You’ve got to get me out of here!

Mountaineer's Essentials

1) AT LEAST ONE COMPLETE CHANGE OF CLOTHING including extra for such contingencies as rain & cold weather.

2) EXTRA FOOD. Include extra rations in your minimum. This is your insurance policy in case something goes really wrong.

3) SUNGLASSES. Every time you set out for a strange area it's good to have a pair along.If you are planning on desert, alpine or winter camping, it's a rare occasion that you will not need them. Even Eskimos worry about snow blindness.

4) A KNIFE. A substantial pocket-knife is the order of the day. No need for Bowie knife and the big sheath knife for those who are out to tackle bears with bare hands. A good Swiss army knife is excellent or a Buck for bigger job.

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5) FIRE STARTERS; jelly, ribbon, tablets or impregnated peat bricks. There are emergencies where a fire is both necessary and difficult to start. Every kit MUST include a supply of starters of one kind or another.

6) EMERGENCY MATCHES. Fire starters alone don't a fire make. You need matches. Long wooden ones are best & soaked in wax to make them weather proof and keep them in a waterproof container.

7) A FIRST AID KIT. See the proper chapter on how to build one.

8) A FLASHLIGHT. Everyone should carry his own and add extra batteries & bulbs just in case.

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9) MAPS. You should have a map when going to all but the most familiar places. It's not only a safety factor but can add a lot of enjoyment to your trip, helping you to find the best spots and sights.

10) A GOOD QUALITY COMPASS even two might help in case the first one goes berserk.

11) A SPACE BLANKET. It did not exist in the first writing up of this list. Today it's an invaluable safety precaution. Weighing only 2 ounces it opens up to a full 56"X84".It reflects up to 90% of a sleeper's body heat while at the same time keeping out rain, rain and snow.Not to be used as camping blanket but ESSENTIAL as emergency gear for all kinds of use including signalization

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What is High Altitude? Altitude is defined on the following

scale High (8,000 - 12,000 feet [2,438 -

3,658 meters]), Very High (12,000 - 18,000 feet

[3,658 - 5,487 meters]), and Extremely High (18,000+ feet

[5,500+ meters]).

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What Causes Altitude Illnesses? At sea level:

The concentration of oxygen: about 21% the barometric pressure: averages 760 mmHg.

As altitude increases, the concentration remains the same but the number of oxygen molecules per breath is reduced.

At 12,000 feet (3,658 meters) the barometric pressure is only 483 mmHg, so there are roughly 40% fewer oxygen molecules per breath.

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In order to properly oxygenate the body, your breathing rate (even while at rest) has to increase. This extra ventilation increases the oxygen content in the blood, but not to sea level concentrations

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Acclimatization The major cause of altitude illnesses is going

too high too fast. Given time, your body can adapt to the decrease in oxygen molecules at a specific altitude. This process is known as acclimatization and generally takes 1-3 days at that altitude.

The depth of respiration increases. Pressure in pulmonary arteries is increased, "forcing" blood

into portions of the lung which are normally not used during sea level breathing.

The body produces more red blood cells to carry oxygen, The body produces more of a particular enzyme that

facilitates the release of oxygen from hemoglobin to the body tissues.

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How to prevent Altitude Illnesses? If possible, don't fly or drive to high altitude. Start

below 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) and walk up. If you do fly or drive, do not over-exert yourself or

move higher for the first 24 hours. If you go above 10,000 feet (3,048 meters), only

increase your altitude by 1,000 feet (305 meters) per day and for every 3,000 feet (915 meters) of elevation gained, take a rest day.

Eat a high carbohydrate diet (more than 70% of your calories from carbohydrates) while at altitude.

The acclimatization process is inhibited by dehydration, over-exertion, and alcohol and other depressant drugs.

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"Climb High and sleep low." This is the maxim used by climbers. You can climb more than 1,000 feet (305 meters) in a day as long as you come back down and sleep at a lower altitude.

If you begin to show symptoms of moderate altitude illness, don't go higher until symptoms decrease (“Don't go up until symptoms go down").

