End of the line

Well, I am happy to report that testing at the Xtreme Everest 2 Namche Laboratory has concluded! Quite honestly, it really snuck up on me. Yesterday our last Sherpa bike tester finished up and we took off her mask and asked her, "What caused you to stop exercising, your breathing or your legs?" (as we do) and Andy, my bike testing partner, and I looked at each other and just sighed - and then it was over. I can't believe we opened this lab almost two months ago.

However, the story is yet to be told. It's waiting to be told in two ways, really. The first is that while some testing will still happen at the other labs at base camp and in Kathmandu, essentially my research work is complete which means that in a few short days, I'll be off on my own climbing and trekking adventures (and trust me, I'll be happy to share those stories in a few weeks). The other story that is left to be told is held in countless hard drives and frozen at -40 Celsius in a number of freezers up and down the Khumbu:

Treasure troves of frozen fluids

The aftermath of this trip is that for months or even years, the data will be analyzed and hopefully over time we will come to understand more about how the human body reacts and responds, either well or poorly, to low levels of oxygen. All this in hopes that we can get better at treating people who find themselves not only climbing peaks at high altitude but also who wind up in a hospital bed fighting for their lives.

But for now I can't hardly predict the future so I'll give you all a brief look at the facilites. It's a bit drab, but I figured somebody might like to see some of our set up and all the stuff that I've come to take for granted a little bit.

Yep, that's a tube stuck up her nose. Tom knows how to treat a lady right.

I know have thrown in a lot of pictures of the bike testing but I think it bears repeating that we are running over 60 studies on this expedition on close to 200 trekkers including Sherpas, Westerners, twins, and children. It is an enormous undertaking. Above is recently qualified doctor Tom Davies running a machine that measures the amount of nitric oxide present in this Sherpa's exhaled breath. Nitric oxide is a chemical that vasodilates (if your arteries are a hose, vasodilation is opening up the valve) and may be linked to circulation changes that occur at altitude - Sherpas typically have higher levels.

I'd love to say that Steve wasn't injecting small amounts of urine into tiny bottles... but I'd be lying

The cold hard truth is that not all science is just standing next to an exercise bike and looking like a red-headed Rico Suave. All the samples have to be treated with care. Here is our processing table next to the freezers where you can just crank some tunes and pipette some fluids with your homies.

Sonam and the Skinny Guy (AKA Skinny Dude... essentially we don't remember his name and we've been here for two months so it's awkward to ask)

Potentially one of the biggest tasks for a full day of testing is organizing when people get to eat. The staff at the Hotel Sherwi Kangba have been incredible and following our complicated eating schedules to get 14 people per day tested and fed at appropriate times so as to comply with our scientific protocols. Above is the bar at which I have eaten about 90% of my meals for the past few months. We know the menu rotation quite well - tonight I'm enjoying curried chicken, potatoes, with daal (lentil soup) baat (rice) - it's one of their best.

The Namche lab Cinema - playing "Doctors in the Death Zone"

While I think that a person could easily survive on combination of science, climbing, and daal baat, it is nice to mix it up from time to time. Our lodge owner has graciously provided a projector and a large screen for our viewing pleasure. On four nights a week, we invite our treks and any fellow guests here to watch the documentary on our 2007 expedition, "Doctors In the Death Zone" - Part 1 and Part 2 are free on youtube. When we have the lodge to ourselves, we diversify a tad...

Club Namche - The Height of Entertainment!

Perhaps as a consolation for all the poking and prodding, we have established Club Namche for our trekkers. The highest night club in the world, Namche boasts a pool table with token poorly-placed pillar, disco ball, gold-painted yak skull, and laser light show. My tagline used to be, "I'm a much better dancer than I am a pool player," but my billiards skills have improved drastically if I may say so myself.

Barrels on barrels

Here is a small look at just a few of the barrels that carried our equipment here to Namche. Our current task is to repack 2 months worth of supplies to send down and ship home. I can say from today's experience that there is a lot of gear - probably around 2 tons for our lab alone!

Taken on the boulders between Syangboche and Khumjung

Oh yeah, and I still climb of course. The past week has seen a lot of busy lab days and dismally cold and cloudy weather, but this little gem was taken by Tom Geliot last weekend just off the trail to Khumjung. The area is incredible with lush pines. The rock is good where it's not too mossy.

Never tell me that, "No one cares that you ski at Alta"

Here's a shout-out for all the people who understand why heaven is always illustrated as having white fluffy stuff all over the ground - that ain't no cloud, that's four feet of fresh! I found this Alta sticker in the Danfe Bar - the owner lives in New York in the off season and while she's no Altaholic, her husband apparently gets out West quite a bit and knows where it's at. LCC!

And that's a wrap for now! Although I'll still have access to e-mail and facebook for the next few days and would love to hear from any and all of you, this will be my last blog post before I hit the trail for almost 25 days! I'm sure I'll have plenty of wrap-up once I get back to Kathmandu but for now, take a deep breath, get outside, read up on some science, and don't do anything I wouldn't do. In closing:

Namaste!