It is appropriate that this paper has appeared in the BMJ coninciding
with the 50th anniversary of Hillary and Tensing's pioneering climb which
occurred at the same time as the Queen's Coronation in 1953.
I have never been a real climber myself- the conquest of Snowdon
being my only achievement. However, when the BMA organised joint overseas
meetings in the 60's & 70's, we had the pleasure of hearing Hillary
give the inaugural lecture in Hong Kong in 1969 - his subject being an
illustrated lecture on his 1967 expedition in India entitled 'From the Sea
to the Sky'. He and his party (including his son) navigated the Ganges
from its delta to its source (at approximately 20,000 feet) in the lower
range of the Himalayas. This was by no means a straightforward exercise
for these experienced climbers - they were feted by local dignatories
along the whole route, only escaping their attentions when in mid-stream
in their outboard-powered inflatables.
On nearing their destination Hillary himself developed the full
picture of mountain sickness and had to be evacuated by air. The account
of this is well documented in the bood Hillary published (From the Sea to
the Sky) at about the time of his BMA Hong Kong lecture. His friend,
Colin Aikman, (a personal friend of mine) who was then New Zealand's High
Commissioner in Delhi, was responsible for organising the helicopter
resuce by the Indian Air Force. Hillary made a rapid recovery at the
nearest Air Force hospital, his son and his party going on to achieve the
projected summit. Edmund Hillary was by then in his 60's and had no
chance of acclimatisation on his lengthy journey starting at sea level
along the Ganges.
The BMJ article is a warning to those ameteur trekkers who are
tempted by so called walking holidays in Nepal and surrounding area, often
flying in to base camp by plane.
Yours sincerely
H Max White MRCGP
Fellow BMA
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests:
No competing interests
06 May 2003
Dr H Max White MRCGP
Fellow BMA - Retired GP
GP retired Davenal House Surgery 28 Birmingham Road Bromsgrove B61 0DD
Rapid Response:
The Dangers of High Altitude
It is appropriate that this paper has appeared in the BMJ coninciding
with the 50th anniversary of Hillary and Tensing's pioneering climb which
occurred at the same time as the Queen's Coronation in 1953.
I have never been a real climber myself- the conquest of Snowdon
being my only achievement. However, when the BMA organised joint overseas
meetings in the 60's & 70's, we had the pleasure of hearing Hillary
give the inaugural lecture in Hong Kong in 1969 - his subject being an
illustrated lecture on his 1967 expedition in India entitled 'From the Sea
to the Sky'. He and his party (including his son) navigated the Ganges
from its delta to its source (at approximately 20,000 feet) in the lower
range of the Himalayas. This was by no means a straightforward exercise
for these experienced climbers - they were feted by local dignatories
along the whole route, only escaping their attentions when in mid-stream
in their outboard-powered inflatables.
On nearing their destination Hillary himself developed the full
picture of mountain sickness and had to be evacuated by air. The account
of this is well documented in the bood Hillary published (From the Sea to
the Sky) at about the time of his BMA Hong Kong lecture. His friend,
Colin Aikman, (a personal friend of mine) who was then New Zealand's High
Commissioner in Delhi, was responsible for organising the helicopter
resuce by the Indian Air Force. Hillary made a rapid recovery at the
nearest Air Force hospital, his son and his party going on to achieve the
projected summit. Edmund Hillary was by then in his 60's and had no
chance of acclimatisation on his lengthy journey starting at sea level
along the Ganges.
The BMJ article is a warning to those ameteur trekkers who are
tempted by so called walking holidays in Nepal and surrounding area, often
flying in to base camp by plane.
Yours sincerely
H Max White MRCGP
Fellow BMA
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests