Day 59
   
   6/25/01
   14,200' Camp, Denali
   
   Acclimatization/rest Day
   
   This is one of those days climbers let their bodies adjust to the
   altitude.  You take it easy, tend to gear, lay around, read route
   info, or talk with other climbers if there are any.
   
   There are several conditions which afflict the human body at high
   altitude, which in general can only be avoided by allowing time for
   the body to adjust.
   
   1. AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness).  Not usually terribly serious, this
   is marked by loss of appetite, nausea, headache, and a variety of
   other normally minor symptoms.  Uncomfortable, but symptoms usually clear by
   themselves after a few days or by descending a few thousand feet.
   
   2. HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema).  More serious, this condition
   is caused when the lungs fill with fluid.  Obviously cause to descend
   as soon as possible.  Victims may be too weak to carry their own
   packs.
   
   3. HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema).  Deadly, and immediate descent
   is required.  When the brain case fills with fluid, victims are
   confused, unable to walk without stumbling (or at all), and must be
   evacuated without delay.
   
   Undocumented in medical journals is a much more common malady,
   affecting most every climber:
   HAFE (High Altitude Flatulent Emissions).  If you inflate a balloon at
   sea level and take it to high altitude, the low ambient pressure will
   cause it to inflate even more.  'Nuff said.

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