Alberta researcher studies Sherpas in the sky

A University of Alberta researcher is climbing to great heights in the name of science.

Craig Steinback, an assistant professor in the faculty of physical education and recreation, spent two weeks in Nepal in the fall studying Sherpasalongside 21 other researchers from around the world.

Sherpas, renowned for their mountaineering skills, are Himalayan people living on the borders of Nepal and Tibet.

Without their help as guides and gear haulers, it would be nearly impossible for climbers to scale Mount Everest.

"I have always been drawn to this challenge of low oxygen," Steinbacksaid in an interview with CBC Edmonton's Radio Active.

"You see this in people who compete in aquatic sports, and you see this in diseases. And certainly the mountains are a fabulous place to work."

The team was in Nepal in October.

The researchers spent a week hiking to their final destination the Pyramid International Laboratory/Observatory, which sits on a mountainside 5,050 metres above sea level.

Steinback said he and the other researchers immediately felt the effects of the altitude.

He was winded after climbing a staircase, while young Nepalese children nearby were easily playing a game of soccer.

That difference is what brought Steinback to Nepal.

"The study that I was leading was interested in the fight-or-flight response, the stress response associated with altitude. So we were measuring the communication between the brain talking to the blood vessels in the heart."

The research team did a number of tests on themselves, including blood samples, assessing blood vessels, and respiratory function.

They later performed the same tests on the Sherpas.

"The Sherpa themselves, they do respond to the altitude, but that response seems to be a lot less. So that fight-or-flight response is lower."

"What we hope to understand is what traits are associated with doing well at altitudes.

"We know that Sherpas do well at altitudes, and we hope to understand what mechanisms are at play. And what differentiates the Sherpas from ourselves."

Steinback has high hopesfor the data.

"We may also be able to apply that to diseases where individuals might not be able to get enough oxygen into the body through problems with breathing, or they may not be able to move the oxygen around because of problems with their blood vessels or heart."

Steinback said the researchers gathered a year's worth of data in the two weeks they spent with the Sherpa. He plans to work through it for years to come.