Rome – Harsh environments produce a series of physiological adaptations that can alter body composition and physical performance itself.
High altitude, in particular, can be considered a natural 'laboratory' to study such adaptations, in relation to altitude and therefore to a lower availability of oxygen. It is known that high altitude has negative effects on people who normally live at sea level, so much so that exposure to hypobaric hypoxia can have negative, but fortunately reversible, repercussions on various aspects of human physiology ranging from fertility to muscle structure and function, respiratory and cardiovascular function to body and blood composition, as well as sleep alterations.
To investigate these aspects and make a comparison of the adaptive physiological responses between the Caucasian populations and those of the native Nepalese of different ethnic groups including the Sherpa, the International Project entitled 'Lobuje Peak-Pyramid: Exploration & Physiology 2022' is about to start. It will involve, from 20 October to 8 November 2022, a group of 22 Italians, men and women, aged between 20 and 60, and which is followed and supported by the Dire agency.
The group of 22, after a year of physical and mental preparation, will challenge their limits, overcome resistance and ancestral fears to reach the base of Everest at the Desio Pyramid, an international observatory and laboratory at 5000 m above sea level.
Learning objectives
Detect, record and study, during the various stages of the journey, the physiological and clinical parameters, individual physical performance and the psychological impact that such a journey can have on non-competitive athletes. This will be a true scientific expedition with an exquisitely 'ecological' character.
The expedition 'Lobuje Peak-Pyramid: Exploration & Physiology 2022', as regards travel, food and accommodation during the trek, will be supported by the Nepalese Agency Going Nepal Pvt Ltd / Going Nepal Adventure and its Director Liladhar Bhandari. The organization of the scientific phase in Kathmandu will be supported by the center 'Omkaar Polyclinic Medical Diagnostic and Therapeutic Center' directed by Dr. Suwas Bhandari.
As for the experimentation at the Piramide Laboratory, the project will be supported by the expertise, experience and availability of Dr. Agostino Da Polenza, Secretary General for the Coordination of EvK2Minoprio and the mountaineering researcher Gian Pietro Verza who deals with the climate monitoring system of the Piramide.
The stages until reaching Everest
Participants will depart from Kathmandu to reach Lukla (2840 meters) with a domestic flight.
They will then arrive at Phakding and off to Namche Bazaar (3446 meters) where a two-day stop is planned to allow the group to acclimatize. They will continue climbing to Tengboche (3867 meters) and up to Dgboche (4343 meters) to reach the 5 meters of Lobuche where the EV-K2 Minoprio Research Pyramid is located.
We will continue to climb, but always progressively to avoid 'altitude sickness', arriving at the Cho La Pass (5420 metres). From the laboratory Pyramid, excursions will be made towards the Everest Base Camp at 5384 metres and towards Kala Patthar, in Hindi and Nepalese 'black stone', a height under the terrifying south face of Pumori (7.161 m).
A group of 4 climbers, from the group of 22, led by Gaetano Di Blasio, will attempt, during their stay in the Pyramid, to climb the 6.119 m high Lobuje Peak among the breathtaking mountains of the upper Khumbu.
The study involves 12 Italian and foreign universities, as well as 7 international research centers. The results of this experimentation will be presented at national and international conferences and will be included in the publication of articles of world importance. The creator of the project as well as Principal Investigator is Professor Vittore Verratti, professor at the University of 'G. D'Annunzio' Chieti-Pescara who will act as Lead University in the scientific project.
High Altitude Testing in the Pyramid Laboratory of Ev-K2minoprio
There are nine research areas in total that will involve professors from universities and research centers involved in this project. The scientists, divided into different thematic areas of study, will investigate, through the analysis of blood, saliva, urine, feces and sperm samples, as well as through various functional evaluation tests, the human adaptive capacity and physiological responses that will manifest at high altitude.
For the tests, the equipment provided by the expedition will be used as well as that present inside the Piramide International Laboratory-Observatory, a scientific base managed by EV-K2Minoprio, located in Lobuche, in the Solukhumbu District, in Nepal, on the southern slope of Mount Everest at an altitude of 5000 meters. A high-profile place where only a few groups composed of international scientists and developing projects approved by the Nepalese government can access.
The work team
This type of investigation obviously requires the choral work of experts in different areas of health and who are interested in fertility, epigenetics, endocrinology, oral health, breathing & sleep, metabolism, physiological-muscular and nutritional impact, cardiovascular and respiratory, neurological, psychological and inflammatory. The team is also followed by experts in soil, geology and climatology.
Base camp links online on FB
How much will the weather conditions affect the participants? And their likes and dislikes? Will a different diet affect their mood? And how will the distance from loved ones and the limited possibility of connecting affect the participants? Will anyone drop out?
“The project born from the previous study 'Kanchenjunga: Exploration & Physiology 2019' - explains Professor Vittore Verratti of the Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences of the University 'G. D'Annunzio-Chieti-Pescara' as well as 'Principal Investigator' of the study - has as its protagonists 13 men and 9 women of Italian nationality aged between 20 and 60, sportsmen yes but not at a competitive level and certainly united by their love for the mountains. This will be a real scientific expedition with an exquisitely 'ecological' character.
We intend to study - continues Verratti - the adaptive responses of the human body to high altitude, taking into account the 'gender difference', age and belonging to different ethnic groups. With particular attention we will try to investigate the physiological differences between those who live permanently at high altitude and those who live at low altitude, trying to study, specifically, how the movement of the former and the latter, respectively at low and high altitude, can favor modifications in the human physiological structure".
"We recommended a training protocol to each participant in order to increase lung capacity and muscular resistance. The goal - specifies Gaetano Di Blasio, President of the Regional College of Abruzzo Speleological Guides who will technically guide the expedition - is to avoid 'altitude sickness' which in practice translates into a throbbing headache and which can degenerate, if not treated, into cerebral edema or pulmonary edema, very serious conditions that require hospital treatment.
In any case, high altitude, even for the most trained people, is always a question mark. Once the person has reached 'acclimatization', the ideal level between oxygen and hemoglobin, maximum physical performance can be achieved. Even if this is a well-known trek, the sum of the various differences in altitude of the route is equal to 8 thousand meters.
The group will have to give their best and be able to handle both physical and mental stress. It will be the task of the medical and technical side to ensure that people, at 5 meters above sea level, are perfectly healthy”.
“More than a journey, it is a personal challenge,” explains Federica Romano, a lawyer in Rome and a marathon runner who will be involved in the climb. “I believe I am the interpreter of the feelings of all the women and men who will participate with me in this expedition. A true dream for those who love the mountains. But in addition to passion, Romano points out, adequate physical preparation and optimal health are needed, given that it is a journey with a dual objective: sporting but above all scientific.”
Article published on 18 October 2022 - 20:47
