 14 people playing a game called Werewolf, in which villagers are pitted against werewolves. The game is supposed to be a friendly debate-style game where the villagers attempt to root out the murderous werewolves. However, it usually descends into a verbal bloodbath of accusations and yelling and finger pointing. We may have gotten a bit loud at certain points, yelling that certain players were definitely werewolves and needed to be executed. We may have also been briefly chastised for our volume and language. Whoops.

After games and lunch, we began the academic part of the trip. Tom gave a lecture on his life’s work, researching native high altitude populations. The lecture was wonderful, and even included a small competition between Nima and Trevor. They competed with respect to forced vital capacity (FVC) which is a measure of how much air a person can hold in their lungs. High altitude natives exhibit several physiological differences from lowlanders, including bigger lungs. But the question is: do those bigger lungs actually confer an advantage at altitude? At least in the case of Nima and Trevor, Nima had a notably larger lung capacity, which could confer an advantage at altitude by increasing the amount of oxygen he can take into his body.

 

 

Following the academic portion of the day, we moved into dinner, where we had the unexpected pleasure of speaking to an Everest guide who recently summited, as well as a base camp manager. They were lovely, and allowed us to pepper them with all sorts of questions about the work they do. Truly a once in a lifetime experience to be able to pick the brains of two people fresh off of an Everest summit expedition.

 

Quite unexpectedly (but pretty wonderfully), our 2018 expedition had the good fortune to run into Rob Smith and Anthea Fisher from the mountain-guiding company Adventure Consultants (AC) just before our dinner at The Edelweiss Lodge in Pheriche. Rob, a top guide for AC, had just summited Everest for the fourth time and Anthea had served as Base Camp Manager for the past two months. Together, they gave our group a first-hand look at the challenges of guiding clients up the world’s tallest mountain. Less than 10 days ago, Rob had safely brought seven clients to the top, with a 100% client completion rate. He warmly talked about the route, ascent profile used, weather, acclimatization and problem solving skills necessary to climb Everest before taking numerous questions from the group.

 

We quickly set up a photo shot with Rob and Anthea and wished them all the best in their future projects for the New Zealand-based Adventure Consultants. Rob is off to climb K2 next while Anthea plans future projects (she has managed AC efforts in Antartica and Africa). The group photo pretty much says it all and it’s way cool that Nima (who has also summited Everest) and his team were a part of the photo.

On that note, we head off to Lobuche.

 

Name: Leia Correa

Age: 18

Home Town: Irvington, New York

Area of Study: Health and Exercise Science

Year in School: 2nd year

I joined the Everest Base Camp Expedition because… I’ve always loved the outdoors, hiking and adventuring —this stemmed from my family’s annual road trip, camping and white water rafting trips.  I felt like Mount Everest would be been the ultimate hiking adventure for the outdoor-lover. Plus, it’s a course offered by Syracuse where I could learn more about the human physiology, something I’m studying and am interested in.

I’m involved with the SU research studies by… participating in the daily measurements at 6AM and Dr. Wes Lefferts and Jacob DeBlois’ cognitive functioning research. The cognitive testing involves a memory and attention tests on a computer. I would’ve done Ainash’s epigenetic study involving blood and spit samples but I got a nose bleed and was spitting out blood our first morning in Kathmandu, making my samples invalid and excluding me from the study.

My favorite part of the trip so far has been… the people and the views. For example, on our first trekking day at the Lukla airport I had a conversation with Anne Kalker, a med student doing research with us. We were sitting on a stoop, right in front of landing strip, surrounded by the Himalayas. The views were jaw-dropping. But Anne, who has traveled to countless countries said to me, “the best part about traveling is the people you meet. The place can be the most beautiful location you’ve ever been to, but it’s really the people that you meet that make the trip.” And I completely agree with her.

I’ve met the best people on this trip— the SU crew, the Canadians, the other researchers, and the Nepalese. At dinner in Kathmandu, over some momos (Nepalese dumplings), Wes and Jacob were describing their day of research with us and said, “Do something you love that makes you forget to poop and eat.” They had not eaten all day. These people are so passionate about what they’re doing. And it’s not just the researchers, it’s everyone. I can talk to Laurel, an SU soccer player, and she can talk for hours about the beautiful game. I can ask Elaine, one of the Canadian research assistants, about her life as a fellow Filipina immigrant and we can talk for a whole day about the similarities between our Filipino parents. I can ask Chad, one of the other students, about his kids and he can talk enthusiastically about his his 11-year-old daughter’s rebellious pixie haircut. It’s inspiring to meet these passionate and interesting people.

I’m also glad to meet the people who live here. The Nepalese are so welcoming, so nice, and so accommodating. We’re a group of 30 loud and obnoxious Westerners, and they’ve been nothing but kind to us. I’ve gotten especially close to the Sherpas traveling with us; they include Nima, Taschi, Bobby, Kanchha, Tsering, and Fura. Throughout our hikes, they continually ask me, “how are you?” Every meal they serve generous portions.  Throughout the trek I’ve loved my conversations with Nima about his daughter, Dolma, whom we met today. She’s just as adorable as he described. Nima also summited Everest in 2009! I’ve enjoyed being able to joke with Kanchha about giving me a piggy back ride on the steep portions of the trail. And I’ve appreciated my conversations with Taschi about Buddhism, the Dali Llama and reincarnation.

