Notes from the Field: Phil is on the mend

After descending to base camp on Everest, NOLS senior faculty member and Rocky Mountain River Base Manager Phil Henderson writes from base camp about his condition.

I am now back at base camp and have been for several days. The khumbu cough got the best of me during my last rotation. A combination of being sick, coughing, elevation gain of 5,200 meters to 6,400 meters, and high temps in the Western Cwm took its toll and left me very weak. When I arrived at camp II, my O2 saturation levels were at a mere 55 percent without oxygen. I rested over the next several hours without the oxygen, but my O2 sats never got above 65 percent. We decided it would be a good idea for me to sleep with O’s. I slept with a oxygen at 0.5 liters/minute and checked my sats throughout the night; they never went under 90 percent.

The next morning I was up, packed and read to hike back to base camp at 6 a.m. On the trail with the mask still on and the oxygen now at two liters/minute, I was quickly past camp I and back into the infamous Khumbu ice fall. I was back in base camp within three and a half to four hours. My cough continues to produce and keep me awake part of the night. My O2 sats here in base camp have improved to around 80 percent. I received some medication from the Everest Base Camp doctor, which has improved my condition over the past two days as I continue to rest and recover.