Human Performance at the Roof of North America

Abstract

The effects of altitude on human performance and cognition were evaluated in a field study performed on Mt. McKinley in Alaska. Climbers performed a series of perceptual, cognitive, and motor tasks before, during, and after climbing the West Buttress route on Mt. McKinley. Relative to a matched control group who performed the tasks at sea-level the climbers showed deficits in learning and retention on perceptual and memory tasks. Furthermore, climbers performed more slowly on most of the tasks suggesting long term deficits which may be attributed to repeated forays to high altitudes.