Without them we wouldn’t have the water we drink (they fill up our water bottles every night), the food we eat (delicious and vegetarian friendly), the lodges to sleep in. Simply put, we wouldn’t be able to get to Base Camp and do our research without their constant support. Yes, our professors, Dr. Brutsaert and Dr. Day, have done this trek before, but I don’t think they could lead us there as safely as our guides have.

One last thing: everyone on the trip genuinely care about each other’s well being.  Every morning over breakfast  you hear questions: “how did you sleep?” “how are you feeling?” “how’s the diarrhea?” Every single person is hyper-aware of how everyone else is doing on the trip. The views, the experience, the card games, the food— they’ve all been amazing— but the people are the best part.

The worst part of the trip so far…has been the bathroom situation. We’re hiking in a remote region in a less developed country. The bathrooms, or the lack there of, during the 4-7 hour hikes, are a little problematic. We have to bring our own toilet paper everywhere. Sometimes the bathrooms are squat toilets, basically holes in the ground, with no plumbing. And sometimes we have to share two toilets between 30 people. In addition, the showers (when there is one) cost 500 rupees (5 USD) for hot water. And after hiking 4-7 hours a day, showers are definitely necessary.

But I’m kind of grateful for the new bathroom situation. I know, weird. But because of it I have grown to appreciate things more. The toilets, the limited showers, the limited drinking water, the limited electricity, have made me realize how much I have at home.

It all reminds me of the saying, “You don’t realize what you have until it’s gone.” We’re far from civilization. Everything here is here because porters carried it on their backs for dozens of miles. The lodges we stay at were built from tools and rocks that had to be transported here without vehicles. It’s really different from home. Everything is so much more valuable, even the simple things: toilet paper, Snickers bar, water, wifi,  and Pringles (which are 600 rupees! Thats 6 USD!).

We’re stuck with a 15 kg weight limit due to yaks and porters carrying all of it (thanks again to them). The weight limit has forced us to be quite thoughtful about what to pack and what actually matters. And because we don’t have a closet full of clothes to wear and we sweat so much during our hiking we wash our clothes by hand with cold water and dry them outside our rooms in the cold air.

At home I wouldn’t give a second thought about these things, they’re all a given. And while this is just a 3 week trip for us — I go back to the comforts of wifi and hot water— this is a way of life for the Nepalese people. So this trip has given me perspective and has made me more appreciative for what I have. In the future I’ll definitely remember this experience. So in some aspects, the bathroom situation is kinda crappy (literally) but maybe it’s a good thing.

A few things I’ve thought were interesting… I really had no idea what I was getting into; this has been the most interesting thing I’ve done in my life. Going into this trip I thought, “we’ll be hiking and then collecting data.” But I was wrong, this trip is so much more.

I knew I would meet new people and I was excited about that, but I didn’t know that everyone would be so interesting in their own ways. Every time I look outside, I’m amazed by the views. The food has been different from what I’m used to, but so interesting. I haven’t loved every single thing they’ve served us, but I’ve enjoyed trying it.  The hiking days have been so much harder than I thought they would be – they’ve been the most physically demanding days I’ve ever had.

Point being: I can’t really choose “a few interesting things.” I wish these photos (which are are taken by the super professional and talented Andrew Burton) could truly capture how amazing this experience has been. But they can’t, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. Every single second of this trip has been interesting.

One thing most people don’t know about me…
In middle school, I won second place in the Fourth Grade Spelling Bee. My greatest accomplishment. The next year, in the Fifth Grade Spelling Bee, I lost in the second round. My greatest regret. I’ll never EVER forget how to spell the word “precipitation.”

Daily Recap

Hi mom! I’m alive! We’re in Pheriche now. The day started off in Debuche, with breakfast as usual at 7:30AM. We started our trek at 8:30AM. The hike was incredible (not a surprise, every single day here is ridiculous) but what was unexpected was the change in terrain. At Debuche, which was at 2700 meters, we walked through beautiful, flowering trees and forests, but by the time we were at 3300 meters, we had hiked above the forest and there were only short bushes and rocks. Magnificent mountains, framed by clouds, surrounded the valleys. It was interesting to see how with altitude the terrain changed so quickly. Within one day we went from being in a forest to a terrain filled only with rocks, grass and short bushes.

Even though earlier trekking days were longer (up to seven hours of hiking) and today was only four hours of hiking, today’s trek was considerably harder.  I would’ve thought the length would’ve made it easier, but altitude has definitely taken an effect. I’m glad we have a rest day tomorrow.

 

 

We arrived at Pheriche at lunch time. The lodge is owned by the our lead guide’s sister. This is by far the best lodge we’ve stayed at. There are tile floors in the bathroom and the rooms and dining hall are well furnished. After a hot shower (500 rupees) I did laundry and hung out. I took a walk outside and the views continue to be beyond belief. And you don’t need to walk far for a view:  you can see the mountains and yaks grazing from the lodge patio. Overall a good day!

