KATHMANDU, MAR 15 -
The specific methods of nutrition, hydration, rest periods, and load carrying capacity of Sherpas and Porters allow their bodies to quickly acclimatise to ascend rapidly at high altitudes, says a report conducted by Nepal/USA medical study.
American Dusty Boyd, a Fellow at the Wilderness Medical Society and research head, is going to present his findings at the 6th International Congress on Wilderness Medicine in Whistler, Canada in July, 2012. The study was conducted under the support of Langtang Ri, a trekking and expedition company. Langtang Ri said it supplied seven porters and two Sherpas that trekked from Lukla to the summit of Kala Patthar, Everest base camp, and Pumori base camp and back to Lukla in just seven days.
The climbers were tested
Sherpa on a mount everest basecamp walk
every day upon the ascent of every 300 meters (1,000 feet) for oxygen saturation, blood pressure and pulse rates by Phurkel Sherpa and American Dusty Boyd. The men ascended 800-1,000 meters each day, twice as fast as most medical literatures suggest, to demonstrate that specific methods of nutrition, hydration, rest periods, and load carrying would allow their bodies to acclimatise quickly, according to Langtang Ri.
It was the first trek of the year for each participant, ensuring that no man had acclimatised to the altitude. Each day, all the men would hike 6-14 hours a day depending on the schedule, and would be fed the same native diet of dal bhat, drink water at a specific rate, carry the same loads of 10 kg per man, and sleep at least nine hours a night.
Preliminary results demonstrate that Boyd’s regimented nutrition/hydration and specific rest periods each lasting 25 minutes resulted in much more efficient ascent rates than previously tested by any medical personnel.
This was the first study on the Nepal Himalayas where an American actually tested Nepali guides over a seven-day period.
Posted on: 2012-03-15 08:52 in The Kathmandu Post