Photo @coryrichards @melissaarnot climbs above a cloud layer in the Khumbu region, Nepal. Everest is many things to many people...but for everyone, it's the highest mountain on the globe. The effects of high altitude on the human body are considerable. The percentage saturation of hemoglobin with oxygen determines the content of oxygen in our blood. After the human body reaches around 2,100 m (7,000 feet above sea level... Everest is 29,029 ft) the saturation of oxyhemoglobin begins to plummet. However, the human body has both short-term and long-term adaptations to altitude that allow it to partially compensate for the lack of oxygen. Athletes use these adaptations to help their performance. There is a limit to the level of adaptation; mountaineers refer to the altitudes above 8,000 metres (26,000 ft) as the "death zone", where no human body can acclimatize. Everest with oxygen is veritable walk in the park compared to Everest without oxygen. Melissa Arnot @melissaarnot has climbed Everest five times and is returning again this year to try to complete her goal of becoming the first American woman to climb Everest without oxygen. While in mass media, Everest still holds the allure of being the pinnacle of terrestrial human endurance reaching an altitude of 29,029 ft. (8,848 m), that idea is debatable at best. Around 4,500 people have climbed the mountain to date...the overwhelming majority using 'Os' The use of supplemental oxygen and Sherpa support has made this iconic mountain into a molehill for the masses. However, climbing the mountain WITHOUT the use of oxygen DOES remain at the limit of what the human body is capable of...and an honest feat of human capacity and endurance. @thephotosociety @eddiebauer @natgeocreative
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