—

(All photos by Andrew Burton, © 2018)

Name: Cassie Cooper

Age: 19

Home Town: West Monroe, NY

Area of Study: Health and Exercise Science

Year in School: Rising Junior

I joined the Everest Base Camp Expedition because… I love the outdoors; I have always enjoyed hiking, camping, kayaking, you name it. So, when Dr. Tom Brutsaert came into my Anatomy & Physiology class during the fall semester I was in awe at the fact that this course, “Everest Base Camp: The Human Response to High Altitude,” was real. I immediately decided that I was going to go, and no one was going to talk me down from that. As it turns out, I was also the first person to apply. How could I not? It’s Mt. Everest Base Camp! So many individuals have attempted to climb Everest, and though many have been unsuccessful, being given the opportunity to see this famous mountain that causes so much heartache and happiness is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I could not pass up.

I also joined because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone. I am a shy person and normally keep to myself but I wanted to try something different. I see almost all of these people in my classes but I don’t know much, if anything, about them, and what better opportunity to get to know them better then on a long trek.

On another note, I am a big fan of the Olympics and have always heard about athletes going to higher altitudes to train. This fact has always fascinated me, in part because I never understood the process of increasing their oxygen intake.  With that in mind, I wanted to experience altitude for myself and gain a better understanding about the physiology of altitude.

I’m involved with the SU research studies by… participating in daily measures, where they take our blood pressure (the amount of pressure exerted on the blood vessel walls), determine our blood saturation (amount of oxygen diffusing through our tissues), basic weight measure, and two cognitive tests (deciding which way an arrow is pointing and memorizing a ‘sandwich’ of numbers).

I also participate in “Daily Plus” measurements, which are additional measurements – our hemoglobin count (red blood cells), our hematocrit count, squeezing our finger and trying to get out as much blood as possible to put onto a piece of paper, and spitting into a tube twice (~2mL each) (which is a lot harder than it seems).

The blood onto the paper and spitting into the tube is a research study by Ainash Childebayeva. She is using our saliva and blood to determine how our genetics plays a role in how we respond to high altitude. The cognitive tests are run by Dr. Wesley Lefferts and Jacob DeBlois. They are attempting to understand if altitude plays a role in our cognitive thinking.

My favorite part of the trip so far has been… the constant games with my fellow trekking pals. I have learned a hand full of new card games that I plan on forcing my family to play (I promise they are fun). The games get so intense and our ‘American’ comes out with the screaming and yelling at one another. But fortunately with our large group we just about fill up every lodge we stay at. The laughter that comes with each game is very contagious and brings everyone closer together. So far it seems that Wes and Lucas are the key guys to target and their reactions are priceless. These are definitely memories I will laugh at for a while. Categories is another very fun game that can go in any direction at any given time. Card games are usually the first thing to happen once everyone gets settled, even though some of us should be reading.

The worst part of the trip so far… seeing all of the stray and wild dogs on the paths with matted fur. I know I should not touch or pet them because they most likely have not had any types of shots. It has been so terribly difficult holding back my will to pet these dogs. So, when I get back home I am going to show extra love to my dog!

A few things I’ve thought were interesting… we have to purchase toilet paper and bring it along with us to every bathroom we decide to use. Most of the time that bathroom is a hole in the ground, and then we throw our toilet paper into a trash can – not the toilet. I am still getting used to that and I truly do not know if I will. What also blows my mind is the fact that most of the porters (sherpas that carry luggage, items, etc. up/down the mountain) zoom past us wearing blue jeans and open toed sandals. It’s amazing! These trails are so rocky that I have a tough time walking up/down the hills in my hiking sneakers, let alone in flip flops. Another thing I found interesting is that the kidneys play a role in respiratory function: when carbon dioxide increases in the body the kidneys secrete carbonic acid to bring the body back to homeostasis.

One thing most people don’t know about me… I love water sports and am obsessed with surfing. Although I have never gone surfing, it is at the top of my bucket list. I am not sure how I started to fantasize about surfing, but I think it has something to do with the movie “Soul Surfer”.

I love the warm weather and doing activities in the water, such as tubing (where you tie an inflatable tube to a rope, then tie the rope to the back of a boat and drive around). Some might call me a professional tuber. It is so much fun, especially with two people on the tube. When you tie the rope to the back of a jet ski, everything changes. The difficulty gets much tougher but it is so much fun! The key thing is to lean with the boat, the same way the boat is turning, which creates a ’sling shot’ effect on the tube, sending you out from behind the boat and onto the flat water which can be dangerous and fun! I am hoping to try water skiing this summer and hopefully wake boarding, if possible.

Daily Recap

Today the group was in Debuche, Nepal (3820 meters, ~12,606 ft) which is located in the heart of a beautiful forest. A short hike up the hill brought us to a little town called Tebouche, where there is a monastery and bakery. Right after breakfast a group of us went up to the bakery for some highly bragged about chocolate cake. There was half a chocolate cake left, but I’m not a huge fan of cake so I went for the apple pie, instead. Let me say, it was very good even if it was cold. To add to the happy moment, when the clouds broke we were able to see the tip of Everest. You could hear everyone gasp and stare: the mountains are right in front of us and not just some sort of back drop.

