Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

In the inn, Yao Jun collapsed on the bed, took off his shoes, and after a whole day of walking, his feet were both tired and swollen, making him only want to sleep well.

“Huo, take the shoes outside, why do they smell so bad?” Bi Fang fanned his nose. He hadn’t smelled such an odor in a long time and immediately pulled Yao Jun up from the bed, telling him to place the shoes outside the window.

“Is that really necessary?” Yao Jun got up awkwardly and placed his shoes and socks outside.

Bi Fang shook his head helplessly, “It’s not just you here, and my nose is much more sensitive than the average person’s, I really can’t stand it.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Being in the mountains, what’s called an inn is actually just a few small earthen houses. Don’t even think about single partitions; one room usually contains earth beds that can sleep at least four people.

At that moment, Bi Fang and the others were gathered in one room, while the guide and a few others were in another, all waiting for the house owner to bring dinner.

Bi Fang took a hot towel to wash his face, then sat on a small stool with the others around a fire in the yard. The temperature in the mountains fluctuated greatly. Although it was still a bit warm at noon, it had begun to turn cold in the evening, even necessitating wearing a thin cotton coat.

As their fingers warmed up, Bi Fang spoke up, “Today was everyone’s first day of walking, and everyone’s pace varied, causing the group to stretch out a bit. Adjusting to a proper pace is something we need to discuss tonight. Did anyone feel like they couldn’t keep up today? Or could keep up but felt particularly tired? Be honest and tell me immediately if you have any issues. Though the risk of altitude sickness isn’t that high at three thousand meters, it’s not non-existent. And Sir, I haven’t heard you ask for a break all day; please don’t force yourself too hard.”

Sir Edinburgh laughed, “You may be worrying too much. I have always been at the forefront of the team. I’ve trekked far through both mountains and rainforests, so don’t underestimate me. I just hiked twelve kilometers on the grasslands not long ago.”

Seeing Sir had no issues, even with a flush on his face, Bi Fang turned to Wang Yongbo and the others, “How about you?”

Everyone shook their heads, except for Wang Yongbo who scratched his head, “I had a bit of trouble keeping up today, and my heart felt weird, like it was being squeezed by a hand. Could it be a precursor to altitude sickness?”

Bi Fang frowned, “What about the rest of you? Do you have the same feeling?”

The others shook their heads, but Jerret and the cameraman raised their hands. Indeed, they hadn’t reacted before, but thinking about it now, it seemed they did have that sensation.

All of these people had undergone physical exams before coming, and there were no diseases.

“It might be a precursor.”

Wang Yongbo and the others were startled, then started to worry. They were experiencing altitude sickness at just three thousand meters? What about the rest of the journey?

“No worries, if the physical exams were fine, then there’s no need to be overly concerned. As long as you’re healthy, the vast majority of people won’t have problems at three or four thousand meters. Besides, many people just experience a psychological reaction. I suspect you’re just a bit over-exerted today, and since we took a helicopter directly from one thousand meters to three thousand meters, the rapid elevation change might not have fully settled in yet. A good rest tonight should help.”

Wang Yongbo was a bit chubby, but not fat. As for Jerret and the cameraman, Bi Fang suspected it was just because the equipment was too heavy. Even with animals helping carry it, they both had to carry an extra near five jin of weight each, and the altitude sickness was likely due to the excessive physical exertion.

After some thought, Bi Fang had a plan, “Here’s what we’ll do. Tomorrow, I’ll ask Rob to find two porters to help carry your backpacks. Tonight, eat more cheese and chocolate—high-calorie foods are good for combating altitude. Later, I’ll have Rob buy some water, and you start drinking first thing tomorrow morning—drink at least 4L. Grab about eight bottles of Nongfu Spring or something, take small sips, aiming to feel like you need to go to the bathroom every half an hour. That should probably solve the problem.”

“Drink water?” Wang Yongbo was puzzled, “Does that really work?”

The viewers in the live streaming room were also very curious, could drinking water really cure altitude sickness when earlier employing porters to carry things was understandable?

[Isn’t this just major hydration?]

[I remember there are medicines for altitude sickness, right?]

[Exactly, isn’t Rhodiola one of them?]

Unexpectedly, Bi Fang shook his head, “It’s useless, those medicines aren’t as effective as drinking water. In fact, the vast majority of altitude medicines are placebos. They might be able to slow down the symptoms of altitude sickness but there’s no clinical trial to prove it, and it’s the same with Rhodiola. To this day, I haven’t seen any authoritative scientific proof. At most, it has some effect on the lethargy that can occur with altitude sickness.”

