Both. He’s acclimated to those conditions, so that part isn’t a problem, but I really don’t like cigarettes.
I imagine he’s beside himself with concern over your lack of approval.
Right? He’s probably in better shape than I’ll ever be!
I don’t know, he has a dangerous job too.
It’s a bit more than just acclimatized to the conditions it’s genetics.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.01116/full
Sherpa is a subset of the Nepalese population on the Tibetian plateau that has developed over 30,000 years. During that time lots of adaptations to higher altitudes have developed. Given that the plateau averages 4500m high (approx 15,000") is a pretty strong selection pressure environment.
Yeah, Sherpa is doing a flex, pretty decent chsnce the other climbers would actually asphyxiate themselves if they tried.
He has air on his pack. He’s probably stressed from having to carry all those other people’s stuff up the mountain.
Yeah, I’m leaning towards bad ass myself.
Badass. He’s a baller. Also, iirc, being a smoker has some kind of performance benefit for high altitude climbers. Like, you are less likely to get altitude sickness because you are used to never getting enough oxygen anyway. But this guy is doing it because he’s a blue collar worker in a developing nation. And being a high altitude porter is already much more dangerous than smoking.
I’ve read a story where a guy survived CO poisoning and the medical staff said that he most likely survived that long cause he smoked like a chimney and his body was used to it.
Used it to defend my smoking habit a couple of times. No idea if it’s true tho.
Yeah…it doesn’t work like that.
I used to skydive, which takes you up to ~15,000ft.
Most normal people don’t get hypoxic untill your above ~12,000ft for 15-20min. Some of the smokers used to get hypoxic going through 8,000ft. Scary shit.
You’re talking elevations in feet and the post is using meters. 8,000 meters is approximately 26,000 ft.
I’m aware.
The elevations I’m talking about are related to people becoming hypoxic when not on supplemental oxygen.
At around ~10-12,000ft the partial pressure of oxygen is low enough that if your not used to it, you can become hypoxic. O2 @ ~20%
If you are on supplimental oxygen (which if you are climbing Everest, you are), in the “death zone” (~26,000ft) even if your are on 100% supplemental oxygen, the partial pressure is low enough that you can become hypoxic. 02 @ 100%
In both cases, if your lungs don’t work good (read; if you smoke), you’ll become hypoxic at lower levels.
You and other skydivers don’t LIVE at altitudes the Sherpas do. That’s the difference.
Just like the Bajau who’ve evolved to hold their breaths for 10mins and freedive to 50m regularly.
I was more commenting on the fact that smoking doesn’t help.
why is that scary?
Generally speaking you don’t want people to be hypoxic when they are jumping out of aircraft.
Being hypoxic means your brain doesn’t work at the right speed (amoung other things), which can be an issue when your falling to the earth at terminal velocity.
Edit: Clarity
Yeah but with climbing you also train your body. With skydiving the plane does all the lifting. Not comparable at all
Smoking is never cool. It’s so hard to quit once you start.
It took me 6 tries and I was young. The longer you smoke, the harder it gets.
I smoked so much from 14 to 20 it was crazy. Especially from 18 to 20. I had a job where i was bored and i would just smoke all day. I eventually quit when i was 26, and learned that i don’t really have an addictive personality, or i necer really liked smoking that much, whatever. I just stopped buying cigarettes and never touched one again.
But seeing my sister getting back to smoking after she quit when she was pregnant for about 5 years is soul crushing. She quit like 10 times in her life and will probably die smoking.
Quit smoking 4 years ago, there isn’t a day in my life now I don’t have to stifle a craving.
Dude! Quit burning all the oxygen!
a guy in my first unit ran a 4:08/4:24 first/second mile on the two mile apft. right before he started the run he smoked an entire cig in 3-4 inhales. I’ve never seen anything like it before or since.
Now I want a sherpa review of chewing coca leafs in the himalayas
Buddy, I have had a fuckin day.
Would be more badass if it were a blunt.
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Stupid… I wouldn’t consider a brave act as “bad ass” if it’s also stupid.
Don’t think you need supplemental oxygen literally every second. You can take a smoke break.
A mountaneer of my acquaintance said a lot of climbers smoke because - allegedly - it gets your body used to having less oxygen. He didn’t smoke himself. Sherpas are physically adapted to working at altitude, so maybe it goes double for them.
I just can’t imagine smoking being good for you at any altitude. I have asthma and being in high altitude sucks.
Well technically oxygen isn’t scarce, it’s just that the atmospheric density is too low to support continued human habitation. Wait, literally speaking oxygen molecules are more scarce. Don’t do this to me, language no longer works that far up in the mountains. I’m no mountaineer, I don’t know know how to make it work, maybe these experts can
Not a climber. But from docs I’ve watched, climbers smoke because it alleviates hunger. It makes it easier to keep going.
