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Peak Experience |
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The group's expedition can be followed on its Web site - http://www.idea2000.org/ |
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Perched on the side of the Western Hemisphere's tallest mountain, stuck in the middle of howling winds, swirling snow and subzero temperatures, a group of climbers must repeatedly do something that experienced alpinists would find crazy - take off their mittens, prick their fingers and draw a drop of blood.
These climbers will have more to worry about than high altitude sickness, frostbite, dehydration and other maladies that confront those who labor in rarefied air to climb the world's tallest mountains. They also must make sure their blood sugar doesn't fluctuate too much.
They are Type I diabetics who must take insulin to regulate their blood sugar levels. And this month they plan to climb Mount Aconcagua, a 22,834-foot peak that's the highest point outside the famed Himalayas.
Among the group are four Madison men who left last week for Argentina for the unique expedition.
Hoping the International Diabetic Expedition to Aconcagua team, known as IDEA 2000, will be a source of inspiration for diabetics, team members also will perform research and raise money for diabetics living in Latin America.
Few diabetics are in the relatively small group of expert climbers who have successfully reached the top of the world's tallest peaks. Practically all of them are on this trip.
The team includes climbers and trekkers from the United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, Wales and the Czech Republic. The entire eight-person summit team are Type I diabetics who must inject insulin daily to regulate their blood sugar. Two other non-diabetic climbers will climb above base camp and could attempt the summit.
The rest of the 18-person expedition includes trekkers, most of whom are insulin-dependent diabetics, who will ferry supplies up to base camp to support the summit attempt.
"There are definitely diabetic climbers and diabetic athletes all over the planet," said Bob Manwell, a non-diabetic climber from Madison who is a public information officer for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. "But this is unique because it's such a large group of climbers who are diabetic who are attempting to reach the peak."
Also making the trip from Madison to Aconcagua are Jay Handy, David Panofsky and Mark Timmerman. Handy and Panofsky are Type I diabetics and Timmerman is a sports medicine physician who is not diabetic. Manwell, who may end up climbing the summit, will be used as a control subject in the study.
"Very little research has been done on diabetics at high altitude, really none," said Timmerman, who will carry supplies up to base camp at 13,900 feet and possibly Camp 1 at 16,400 feet.
"Even though we don't have a terrifically large group, it's a unique opportunity to study . . . diabetics at high altitude. We will chart their symptoms of mountain sickness and at what altitude, measuring oxygen saturation at different altitudes and keeping close track of glucose levels," said Timmerman, who works at Dean Medical Center in Madison.
A reason why so few diabetics are high-altitude climbers is because of the difficulties in keeping track of blood sugar and taking insulin while doing such a strenuous activity in bitter cold.
"That will be a big challenge - dealing not just with the exercise and cold but the high altitude," said Panofsky, one of the trip organizers. "Being diabetics we do have a good sense, since we're spending so much time together, we know how to help each other because you're so in tune to the effects of both high and low blood sugar."
That will mean testing their blood sugar levels five to eight times a day or possibly more. But it's not like they can simply prick their fingers, put a drop of blood on a strip, wait for a small monitor to figure out the number and then inject insulin all the while tied to the side of a snowy mountain. They would suffer frostbite in a hurry. So Panofsky and others came up with a creative solution.
Each home-made fleece bag will have a small hole for the test strip where their blood sample will be inserted and a small plastic window to read the results. So diabetic climbers can unzip their jackets, insert the blood sample, zip up, wait 20 to 30 seconds, unzip and read their blood sugar level.
Insulin will be taken either by a pump attached to their waist, which looks like a pager, or via an insulin pen which they will use to inject the medicine into their abdomen.
Team members don't know what effect cold temperatures and high altitude will have on their hand-held glucose monitors or the liquid insulin they must carry. But they plan to keep everything at 50 degrees or warmer.
"One of the important goals for the group is to show that whatever obstacles diabetes presents for these people, they're not insurmountable," Timmerman said.
In addition to the tons of supplies needed for any mountain climbing expedition, IDEA 2000 team members will carry glucagon, a rapid-acting hormone injection to counteract insulin reactions. Then there's a different type of medication that will be needed in large quantities.
"One of the most important medicines is water - which, of course, is difficult when you're camping," said Timmerman. "The reason why water is such a concern is people need a lot more water at altitude. The average person needs four liters a day just to keep up. When you're exercising it's even more.
"But it's hard to drink that much and then you add in diabetes. Water is one of the treatments for very high blood sugar because it helps dilute the high sugar. We'll have to get it from streams."
The group's summit window - the dates within which they must begin their final push to the top - is Jan. 8-16. Of the various routes to the top of Aconcagua, the group plans to do what is known as the Polish Direct route across a stretch of the mountain called the Polish Glacier that features steep snow and ice. Most of the climbers will fly home Jan. 20 or 21.
"Almost any of the routes are an incredible challenge for anyone who goes there. The altitude and elements provide a nasty punch," said Panofsky. "But being we're diabetics adds another element. We'll be in subzero temperatures for days on end and we'll be needing to monitor our blood sugar and take insulin because that's what we need to stay alive."
"We started with a small group, 'Oh, wouldn't it be great for a group of diabetics to go climbing' " to an organization that hopes to raise $2 million for diabetics in Latin America and will attempt to climb Mount Aconcagua, Panofsky said.
"So what started from something pretty simple grew into something very meaningful," said Panofsky, who has been diabetic since his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Panofsky knew Manwell from the DNR and found out about Handy and Timmerman after reading about their quest to run a marathon in Hawaii last summer. Handy, a Merrill Lynch financial consultant who has been a diabetic since he was 13, wanted to see if he could run a marathon while maintaining his glucose levels and talked his physician and friend, Timmerman, into training and running the 26-mile course with him.
The four Madison men have trained for Aconcagua by running, bicycling and working out on Stairmasters while wearing heavy backpacks.
Handy, who wears an insulin pump, has hiked in the Rockies but has never done any high-altitude mountain climbing. He will be in the trekking group that will climb to base camp. Handy admits he doesn't know what to expect but says he hopes to be an example for other diabetics.
"Having run a marathon just in June, I'd like to help people with diabetes get off the couch. If I can do it, anyone can do it," said Handy.
