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Day 2: May 19, 2018, as told by student Jackson Barnes
Name: Jackson Barnes
Age: 19
Home town: Montclair, NJ
Area of Study: Health and Exercise Science
Year in School: Junior
- I joined the Everest Base Camp Expedition because… I told my parents I wanted to climb Mount Everest when I first learned of its existence in the 3rd grade. I’ve always wanted to travel and experience living situations that make me think differently about the world. For me traveling is usually about the destination, not the journey, so the hiking on this trip will be a twist for me. The focus of this trek is the journey, and I want to step out of my comfort zone.
- I’m involved with the SU research studies by… taking part in daily baseline measures, cognitive function tests, and saliva/blood samples that help our researchers get the information they need.
- I’m most looking forward to…reaching out to a working climbing guide and learning what Everest means to them; I hope it will help me better understand what the mountain means to me.
- My favorite part of the trip so far has been… cheap, good buffalo dumplings and banana smoothies.
- The worst part of the trip so far… losing my $8 watch in the hotel Bathroom.
- A few things I’ve thought were interesting… Pricking a finger to get blood sometimes takes a few stabs and contrary to popular belief, the amount of oxygen in the air is always the same, it’s the pressure that changes and effects you as you gain elevation.
Daily Recap
Today was the most productive day I have experienced in a few years. First we woke up at 6am to do series of measurements for the researchers. They measured my weight, blood pressure, heart rate, ventilation, respiration rate, and hemoglobin concentration. After the initial testing I was told I have “good brain blood flow” (I bet they say that to all their guinea pigs) and then they strapped me into headgear and made me do an extremely frustrating cognitive test. But it’s ok, anything for science!
After a hearty breakfast with an Iron Chef making omelettes, we went to our first lecture. It was essentially an introduction to the science behind altitude sickness. We learned about how oxygen pressure changes as altitude increases, why humans get acute mountain sickness and oxygen delivery to muscles. We also learned about why yaks function well at high altitude.
Afterwards, Dr. Trevor Day showed us the route that we will be taking on the trek. I was a little sad to be exposed to the views because now I know what to expect. To my surprise, the hike will also include cappuccinos, snickers bars and an Irish Pub on the descent.
The day concluded with an early night and preparing to get on a tiny plane to fly up to our next destination and first obstacle, Lukla.
(All photos by Andrew Burton, © 2018)
Day 1: May 18, 2018, as told by student Ross Barnard
Name: Ross Barnard
Age: 19
Home town: Sherborn, MA, 30 minutes outside of Boston
Area of Study: Undecided
Year in School: I just finished my freshman year
- I joined the Everest Base Camp Expedition because… I have loved hiking since I was about 12. I have hiked pretty much the whole presidential range, and many major peaks in the New England area. Obviously I am not skilled enough to summit Everest but it is extremely cool to be given the opportunity to hike around one of the most well known mountains in the world
- I’m involved with the SU research studies by… I am different from many of my peers on this trip because I am undecided and most others are focused on exercise science. Still, I plan on participating in pretty much every study and area of research.
The Syracuse University Everest Base camp research team shortly after arriving in Kathmandu - I’m most looking forward to…see the culture surrounding Everest base camp and getting to hike around with amazing views.
- My favorite part of the trip so far has been… seeing what Abu Dhabi (because we missed our connecting flight) and Kathmandu have been like. I walked around Kathmandu last night and it was unlike anywhere I had ever been before.
- The worst part of the trip so far…This is not a bad thing, but the culture is so different from the US and while it is a lot of fun to see how the people on the other side of the world live it is also a little sad because you can see that many of the citizens are poor and trying to do anything they can to make a little money on the streets with shops or individual areas where they can sell their products.
- One thing most people don’t know about me… Most people do not know I am color blind. I am not good at telling the difference between red and green and blue and purple.
Expedition leaders Dr. Tom Brutsaert (L), from Syracuse University, and Dr. Trevor Day (R) from Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, lead the first trip dinner at the Kathmandu Guest House.
Daily Recap
Today we flew out of Abu Dhabi at 9:30 am and were in Kathmandu by 1:45 in the afternoon. Right when we got off the plane, I could tell we were a far way from home. I have traveled out of the country multiple times before but not to anywhere like as Nepal.
Yesterday made me extremely excited about this trip because of how cool the Nepalese culture was. We had a team dinner, debriefed the upcoming trek and got to meet everyone who will be involved on the trip, including the expedition’s lead guide, Nima Sherpa, who summited Everest in 2009. Walking around the streets at night, we saw all these small shops that were very unique. We saw dogs and cats running around the streets with children chasing after them. The streets were filled with people and you could hear the same type of electro music coming from different bars all located on second or third floors on the side of the street.
Tomorrow we will start research and experiments with urine, saliva, and blood samples to measure a base line for our bodies at relatively low altitude. Over the course of the trip we will keep measuring how our body reacts to higher altitude. I can’t wait for the next two and a half weeks!