“Besides, do you all believe that there’s less oxygen in high altitudes?”

Bi Fang looked around the audience and realized that everyone indeed nodded, as that’s what they all believed.

Sir was also puzzled, “Isn’t that the case? Isn’t altitude sickness caused by the thin oxygen at high altitudes?”

“Wrong,” Bi Fang shook his head again, this being the second time in a short span, “from sea level up to 100,000 meters in altitude, the oxygen content in the air is about 21%.”

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.

Isn’t that common knowledge?

[Is Old Fang also suffering from altitude sickness (joking), losing clarity of thought?]

Bi Fang rolled his eyes, as his peak oxygen intake was at least over eighty at the moment. For a person like him to experience altitude sickness upon reaching an elevation of 3,000 meters, he’d have to suffer from a heart condition, a blood disease, cerebral vascular issues, along with various respiratory diseases, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and uncontrolled diabetes, with a plethora of debuffs before altitude sickness would be likely.

“There’s no lack of oxygen in the high-altitude air! It’s the people in the high altitude who lack oxygen. Have you been on an airplane? Its engine is essentially an internal combustion engine. If the high-altitude environment ‘lacked oxygen’, then the airplane engine wouldn’t be able to burn fuel normally to produce power to support flight, nor would passengers in the cabin be at risk of suffocation. Yet, in reality, every day, thousands of passengers fly safely in commercial airplanes at 10,000 meters up in the sky. If the oxygen content is 21% in plain areas, the proportion of oxygen is also 21% in high-altitude areas most of the time, which means there’s no lack of oxygen in the atmospheric environment. The proportion of oxygen doesn’t change at all.”

“Then how come altitude sickness occurs?”

“It’s the air pressure,” Bi Fang didn’t beat around the bush and gave the direct cause, “at an elevation of 4,270 meters, the pressure of oxygen is only 58% that of sea level. So, even though the relative proportion of oxygen in the atmosphere hasn’t changed, the absolute amount of oxygen has decreased due to the thinner air, leading to a lack of oxygen.”

“When our bodies go to the high altitude, we need the same amount of oxygen as we do in the plains, but the lower absolute amount of oxygen in the high altitude means that we have to breathe more air to get the same oxygen. Our breathing and heartbeat must speed up; we have to breathe twice at high altitudes to get the same amount of oxygen that we could with one breath on the plains.”

The benefit of an increased peak oxygen intake lies precisely in this, a higher utilization of oxygen. Where others might need to breathe multiple times on the high altitude to maintain their oxygen intake, Bi Fang could do it in one breath; the only difference might be a slightly larger expansion of his chest.

“Breathing is very easy to lose water, I’ve told you in the desert to breathe through your nose rather than your mouth so you lose less water. Because both the frequency and depth of breathing increase, we lose a lot of water, making us more dehydrated than the plains. At the same time, the increase in lung activity and heart movements also consumes a lot of water. Dehydration can easily lead to a decline in blood flow and a reduction in the amount of oxygen transported within. If not promptly hydrated, the consequences can be severe.”

Due to the cold and lack of oxygen, the high altitude can dull one’s brain. By the time you realize you are lacking oxygen, the consequences are already very serious; this is what’s known as altitude sickness.

“That’s why drinking water can effectively alleviate altitude sickness. It’s more effective than any medicine.”

[Impressive, it’s a real eye-opener!]

“`

[When a calf stands on its head, it’s bullishly sky-high]

[Who the hell taught you all these riddles?]

Just as everyone was marveling, the door suddenly opened, and a dark-faced Sherpa man came in, holding several large plates.

“Huo! Finally time to eat!”

Yao Jun sprang up from the bed and rushed to the table, starving after a day’s walk.

“Eat up, we’re currently at an elevation of 2610 meters in Phakding, the mid-point between Lukla and Namche Bazaar. We’ve got a long trek ahead of us tomorrow, so you need to fill up.”

Bi Fang passed out chopsticks to everyone. The food on the table wasn’t anything special, just some stir-fried noodles, fried rice, noodle soup, steamed buns, and permutations like Ruyi noodles and pizza-like concoctions.

“In the past, most trekkers on the EBC route were whites from Ugly Europe. In recent years, we’ve seen an increase in travelers from Huaxia. The inns and lodges along the trail have added a lot of Chinese dishes. You can find dumplings and noodles, and there are even chopsticks available. We’re in a good era now. Otherwise, we’d be stuck eating western food with our hands.”

Out of hunger, no one really cared about appearances and just started eating with chopsticks and fork and knife in hand.

