Crooked Creek Station

The expedition team, drawn from different universities, spent 11 days at the White Mountain Research Station in order to further understand how children acclimatiseto high altitude. Currently, there is no scientific data related to safe ascents made by children, and the current advice given by the Union Internationale des Associations d’Alpinisme for children > 14 weeks old is drawn from the advice for adult trekkers. It is hoped that the data gathered from this expedition will begin to fill that knowledge gap. Arriving in August the team collected their baseline data at the University of California before travelling onwards to Crooked Creek Station (3,050m) and the Barcroft Laboratory. Once here they established their field laboratory to collect the last of their data. Initial analysis of the data seemed to demonstrate a better ability to maintain blood oxygen levels in children during exercise at high altitude, which allows cerebral blood flow to be lower. Both of these factors are implicated in the development of acute mountain sickness (AMS), and these findings may mean that children are less susceptible to high altitude headache. Further analysis is to follow.