 

After the bakery, I came back with a few others and decided to read for the time being, since it was only 10 o’clock in the morning. I was able to read a chapter until someone brought out the cards. After that we played card games until 2 o’clock in the afternoon. We continued playing even though lunch was served – it was that intense. At 2 o’clock we had an hour lecture about acclimatization. I learned that there are two types of acclimatization: ventilatory and hematological. Ventilatory acclimatization is the increase in ventilation (exchanging gases [oxygen and carbon dioxide]) after days without concomitant perturbations in the blood chemistry. Hematological acclimatization is an increase in red blood cells due to a decrease in hemoglobin saturation when altitude increases. And when altitude increases, the amount of oxygen decreases resulting in oxygen sensors in the kidneys to produce erythropoietin, which starts the creation of new red blood cells.

After the lecture we were given a small break and then sat back down to watch “The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest.” It is about an American mountaineer, Conrad Anker, who found the body of a British explorer, George Mallory, 75 years after Mallory mysteriously vanished on his climb to the summit of Everest. Mallory was trying to become the first man to summit the worlds tallest peak in 1924, but unfortunately no one knows whether or not Mallory made it to the summit. After finding the body, Anker then went out to finish Mallory’s quest, climbing the same route with similar equipment. In the film, Mallory’s granddaughter was interviewed and mentioned that when he was asked by The New York Times, “why climb Everest?” Mallory replied with his most famous words, “because it is there.” He tried numerous times but was never fortunate enough to make it to the top. Overall, I thought the film was interesting because it showed how strong some people’s love for the mountains are and how something you love can kill you. After the film two groups cracked out the cards again and started playing until dinner. All in all, I’d say it was a fabulous rest day in Debuche. Now onto Pharache (4370 meters, 14,421 ft)!

P.S. Hi family! I am doing well and I am healthy, no worries.
Love you guys and we’ll talk soon.

—

(All photos by Andrew Burton, © 2018)

Name: Rachel Chirichella

Age: 21

Home town: Berkeley Heights, New Jersey

Area of Study: Health and Exercise Science pre PT track

Year in School: Senior in the fall

I joined the Everest Base Camp Expedition because… On my first day of my exercise physiology class with Professor Brutsart, he talked about this trip and i was immediately interested. From there on, he always tied in this trip to our class lectures, which made me more interested. Once the application opened up I applied and was later accepted and could not be more excited. But I really wanted to be a part of this trip because of the experience of going to base camp and seeing, first hand, how incredible this mountain is and all the people who make it up are.

I’m involved with the SU research studies by… I am partaking in the daily measures conducted by the Mount Royal University team, as well as the “daily plus” measurements which include the collection of salvia and blood samples. This study is being conducted by Ainash, a PhD student from the University of Michigan who is going to use the samples for her epigenetic research, where she is going to see if short term exposure to altitude will affect DNA (read her blog post for more details, she’s a very smart lady). I am also a participant in the brain blood flow study conducted by Dr. Wes Lefferts, a recent Phd graduate from Syracuse University. In this study he is examining the changes in blood flow of the carotid artery while undergoing a test that was created to induce slight stress and target various executive functions.

My favorite part of the trip so far has been… Honestly, the sleep I am getting on this trip has been the best sleep I have had in a while. I fall asleep in five minutes and am in a deep deep sleep till I wake up again. I love altitude. I also love the atmosphere of this trip and all the people here. Everyone here is so easy to talk to, making introductions and new situations much easier. I have also enjoyed learning about the people that live within these mountains. I have never been exposed to this type of lifestyle and i am loving it.

 

 

 

The worst part of the trip so far… the hard boiled eggs this morning. We have truly been spoiled with the excellent food provided by Nima, his family, and the lodges we are staying at, but those eggs this morning, quite literally exploded. Other than that, I am really have the best time on this trip, learning a lot and taking in the culture and the breathtaking views of the mountain.

A few things I’ve thought were interesting… We have had two guest speakers so far, Andrew Burton, who discussed his photography career and Dr. Wes Lefferets who shared his PhD work on the effects of hypoxia on light exercise. I found Andrew’s talk interesting because I don’t know that much about the photography industry, so it was cool to learn more about that. He also shared with us some of his work and the stories behind his photographs which were just beautiful to see and learn about. Wes is a very good public speaker so it is always fun to listen to him speak and i found his talk intriguing because it related to topics we’re learning and studies I am participating in.

One thing most people don’t know about me… My dream job is to help write one episode of South Park. It is one of my favorite shows and I feel I have a lot of good ideas, so if the writers of South Park are reading this, hit my line.

Daily Recap

Today we had a long, 7 hour, trek up to Debouche at 3820 meters, which is almost 400 meters more than our previous location, Namche. Leaving Namche, we welcomed one more guest along our trek, a cute little stray dog, who had many different names along the way. We didn’t think he would travel with us for very long but ended up trekking with us all the way to Tengboche. Unfortunately he was barked out of town by some other stray dogs (we miss you, pup).

