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In mountaineering, the death zone refers to altitudes above which the pressure of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span. This point is generally agreed as 8,000 m (26,000 ft), where atmospheric pressure is less than 356 millibars (10.5 inHg; 5.16 psi). [ 1 ]
In the death zone, the human body cannot acclimatize. An extended stay in the death zone without supplementary oxygen will result in deterioration of bodily functions, loss of consciousness, and, ultimately, death. [3] [4] [5] The summit of K2, the second highest mountain on Earth, is in the death zone.
Humans are generally adapted to lowland environments where oxygen is abundant. [12] At altitudes above 2,500 meters (8,200 ft), such humans experience altitude sickness, which is a type of hypoxia, a clinical syndrome of severe lack of oxygen. Some humans develop the illness beginning at above 1,500 meters (5,000 ft). [13]
In the region from sea level to around 3,000 m (10,000 ft), known as the physiological-efficient zone, oxygen levels are usually high enough for humans to function without supplemental oxygen and altitude decompression sickness is rare. The physiological-deficient zone extends from 3,600 m (12,000 ft) to about 15,000 m (50,000 ft).
The mountain was first climbed on October 19, 1954, via the north-west ridge by Herbert Tichy, Joseph Jöchler and Sherpa Pasang Dawa Lama of an Austrian expedition. [10] Cho Oyu was the fifth eight-thousander to be climbed, after Annapurna in June 1950, Mount Everest in May 1953, Nanga Parbat in July 1953 and K2 in July 1954.
Chimborazo is only the 39 th tallest mountain in the Andes, when measured from sea level, but there was a brief time in the 19 th century when it was thought to be the world’s highest peak.
The first ascent took the West Spur and was accomplished without the aid of supplemental oxygen, high-altitude porters, or base camp support. [4] In July 2007, an Austrian mountaineering team climbed Broad Peak and retrieved the corpse of Markus Kronthaler, who had died on the mountain one year before, from over 8,000 metres. [6] [7]
In May 2019, Sirbaz became the first Pakistani to successfully summit the 8,516-metre (27,940-foot) high Mount Lhotse – the world’s 4th highest mountain - without using supplementary oxygen. [8] In July 2019, Sirbaz climbed the summit of the 8,047-metre (26,401 ft) Broad Peak mountain in Pakistan, without using supplementary oxygen. [9]