Yao Jun, on the other hand, stopped the innkeeper: “Boss, I see there’s a Wi-Fi signal here. Can you tell me the password?”

The innkeeper wiped his hands, chuckled with a weather-beaten yet kind face that bore lots of wrinkles, unfortunately, the words out of his mouth weren’t so kind as he held up three fingers: “300 rupees.”

Yao Jun was stunned: “WTF? You charge for it? Alright, alright, tell me the password, I’ll pay! Let everyone use the Wi-Fi!”

But unexpectedly, the innkeeper shook his head again: “Three hundred per person, should I enter the password?”

Yao Jun: “…”

“Hahaha, forget it Yao Jun,” Bi Fang patted his shoulder, “No need to bother; don’t expect the Wi-Fi speed to be any good in a place where even the electricity isn’t stable. Just use your data plan.”

After dinner, Bi Fang summarized some issues and points to note.

“You can’t rely on feeling to tell if a person is lacking oxygen, because the brain and heart can tolerate a fair bit, and it’s not easy to sense issues. We need to measure it. Observing lip color is one way to measure—it’s a visual check. The color of the lips represents the color of arterial blood. If the lips are purple or black, it signifies that arterial blood is not well-saturated with oxygen, indicating a lack of oxygen in the body. Keep this in mind when climbing Mount Everest, so you don’t run into trouble. The most convenient method is to use a pulse oximeter; it reveals the true situation in 10 seconds. I see Rob has one, I’ll take you to get one tomorrow.”

“The remaining issue is trekking. I’ll call you all in the morning. Go to bed early tonight; we’re setting out at 7:30 tomorrow morning from 2610 meters in Phakding to 3440 meters in Namche Bazaar. We’ll be ascending 800 meters, and at that time, I’ll teach you some climbing techniques.”

At night, Bi Fang turned off the live stream and went out for some exercise before retreating back to his room to rest.

The next morning, Bi Fang opened his eyes, it was the first time sleeping in a bed during a live stream, which felt weird, but he quickly got up, dressed, opened the door, and started the live stream.

The drone immediately took off.

[So early? Isn’t it just 6:30?]

[Isn’t it still dark?]

“Latitude reasons, mate. Around Everest, it generally doesn’t get light until after seven during the spring and summer.” Bi Fang exhaled a breath of cold air, indicative of the chilly morning temperature, frost clearly visible on the nearby leaves.

“Today is April twenty-first. I estimate it’ll take six days to reach Everest Base Camp. Then I’ll have less than a month to do pull training, depending on the weather forecast from the meteorological bureau. If the right conditions come early, I might not even have half a month, so I have to intensify the training. That’s why I got up so early.”

Half an hour later, a sweating Bi Fang returned to the shelter, boiled some water, mixed some cold water in, then went out to the courtyard, stripped down, instructed the drone to avoid the view, and poured the hot water over his head.

“Whew! Much better.” Bi Fang shook his towel, wiped his face, and after exercising, his blood vessels were dilated, so he didn’t mind the cold at all, which wasn’t really severe as it was still above freezing.

[Damn, aren’t you cold?]

[Drone, fly to the right? I can only see his head.]

[So tough—outdoor showers, is this what real men do?]

The sound of water outside soon caught everyone’s attention as the sky began to brighten. Yao Jun blinked, yawning as he got up, then saw Bi Fang walking in, his body steaming.

Yao Jun rubbed his eyes in shock: “Holy shit, are you self-combusting? Why are you steaming all over?”

“Took a shower, get up quickly, and also this, you guys should use it.” Bi Fang put on his clothes and casually tossed a small bottle.

“What’s this?”

Everyone crowded around and found it was an alcohol spray.

“Alcohol spray. Go wash your feet in a bit, then spray this on, especially between the toes and the heels. After drying, apply a little alcohol to increase your feet’s endurance, it won’t tire as easily. I don’t share this tip with just anyone.”

Yao Jun didn’t quite understand but was greatly impressed; this was his first time hearing of such a thing: “What’s the reason?”

“It’s to relieve pain, and it reacts chemically with leather, making the shoes softer. Mountain boots are generally new; ours are too. New boots have the most friction but are too rough when unadapted and can rub your feet raw. Apply some alcohol and they’ll soften up.”

Excited by the information, Yao Jun immediately went under the bed to experiment.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier? I rubbed my feet raw all of yesterday. Forgot about it when we left the hotel, and after walking so much, I didn’t want to trouble you anymore.”

“Damn!”

(Come check out the official version, gentlemen. A book only costs a few bucks.)

“`