 

 

 

Overall today was another good day. I feel like I have been really lucky because I haven’t felt any of the symptoms they warned us about, going into a higher altitude. The views we saw today were interrupted by some clouds, but the walk up was different than we had experienced the past few days. We walked through the Rhododendro forest, which had these beautiful trees filled with bright pink and white flowers.

 

 

 

The overall trek was not too bad, the worst part was the three hour gradual incline to Tengboche, but with the pace we were walking at, it was not too painful. Something that I have taken note of on this whole trip is the porters and Sherpas. These mountain natives carry trekker’s luggage up to each point they stop in, carrying upwards to 60 pounds. I commend these men and women and have nothing but respect for them, especially when I start to complain about carrying my 12 pound day-pack!

When we arrived at our lodge in Debouche, everyone had a huge smile on their face after the long day. We got our room assignments and looked around to find there was only one shower for the 30 of us. It was a race to hot shower, but luckily everyone who wanted a shower, including myself, got one before it was dinner time. Dinner time is the best part of the day because we are closer to going to bed. As the days go by I get more and more excited to see the famous Everest Base Camp, and remember how lucky I am to be on a trip like this.

 

 

(All photos by Andrew Burton, © 2018)

Name: Ainash Childebayeva

Age: 28

Home town: Almaty, Kazakhstan

Area of Study: Biological Anthropology and Toxiclogy

Year in School: PhD candidate in the departments 
of Anthropology and Environmental Health Sciences, 
University of Michigan

I joined the Everest Base Camp Expedition because… I am interested in how the environment affects the epigenome. I am a PhD student at the University of Michigan researching the epigenetics of high-altitude adaptation in Peruvian Andeans. Andeans, along with Tibetans and Ethiopians, have genetic adaptations to this environment allowing them to thrive in hypoxic (low oxygen) conditions, while visitors often suffer from altitude-associated conditions like Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE), and High-Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE).

It is currently unknown why certain altitude visitors develop adverse outcomes at high altitude, while others successfully cope with hypoxia. Sex, age, and level of fitness do not seem to predict the likelihood of someone developing a condition like AMS. Previous genetic studies of AMS have shown inconclusive results, and it is mostly unknown whether genetic variation plays a role in determining one’s likelihood of developing a high-altitude condition. Being an epigeneticist, I got interested in whether the epigenome could play a role in mediating the effects of high-altitude hypoxia, and if epigenetic variation could maybe help us explain the variability in the high-altitude associated phenotypic outcomes, especially since environmental exposures are known to affect the epigenome.

Some of your might have heard about epigenetics, but for those of you who haven’t, epigenetics as a field studies changes to the DNA that do not affect the sequence of the nucleotides (A, C, T, G). Epigenetic modifications play an important role in human development, and have been shown to mediate the variation between cell types that all have the same DNA, but perform different roles.

For this project, I am interested in assessing DNA methylation, which is an addition of a methyl group (CH3) to the nucleotide Cytosine in the Cytosine-Guanine di-nucleotide. DNA methylation is most commonly associated with gene repression through blocking the gene from transcription. Diet, stress, exposures to heavy metals and toxicants like BPA have been shown to influence DNA methylation.

This research hypothesizes that short-term exposure to high-altitude hypoxia would affect DNA methylation. To test this hypothesis, we decided to collect saliva and blood spot samples from the participants of the EBC expedition at different altitudes throughout the trek. So far, we have collected DNA samples from the same participants in Kathmandu (~1400m) and Namche (~3400). We plan to also collect samples in Pheriche (~4300m) and Gorak Shep (~5100m). We will then determine DNA methylation levels in samples collected at the various altitudes and will compare the methylation values in the same participants between different altitudes. We will also test for potential associations between DNA methylation and high-altitude associated phenotypic outcomes.

The samples that we collect here will be transported to the University of Michigan where I will extract the DNA, and will determine DNA methylation at various loci in the genome. Our research is exploratory, since this is the first study to look at epigenetic differences associated with short-term exposure to hypoxia in individuals participating in an incremental altitude ascent. Our results have the potential to inform research in various fields, including high-altitude adaptation, public health, and environmental epigenetics.

I’m involved with the SU research studies by… I am a study participant, as well as a researcher. My role here involves collecting saliva and blood spot samples from the participants of the trek and processing them for transport back to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where all laboratory work will take place.

I learned about the Everest base camp (EBC) trek from Dr. Tom Brutsaert when we were in Cerro de Pasco, Peru in the summer of 2017 collecting DNA samples and phenotypic measurements from high-altitude Andeans with my PhD adviser Dr. Abby Bigham. We were eating dinner at Latin Lover, arguably the nicest restaurant in Cerro de Pasco (would recommend! Will eat there again), when Tom told us about the EBC trek he did with Dr. Trevor Day before coming to Peru, and about his plan to take Syracuse students on the same trek in 2018. It was then that we first talked about collecting samples at different altitudes to look for changes in the epigenome in non-native individuals. A couple of months later I received an email from Tom about writing a research proposal to incorporate epigenetics into the main study of the acclimatization to high altitude while trekking to the EBC. Over the course of the year leading up to this expedition we have exchanged copious emails about research design, funding, institutional ethics review board approval, supplies, etc. We are in Nepal now, but It is still hard for me to believe that this project is actually happening, and that we might learn something new about the effects of high altitude on the epigenome.

