Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

The human body is susceptible to a huge range of complications when exposed to high altitude. Two of the most dangerous of these are HAPE, or high-altitude pulmonary edema, where there is excess fluid in the lungs, and HACE, or high-altitude cerebral edema, where there is excess fluid in the brain. Both of these require that the victim be immediately transported to a lower altitude, as well as obtain immediate medical help.

Hypoxia is a state where inadequate oxygen is available. Symptoms can include disorientation, confusion, extreme fatigue, susceptibility to cold, and death.

Sherpa are an ethnic group who live in the Khumbu Valley region of Nepal. Early mountaineers enlisted the help of locals adept at physical activity at high altitudes to help them to climb and load-bear in their Everest attempts. These individuals are known as climbing Sherpas, but the term “Sherpa” is now commonly used to mean climbing Sherpa, rather than to denote someone of the ethnic group.