Challenge8000 Mountains

The Challenge8000 team will be climbing above 8000metres on both expeditions to Cho Oyu in autumn 2009 and Everest in spring 2010. At this altitude, the amount of oxygen in the air is only about third that at sea level and if one had to be transported to the top without going through a proper acclimatisation process, loss of consciousness, coma and death will follow within few minutes.

The acclimatisation process to climb at such altitudes takes several weeks and the Challenge8000 team will be making multiple trips between basecamp and intermediate camps that will be setup high on the mountains, necessary for stocking the camps and acclimatisation. The climbing is organised in cycles of climbing higher to allow the body to gradually adjust to lack of oxygen and returning to lower altitudes to rest, recuperate and eat until the team is ready to make a bid for the summit. Supplementary oxygen will be used above 8000metres as is the norm on such expeditions and should provide a marginal element of safety at high altitude where a combination of technical climbing difficulties, hypoxia, extreme weather conditions and exhaustion pose inevitable threats.

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