My favorite part of the trip so far has been… Drinking hot, sweet tea in the common room of our lodge in Namche! But seriously, my favorite part of the trip so has been working with the fellow trekkers on the various research components of the trip. The attitudes of the people on the trek and their willingness to help with research and sample collection have been phenomenal. Where else do you find people who are happy to wake up at 6am in the morning, provide a urine sample, a blood sample, and a saliva sample all before eating breakfast?

The worst part of the trip so far… Not knowing how I am going to react to increasing altitude. I have done fieldwork at high altitude before, and have experienced symptoms ranging from vomiting all night to the worst cold I have ever had that didn’t go away until 2 weeks after going back to low altitude. Luckily, we have the world’s best high-altitude physiology researchers on this trip who are constantly monitoring us for the symptoms of AMS. Our ascent includes rest days intended for acclimatization and recovery needed to ensure that all of us make it to Base Camp. I guess I am going to be fine here…

A few things I’ve thought were interesting… A part of the etiquette on the trek is to step aside for porters, yaks, mules, and anyone else carrying loads up and down the mountain. It is a humbling realization that everything we consume on the trek has to be transported up the mountain, most likely by a porter or a yak. It is also important for us to be aware of the waste that we are generating while on this trip. Used lab supplies, bottled water, candy wrappers, etc. will eventually have to be transported down the mountain by the same porters and yaks to be disposed of and hopefully recycled.

One thing most people don’t know about me… I was born and raised in Kazakhstan. I grew up in a city called Almaty, surrounded by the Tian Shan mountains. In Almaty you can see the mountains from almost anywhere in the city. Up and down are the most common ways people indicate locations, and you always know where you are in the city just by finding the mountains, which are on the south side. I like to think that growing up in the presence of beautiful mountains was the reason why I got so interested in high-altitude research.

Daily Recap

We are in Namche today. The altitude here is about 3400 meters above sea level. This is the first day that we are at high altitude, and I definitely felt it when walking up the stairs from the coffee shop where I was able to get a nice cappuccino and much needed Wi-Fi.

Today is our first rest day. I woke up at 5am to prepare for sample collections that started at 6am. We have been able to speed up our sample collection by combining hemoglobin finger pokes and blood spot collection, and it only took us 2 hours to collect both saliva and blood samples from our participants.

In the afternoon, we had a lecture by Tom Brutsaert that explained why we hyperventilate at high altitude. Evidently, as the barometric pressure goes down, the partial pressure of oxygen in the blood goes down, and that results in increased ventilation. Dr. Trevor Day talked to us about his recent publication of a case study of a Sherpa woman who trekked to the Everest Base Camp while 7 months pregnant. This is the first study to document the effects of altitude on a pregnant female performing high-level activity while exposed to extreme hypoxia. The Sherpa woman gave birth to a healthy baby, and we will get a chance to meet the woman and her baby on our way back from the EBC.

 

Tomorrow we are hiking to Debouche (~3800m), and will have another rest day there that will allow us to adjust to the higher altitude. We will collect daily measurements there, but will skip saliva and blood sampling.

(All photos by Andrew Burton, © 2018)

Goutam1962 ~ licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license ~ ptr

 

Name: Mackenzie Bronson 
Age: 20
Home town: Binghamton, NY
Area of Study: Religion and Modern Foreign Language (German & French)
Year in School: Rising Junior

I joined the Everest Base Camp Expedition because… 
To put it simply, I joined the Everest Base Camp Expedition because I thought it was the coolest opportunity I had ever come across. So far, this rings to be true. About halfway through this past spring semester, I started to consider applying for a summer study abroad program. I remember looking through all of the summer programs available through Syracuse University, and the only one that truly interested me was this one. Of course, I had heard of Mount Everest before but never thought I would be able to see it for myself. Since my studies are focused in the humanities as a religion and language major, this summer program did not necessarily correlate to my studies. However, after being on this trip I’ve learned so much about Nepal, the Sherpa culture, the effects of high altitude on the human body, and so much more.

 

I’m involved with the SU research studies by…
I am one of the many participants who partakes in daily measures. I’m also involved in the sleep apnea study headed by Anna Kalker, in collaboration with Pöntus Holmstrom for the breath-hold study.

For the sleep apnea study, I have to wear an actigraph, which is somewhat like a fancy Fitbit, for the duration of the trek. I’m wearing it, along with a few other people, to see if it will pick up sleep disturbances that are common when an individual is still acclimatizing to high altitude. Additionally, on rest days I also wear an apnea link while I sleep, which measures my breathing, my breathing effort, and oxygen saturation. As Anna Kalker has explained to me, when at a higher altitude, respiratory chemoreceptors increase in sensitivity. This then makes them overshoot in response to deviations from the normal response. Therefore, CO2 increases, which results in faster breathing, and then CO2 decreases resulting in apnea. Overall, this study relates the amount of apnea’s that increase in chemoreceptor sensitivity.

