University of Utah College of Nursing and School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA.
High Alt Med Biol. 2011 Fall;12(3):277-83. doi: 10.1089/ham.2010.1063.
Alaska's Denali (Mt. McKinley), 6194 m, is the highest and perhaps most celebrated peak on the North American continent. The cold and stormy nature of this mountain just 3° of latitude south of the Arctic Circle enhances its legend as a challenging peak. It has been the desired objective of over 1000 summit aspirants per climbing season for the last 20 years. As mountaineering traffic on the peak increased in the 1960s and 1970s, an increase in deaths and helicopter evacuations followed suit. These were largely owing to altitude illness, cold injuries, and trauma. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) began exploring potential solutions regarding the problems with rescue scenarios in remote and hostile surroundings. The NPS eventually placed a team equipped with communications and medical supplies high on the mountain to remedy the problem. This seasonal high altitude camp, established in 1982, carried out clinical research, preventive education, and rescue work. Although this operation has undergone substantial changes since 1982, it continues to serve Denali climbers each season and has likely reduced the frequency of serious accidents, death, and helicopter rescues. In addition, a parallel increase in NPS infrastructure, medical research, and mountain rescue on this peak has contributed to an increased benefit for climbers and others, which has served (and continues to serve) a wide range of interests, from the safety concerns of mountaineers to high altitude-related scientific discoveries advantageous to the scientific community.
阿拉斯加的德纳里山（麦金利山），海拔 6194 米，是北美大陆最高的山峰，或许也是最著名的山峰。这座山位于北极圈以南仅 3 度的纬度，寒冷多风的气候使其成为极具挑战性的山峰，声名远扬。在过去的 20 年里，这座山一直是每个登山季节 1000 多名登山者的理想目标。随着 20 世纪 60 年代和 70 年代登山者人数的增加，死亡人数和直升机救援人数也随之增加。这些主要是由于高原病、冻伤和外伤。到 20 世纪 70 年代末和 80 年代初，美国国家公园管理局（NPS）开始探索解决偏远和恶劣环境下救援方案问题的潜在解决方案。NPS 最终在山上配备了一支配备通讯和医疗用品的团队，以解决这个问题。这个季节性的高海拔营地于 1982 年成立，开展临床研究、预防教育和救援工作。尽管自 1982 年以来，该行动发生了重大变化，但它仍在每个登山季为德纳里山的登山者提供服务，并可能减少严重事故、死亡和直升机救援的频率。此外，NPS 在该山峰上的基础设施、医疗研究和山地救援的平行增加，为登山者和其他人员带来了更多的好处，这有助于满足（并将继续满足）从登山者的安全关切到对科学界有利的高空相关科学发现的广泛利益。
