Altitude sickness holds no prisoners and doesn't matter how fit you are...

You are either prone to it, or can cope with it.

The usual method is acclimatisation, spending nights at progressively higher altitude, then coming down.

The higher you go, the more tou need to do, but you can still get really sick and require medievac.

Above 8,000 metres, the body is slowly dying as it can't cope (hence the Death Zone) but oxygen and staying for minimum time are the ways round it.

My mountain climbing peaked (ha ha) with Mont Blanc and the Alps... too old to do more or higher now.

5 died on the mountain the week after my Mont Blanc trip... it's no walk in tbe park.

Good luck to him, I would have loved to do it but age and the £25k price tag were a problem.

Posted By: Worthing Yellow, May 3, 22:03:37