Most climbers need the help of oxygen to climb and sleep in the Death Zone. Listen to experts talk about how high altitudes affect people. Read about Nova's tests of four people's mental abilities as they ascend to higher and higher altitudes. The Biology Explorer activity Acclimatization examines how the body acclimates to decreased pressure of oxygen in the atmosphere. Carrying personal litter off Mt. Everest becomes unimportant when one is struggling to stay alive.
Climbers often abandon extra gear when they are descending the mountain.
The refuse at Camp IV includes everything from 1,000 empty oxygen bottles to the remains of a helicopter that crashed there in 1973. Environmental Ethics Despite all the obstacles and the equipment to overcome them, many people believe that expeditions to Mt. Everest can be carried out in an environmentally sensitive manner. Because of plate tectonics, the 8,848-meter Mt. Everest grows about 5 mm taller each year. Learn more about this phenomenon. Discover how the Himalaya Mountain Range will shift over time.