A Breath of Fresh Air-Improving Survival After Avalanche Burial

Field studies of humans pushed to the limits of survival in extreme environments have informed understanding of fundamental physiological processes and provided insight into the mechanisms underlying various diseases. More than 150 years of interdisciplinary collaboration in the harsh context of mountainous high altitude, close to the peak of Mount Everest itself,1 has contributed to current understanding of adaptive and maladaptive responses to hypoxia,2 the genetics underpinning survival of ancestral high-altitude dwellers,3 and the discovery of treatments for high-altitude illnesses.4