If symptoms increase, go down, down, down! Keep in mind that different people will

acclimatize at different rates. Make sure all of your party is properly acclimatized before going higher.

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Stay properly hydrated. Acclimatization is often accompanied by fluid loss, so you need to drink lots of fluids to remain properly hydrated (at least 3-4 quarts per day). Urine output should be copious and clear.

Take it easy; don't over-exert yourself when you first get up to altitude. Light activity during the day is better than sleeping because respiration decreases during sleep, exacerbating the symptoms.

Avoid tobacco and alcohol and other depressant drugs including, barbiturates, tranquilizers, and sleeping pills. These depressants further decrease the respiratory drive during sleep resulting in a worsening of the symptoms.

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What is hypothermia? Hypothermia causes a widespread

decrease in the body’s core temperature which impairs intellectual, muscular and cardiac functions.In mountaineers and walkers it can strike two sets of people. those who are experienced and have suitable

equipment who are caught out by bad weather at high altitude

those people who venture onto the hills ill-equipped to cope with the changeable conditions.

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TEMP.° C

POSSIBLESYMPTOMS

STAGE

37-35 Sensation of coldness, skin numbness and minor impairment of fine muscular

performance, shivering begins

MILD

35-34 Obvious in-coordination and general weakness, stumbling slow pace with

mild apathy and confusion34-32 Poor coordination, frequent stumbling

with slow speech, retrograde amnesia occurs (loss of memory)

32-30 Shivering ceases, severe in-coordination with inability to stand, incoherence,

confusion

SEVERE

30-28 Muscle rigidity, semi-consciousness, pupil dilation, in-apparent heart beat or

respiration<28 Unconsciousness leading to eventually

cessation of heart activity and death at 20°C or below

What if falling into a crevasse? On Denali there is an ever-

present danger of falling into a crevasse, so climbers should never travel unroped. When a climber falls into a crevasse his/her partners must immediately move into self-arrest positions to prevent the climber from falling any deeper into the crevasse.

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While the rescuer farthest from the fallen climber remains in self-arrest, the rescuer closer by immediately sets up an anchor on the rope. This is done by hammering a picket or deadman into the snow. (An ice axe won't work.) The rescuer then attaches a sling to the rope with a tension knot, and the sling is attached to the anchor via a locking carabiner.

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The knot should then be slid down the rope toward the fallen climber so as to take up tension on the rope. Meanwhile, the end rescuer can ease the load off him/herself. For safety reasons, a second backup anchor should be placed and attached to the carabiner on the end of the knot. When the rope is secured the rescuers should assess the condition of the fallen climber. If the climber is uninjured, he/she can then begin to climb out of the crevasse under his/her own power, using jumar ascenders or tension knots.

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Can A GPS Replace a Compass?

A compass and a satellite-based Global Positioning System receiver are complementary tools. A compass does one thing a GPS unit cannot–point toward magnetic north. GPS units equipped with an electronic compass are gradually coming to market. Still, GPS receivers are battery-powered devices that potentially could run out of power. A compass, relying solely on the earth's magnetic forces, has no such limitations. Thus, even if you own a GPS unit, you will always want to carry a compass as well.

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GPS receivers are splendid devices. They are designed to measure direction of movement by calculating the difference between your current position and last position. They can also tell you your position without relying on visible landmarks for bearings, which is necessary for a compass must. On days of snow or heavy fog, that's a big plus.

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Another GPS advantage: When following a bearing via compass, obstructions sometime cause you to stray from your ideal line of travel. This requires you to keep careful track of any deviations you take from your bearing, to the point of counting the paces you take while sidestepping the obstacle. Once past the obstacle you might need to adjust your compass bearing, but key landmarks may no longer be in view. With a GPS unit, however, you can easily obtain a new bearing and reset your compass with a revised line of travel.

Bottom line: When you want to know which direction you are facing–an important piece of knowledge–you must have a compass.

