Xtreme Everest Team Looking For Volunteers

The Caudwell Xtreme Everest Team is looking for 112 volunteers to trek to Everest Base Camp next spring as part of a research program designed to test their reaction to altitude as they make the trek from Lukla to Everest BC.

Volunteers will first have to under go a baseline examination to take place at one of several locations in the U.K. Those tests will be used to compare later examinations at altitude to track changes. Then, on April 12th of 2009, the first trekkers will meet up in Kathmandu, with more joining the team every Sunday and Thursday, through the spring. They'll make the classic trek to base camp, while undergoing testing each morning to track the effects of altitude on their bodies. Once in BC, they'll spend two nights there before making the return trip. In all, they'll spend 23 days on the trek.

The cost of joining the expedition is £2,635 (roughly $4900). The money helps to go to fund the Caudwell Xtreme Everest research that continues to explore the strange effects of altitude on our systems. Back in 2007, the team successfully put several climbers on the summit, and recorded medical conditions of those climbers up and down the mountain.

If you're interested in joining the trek, go to this webpage for more information.

Thanks to Grough for tipping me off to this story.