(All photos by Andrew Burton, © 2018)
K-k-k-k-k-k Katmandu
For my Friend…R. Burton. Katmandu by Bob Seger
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Tom Brutsaert’s 2nd post
Although it is not my intention to commandeer the blog with my own postings, an update seems in order. At the moment, I am the probably the only person on the team who is awake (thank you jet lag), and who has leisure time, internet access, and the requisite cup of coffee to pull this off. Both Burton’s land soon, and in 10 minutes I will head out the Kathmandu airport to pick up the elder (6:20 am), followed by Andrew at 8:40. All SU students are in Abu Dhabi, the beneficiaries of a delay coming out of JFK airport. I cant tell you how relieved I am that Etihad Airlines offered them all hotel vouchers and a meal, instead of the airport floor and scowl when they hit the ground. Thank You Etihad! I imagine them all to be asleep at the moment in a dessert paradise. They will arrive in Kathmandu at 3:30 today, some 9 hours from now, perhaps better rested than if they had pushed through all the way yesterday. The Canadian students arrived last night, and as reward they will be roused soon to begin scientific testing: “Good morning, breathe into my machine, pee into this cup, and let me have a look at your veins.” OK, I am off. Let’s hope for some student posting later today from the courtyard of the hotel.
Namaste, Tom
The Indian subcontinent, Himalayas, Nepal and Kathmandu
Hello from SU!
The Department of Sport Management is looking forward to reading all about this trip! Enjoy, and be careful!
Tom Brutsaert’s first blog post from Kathmandu….let’s get this started!
The honor of the first “blog-from-abroad” falls to me. Welcome Syracuse colleagues, friends, and family! I am now in Kathmandu after a delightful 24-hours of flying, some of it on the new Airbus A380-800 (from JFK-to-Abu Dhabi). What an amazing plane! It is so big that you can only hear the 30-40 screaming babies in your own immediate section, but not the 260 other babies as they are too far away to be noticed. The first-class section is upstairs and I believe that whole section of the plane lifts off in an emergency i.e., should the misery from coach-class ever waft upwards.
I am in Kathmandu with my friend and colleague Dr. Trevor Day who is an Associate Professor of Physiology at Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada. Trevor is leading a team of 8 Canadian students and he is the principle investigator on one of our research projects (see below). Together we are making sure everything is ready for the arrival of your kids (and our students) and other team members on Thursday. Today, we will tidy-up base-camp by sweeping away all of the loose stone, and tomorrow we will polish the ice on the Khumbu glacier. We want things to look good for everybody! I will try to get Trevor to clean up the Yeti droppings, but nobody likes that job.
In seriousness, we are totally excited and can’t wait to get this thing started. I thought it might be interesting to tell you all something about the research projects that we have planned on our way to the foot of Everest. Here are some brief descriptions:
- Syracuse University, Cognitive Function at Altitude: One principle impairment at altitude is a decline in cognitive function prior to acclimatization. This may have something to do with alterations in brain blood-flow and hypoxia. Three of our Syracuse PhD students (Dr. Wes Lefferts, Taylor Harman, and Jacob Deblois) are leading this study. They have already measured all of the Syracuse team members pre-departure via a battery of hypoxia-sensitivity and cognitive function tests. Cognitive function and brain-blood flow measurements will continue on rest days all the way to base camp.
- Mount Royal University, Development of Portable Measures to Assess Acclimatization State: A major challenge in high altitude medicine is predicting who will get sick because of the hypoxia. Related to this is the development of portable measurement systems that allow easy field monitoring of the health of trekkers and climbers in extreme conditions. Using novel methods, Dr. Day and his team will be measuring all team members every day of the trek and adding to his growing data base at Mount Royal University.
- University of Michigan, Epigenetics of Altitude Exposure: Two of my long-term collaborators from the University of Michigan (Dr. Abigail Bigham and her PhD student Ainash Childebayeva) are leading this project focused on the control of gene expression as it relates to the acclimatization state of trekkers. Ainash is the driving force for this study, and together we will be collecting saliva and blood samples from most team members to return to the USA for analysis.
- Mid Sweden University, The Mammalian Diving Response and Altitude: What do diving mammals (like seals and whales) have in common with high-altitude mountaineers? They both enter into hypoxic environments/states; the climbers because of the reduced barometric pressure, and the diving mammals because of the extended periods of breath-hold time when they dive. While diving, seals and whales slow their metabolism and take advantage of red blood cells that are stored in the spleen. Humans can do this trick too, believe it or not! This study, led by Dr. Erika Schagatay and Pontus Holmstrup (mid-Sweden University) will test the hypothesis that trekkers with a vigorous mammalian diving response will also do well at altitude. Thus, team members will be tested in Kathmandu where we will be asked to hold our breath like a diving mammal to elicit the diving response. Then, we will be monitored closely for physiological responses and acclimatization state on the way to base camp.
We have a lot to do, and there are many more blog posts to come. I look forward to the posts from our students especially, as they will bring fresh eyes to this amazing experience. Hopefully the posts will give you all a good sense of where we are, what we are doing, and what it is like to move upwards towards Everest Base Camp with a group of 29 trekkers, 10 guides and porters, and 5-10 yaks.
Namaste.
-Tom Brutsaert, Kathmandu, May 15, 2018
Rick Burton’s Official Welcome
Everest Base Campers: This is the first blog post for what we all hope is going to be an amazing next month. Tom’s post from Kathmandu will come next.
See you at the hotel.
RB