The breath-hold study, led by Pöntus Holmstrom, involves testing two maximum breath holds (or apneas), while spleen volume is being measured. When exposed to hypoxia, the spleen is evoked during apnea. This then boost red blood cells that are circulating in the bloodstream, which then increases oxygen-carrying capacity. How the spleen reacts to hypoxia altitude hypoxia is still somewhat unclear.

My favorite part of the trip so far has been… the ability to take part in this trek to Mount Everest Base Camp alongside such a motivated and supportive group of people. It’s truly a special experience to be surrounded by individuals who are deeply moved by their passions. It seems as though one passion or another has brought us all here to Nepal. Whether it’s scientific research, religion, culture, or the simple pleasure the mountains provide, we all seem to be chasing after something on this trek. For me, I am here in pursuit of a passion for nature and the mountains, in addition to a curiosity for religion and foreign cultures. Unlike many of the researchers and participants on this trip, my background is in the humanities, and I’m not too well-versed in the sciences. However, despite differences in educational backgrounds, and even places of origin, we share a common theme which is the pursuit of an individualistic passion. I think the Himalayan mountain range and Mount Everest specifically, offers something greater. Perhaps, that is a reason as to why we are all here, in pursuit of something more by expanding our knowledge and pushing our own limits.

The worst part of the trip so far… was accidentally dropping my sunglasses into a toilet. For those who haven’t personally witnessed toilets in the developing world, I can tell you it is quite the experience. Many of the bathrooms are technically just a glorified hole in the ground, with a squatting requirement. Although, aside from the odor, the bathrooms I’ve encountered so far have always been kept clean. A rule to the road, so to speak, is that you must always provide your own toilet paper, which can be somewhat of a hassle. However, I’m grateful that there are even bathrooms available on this trek at all, which beats having to constantly use the great outdoors. After having dropped my sunglasses, I experienced a brief moment of shock and then had to retrieve them. I wish I didn’t have to, but they are my favorite pair of sunglasses, and also the only pair I brought with me on the trip. For the folks back home who are currently reading this, do not fear. I washed the sunglasses with soap several times, in addition to sterilizing them with several alcohol wipes. Lesson to take away from this experience? Make sure everything on you is secured before heading into the bathroom, to avoid another mishap.

A few things I’ve thought were interesting… In the beginning of this trip, I learned that Sherpas are traditionally named after the specific day of the week they were born on. I found this to be an interesting cultural aspect, since it is such a foreign concept to me because of where I am from. In Western culture, it seems as though people want to be unique, and one way Westerners embrace their individuality is by having a unique, or somewhat unique name. However, I admire how the Sherpas have carried on this naming tradition. It is just another special aspect of their ethnic culture. Another thing I have found interesting is the rule to always move left around large religious objects on the trail. Generally, these religious objects are giant rocks with ancient Tibetan scripture written or painted on them. Often, the path diverges around these religious symbols, with one path to the left and the right. I’m not sure exactly why one has to pass around the left, but it might have something to due with respect for tradition. One other thing I have found interesting was the constant supply of Pringles in just about every lodge and store we have stopped in so far on this trek. Of all the snacks to see and buy on this trek, I wouldn’t have initially guessed it would be Pringles. Even better, they usually supply a variety of flavors, from Original to BBQ to Pizza flavored Pringles. I cannot complain though, I happen to think Pringles are delicious, and I’m so glad to be seeing them readily available almost everywhere here.

One thing most people don’t know about me… I wear prescription reading glasses when I work on a computer or read a book. In the near future, I will most likely need to wear glasses full-time. I think it’s interesting to note that at my last yearly check-up with the optician, the doctor told me that I qualified for bifocals. I think the idea of qualifying for bifocals is somewhat amusing, since I previously thought that it was only something older people would wear. Aside from the fact that my eyes are slowly worsening as I get older, I don’t mind having to wear glasses; I enjoy the look of them.

Daily Recap

Today was another long, yet rewarding day. Starting at 6am this morning, members of the group began taking their daily measures. Situated at 2840 meters, some people were already beginning to feel slight oncoming symptoms of high altitude sickness. From my understanding, many of us had difficulty getting a full night’s rest, or were experiencing a minor headache. Both of these symptoms are common minor signs of high altitude sickness, and it’ll be interesting to witness how those symptoms change for each individual as we continue to ascend up the mountain towards Everest Base Camp.

After daily measures were finished, we all ate breakfast together in the lodge around 8am. Porridge, hard-boiled eggs, and toast with the option of jelly were served. Soon after finishing breakfast, everyone gathered their things, applied sunscreen, and geared up for what was to come next. Fortunately, we were preparing to only hike the first half of the day, to then arrive in Namche and spend the next two days there. However, everyone knew that today’s hike was going to be strenuous, with 600 meters of elevation gain. The first hour of the trek wasn’t too demanding, but soon after the trail quickly became very steep. We took several brief rests here and there along our trek. These breaks served as blessings to catch a breather and conjure up some more will to continue further. With our steep incline through the mountains today, came absolutely gorgeous views. Like many others, I took quite a few pictures today. Although, it’s one thing to capture the natural beauty we are encountering on camera, but it’s another to witness it for yourself. By lunchtime, we arrived in Namche, a scenic village situated at 3340 meters. Soon after arrival, lunch was served and then we had a few hours of free time before we had to meet in the bottom floor of the lodge to watch the movie Sherpa.

