SukritiBreathing With No Air
The most important thing about mountain climbing was the less availability of oxygen. As the height increases, the oxygen level decreases and it becomes quite difficult to breathe. The body reacts differently when the brain doesn’t get the required amount of oxygen. Most of the team failed to reach to the plane wreckage as they were not able to breathe properly. Dan and Isaac took some tips from the climbing experts who told them that they should practice several weeks adapting to the altitude in La Paz before their climb, but the time was less and they had to come up with alternate ways.
A Way Around
Dan and Isaac started preparing themselves while staying at homes. They bought an altitude tent and fixed it in their basement. This made a similar kind of environment for them and they slept in it on alternate nights and woke up with headaches and more.
Taking Its Toll
“It was awful. We would wake up with headaches,” told Dan. This trick worked great for them as they understood how their body reacts when it is deprived of oxygen. So they took medication named Diamox, that would guide their body in absorbing more oxygen. But this wasn’t all of their problems, they’d much more problems to face, it was ice climbing and they had a lot to learn.
Arms Of Steel
Dan jokingly said, “[We did] a lot of pull-ups with backpacks on. Isaac mostly attempted and I did all the pull-ups for both of us. I envisioned him hanging off the end of a cliff and me being the only person that could save his life.” They were having fun and preparing at the same time. They needed enough strength to climb ice.
Touching A Cloud
It was mid-May of 2016, Dan and Isaac took off for their trek. They were accompanied by Robert Rauch, an experienced climbing guide. Robert is one of the first people to accomplish climbing Mount Illimani. Peter Frick-Wright, a journalist for the Outdoor Magazine became a part of their trek team. Peter wanted to write a story on the updates about the voice recorder. Other than the 4 of them there was a cook named Jose, a Bolivian native who has been part of the trek on Mt. Illimani before as well.
High In The Sky
Within a few minutes of entering La Paz, the altitude and the weather started affecting the people. Robert and Jose were quite comfortable with the environment and Dan was copping up with the new place. Isaac and Peter were facing a hard time with the oxygen issues. They had a long way to go but they were trying to manage their shortcomings.