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Type of writing: narration Vocabulary:

action verbs: bump, leap to one’s feet, struggle down the trail, stagger, speed down the road, pound on the door…

medical terms: vein, artery, nerve endings, emergency-room staff, surgery, soft tissue, a severed leg, to cleanse a wound…

shine, glare, glow, gleam, shimmer, flash shine: 照耀 ; 发光 , 发亮 shining ornaments 发光的装饰品 The star shone red on his cap. The joy shone on his face. 他喜形于色 . glare: 发射强光 ; 怒目而视 The sun glared down on us. 太阳灼照着我们 . glow: 灼热 , 发光 ; ( 脸 ) 红 , ( 身体 ) 发热 ; ( 感情 ) 洋溢 glow in the darkness glow with rage/anger 气 / 羞得脸发红 in a glow of enthusiasm 热情洋溢地

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words gleam: 闪亮 , 闪烁 ; ( 感情或特性 ) 闪现 , 流露 (moonlight) gleam on the river the first gleam of day 曙光 a gleam of hope A gleam of interest in this matter came

into his eyes. shimmer: 闪光 (moonlight) shimmering on the river

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wordsflash: ( 突然 ) 闪烁 a flash of lightening a flash of wit/inspiration a flash in the pan 昙花一现

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shake: 以短的、不规律的、常常急速的运动来回 摇动 ; 哆嗦颤抖，如因寒冷 , 发怒 , 激动 tremble, 因恐惧 、虚弱、愤怒、 寒冷或虚弱等原因而 不由自主地抖动；战栗 ; 摇动 shiver 颤抖 ( 尤指由于寒冷或恐惧 )

The house shook / trembled as the heavy truck went past. The victim described the enemy's bombardment in a

voice shaking with emotion. 激动得发抖的声音 I tremble at the very thought of it. 不寒而栗 She shivered at the thought of going into the dark house

alone.

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Missing, 不见，缺少，失踪的 Lost ：迷路，丢失，失去的

"The missing letter was in his pocket, if you please!“

This book has 12 missing pages. A lost child/pen/art/ship Our advice was not lost on him.

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Study the following structure

He wondered how a woman so small and soft-spoken could have such strength and endurance.

Sitting cross-legged and sheltered by the cliff, she was unaware of…

Rocks the size of garbage cans were crashing down the cliff and exploding around her.

Study the following structure

Pale-faced and trembling, Ric told her…

Katie Kemble, a 34-year-old nurse and owner of a climbing school, had taken time off from her work to come here.

They came to a slope, a steep quarter-mile field of rocks.

It’s sheer granite face juts up hundreds of feet, with only a few handholds to bear a climber’s weight.sheer: 1) complete sheer nonsense a sheer waste of time by sheer chance 2) very steep a sheer rock

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It’s sheer granite face juts up hundreds of feet, with only a few handholds to bear a climber’s weight. jut: to extend outward or upward The cliff rises hundreds of feet

high, and there are only a few places one can hold onto for support.

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Exhaustion was catching up with him.He finally began to feel exhausted.catch up with sb.: to finally start to

cause trouble for sb. after one has managed to avoid this for some time

Some day, his old wound will catch up with him.

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…and breath came in painful gasps from the altitude. Due to high altitude, his breath

changed to painful gasps. As they sped down the road, bumps

sent lightning bolts of pain through Katie’s body. As they drove fast down the road,

the bumps and jerks of the truck sent sharp and severe pain through Katie’s body.

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As the initial shock began to wear off, the nerve endings became more sensitive, causing even greater pain.当最初的震惊逐渐平息，腿上的神经末梢变得敏感起来，因而引起了更大的疼痛。wear off: (of a feeling, effect, etc. , esp.

an unpleasant one) to become less strong, to be reduced until disappear

An hour after he took the medicine, his toothache began to wear off.

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A vein was taken from her right leg to fashion an artery for her left. fashion: to shape or make, usu. with

hands or with a few tools The children learn how to

fashion clay into cups, vases, or whatever.

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Discussion Is courage only to be found in

wars? How is it displayed in everyday life?

What do you think are the sources of courage?