 

After having hiked for several hours earlier today, watching a movie was a perfect way to unwind and relax. Sherpa serves as a fitting and educational movie for this trek, as it gives perspective into the lives of those Sherpa who help others to climb Mount Everest. A major part of this film revolves around the incident in 2014, when 16 Sherpa died from an avalanche while trying to climb through the Khumbu Icefall to ensure a route was safe and ready to be climbed by foreigners. Over the years, Everest has increasingly become a great tourist destination for people around the world to visit. Climbers come from all over the globe to attempt to reach Everest’s summit; a great achievement for any serious mountaineer, that is largely sought after. However, many people, even those who have climbed Everest, are not aware of how much effort is put in by the Sherpas. Without the Sherpas and their skills and guidance, most people would not even have the ability to reach the summit. The movie emphasizes that the work of Sherpas is seriously undermined. After the film was over, the group had a discussion about what the film presented, and how it made us feel. One of the most important things I took away from this was a deep respect for those Sherpa who put their lives at risk to earn a living. Even more so, I think I can speak on behalf of the group that we are all extremely grateful to be guided up to Mount Everest Base Camp with the help of our own Sherpa guides. I would like to recognize Tshering Wangchu Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Tashi Jangbu Sherpa, Fura Tashi Sherpa, Kanchha Nura Sherpa, and Bobby Raj Rai, who are all helping to ensure our safety and comfort on this trek. I’ve witnessed these men work diligently to help us along while we are hiking, serve our meals, check on us, and provide good company for this trip. Therefore, in light of their continuous support and guidance, I’d like to say “Thuche”, which means “thank you” in Sherpa.

ptr

 

Name: Chad Althiser
Age: 41
Home town: Worcester N.Y.
Area of Study: Exercise Science
Year in School: Junior

I joined the Everest Base Camp Expedition… for several reasons. First, I couldn’t believe that an opportunity to travel to Everest would be made available through a study abroad program. I have been fascinated with Everest for longer than I can remember. I have read many books and watched anything Everest related that I could get try hands on. The second reason I joined the expedition is because of the research and how it relates to my field of study and personal pursuits and interests.

I’m involved with the SU research studies by…I participated in the pre-departure studies, including hypoxia exposure during exercise, and baseline cognitive tests. while on the trek I will be participating in the brain blood flow study, I’ll be continuing to perform cognitive tests at the various altitudes including EBC. Along with everyone else, I will also have daily measurements taken. The measurements will include blood oxygen concentration levels, heart rate, and red blood cell content. These measurements will change as we increase altitude, and predictions about acute mountain sickness will be made. These measures serve to keep each participant safe, and will also contribute to a larger body of research regarding the human response to high altitude.

My favorite part of the trip so far has been…the completely majestic views of the Himalayan Mountains- first from the air on our flight in to Lukla, and then while we were trekking.

The worst part of the trip so far…The worst part of the trip for me so far was the 3+ hour delay on the airplane at JFK.

A few things I’ve thought were interesting…Certainly, the flight in to Lukla was “interesting”. It was interesting to witness stone masons, chipping raw granite into blocks and constructing immaculate structures. The close up view of the monkey playing on the power lines was also very interesting.

One thing most people don’t know about me…Most people don’t know that i earned a master’s degree in Military Studies.

Daily Recap

Today was a very busy and fascinating day. We made the much anticipated flight in to Lukla airport, which includes landing on a runway that is approximately 1/4 mile in length. The runway has a 12% grade to assist in arresting the aircraft after landing. Six people from our expedition had the opportunity to fly in on a helicopter. Needless to say, they were psyched, and haven’t stopped talking about the experience.

 

Once in Lukla, we had time for tea, and checked out a few local shops before beginning our trek. We started trekking at about 11:00AM and the first two hours flew by. We were all completely distracted from the trek itself because we were overwhelmed by the landscape and views, and so energized to be in the presence of these incredible mountains. After a stop for lunch and tea we continued up the Khumbu valley. We ultimately spent about 6.5 hours navigating the rocky route. We were in awe of the sherpas carrying 3 times their body weight in equipment and gear. They sped up and down the mountain, carrying loads in excess of 150 lbs.

We arrived at Monju around 5:00PM, and everyone was clearly fatigued, but still exhilirated. High fives were exchanged and the reality of what we’d accomplished to this point was apparent to all. The evening was slow- most retreated into a nap, emerging only for dinner, and then returning quickly to capitalize on sleep! A remarkably busy and amazing day. The outlook for tomorrow is extremely positive, and we have learned that if the weather is clear we will get our first glimpse of Everest from the ground.

(All photos by Andrew Burton, © 2018)