NEWS: 28th Aug 2006
 
Weighing In

The day dawns bright and warm, and all are in good humour. We set up a dining area as a small research lab, and daily diaries are distributed for data collection. We shall all be recording the oxygen saturation level of our blood at rest each morning, and then after a 30 second step test. The trouble is that we have no step- but find that a Coke crate is just ideal. The bar staff are delighted to donate two to the cause!

The science we do here is aimed at familiarisation with the equipment, and ensuring that some has survived the journey. Chris Imray is a distinguished vascular and transplant surgeon with a long history of mountaineering research. Mark Wilson is working with him: Mark is a brain surgeon, has experience in working all over the world, and has man-hauled sledges in the polar regions before. Together, they are measuring the effect of low oxygen levels on the brain.

Using ?NIRS? (Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy) they are measuring oxygen levels in the brain and muscle, and are also measuring brain blood flow. Mark has worked at NASA, where he helped develop a way to measure changes in brain volume: we hope to have the kit to do this ready to come with us to Everest next year. Mark is also flashing lights in our eyes, and measuring the time it takes for our pupils to constrict. More fun, Patrick has a clever ?pair of spectacles? which flash a laser dot onto a screen, and monitor the speed of our eyes tracking it.

Testing done, we grab a couple of hours to look around Tamal. The tourist area of KTM has certainly changed since many of us were last here: the roads are now smooth, and street hawkers all but non-existent. Nonetheless, some last minute shopping is done, including a re-worked tee-shirt featuring a yak- the title word being changed to ?Mac? by a bemused tailor. Mac is our expedition logistician. A veteran of many major expeditions- including many of those of Sir Ranulph Fiennes, his tremendous abilities and great sense of humour have become a massive asset. Presented with his tee-shirt that evening, he dons it at once, being told that a fine will be incurred from now on should he be found not to be wearing it.

Prior to supper, the team regroup to sort and catalogue all the barrels to be shipped tomorrow.