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What happens to your body at the top of Mount Everest - Andrew Lovering

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If you teleported from sea level to the top of Mount Everest, things would go bad fast. At an altitude of 8,848 meters, you would likely suffocate in minutes. However, for people that make this journey over the course of a month, it’s possible to survive at the peak for hours. So what happens in our bodies that allows us to endure this incredible altitude? Andrew Lovering investigates.


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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Andrew Lovering
  • Director Vitalii Nebelskyi, and action creative agency
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Storyboard Artist Alexandra Bolotova
  • Animator Alexandra Bolotova, Vitalii Nebelskyi, Volodymyr Boiko
  • Art Director Vitalii Nebelskyi
  • Composer Salil Bhayani, cAMP Studio
  • Sound Designer Amanda P.H. Bennett, cAMP Studio
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Producer Anna Bechtol
  • Associate Producer Abdallah Ewis
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
  • Fact-Checker Charles Wallace
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Want to learn more about climbing and high altitude? Please take a look at the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme for outstanding resources on mountaineering and mountain medicine. Also, for more in-depth information on high altitude physiology and medicine from one of the world’s foremost expert on high attitude medicine, Dr. Peter Hackett, please visit the Centers for Disease Control. If you are interested in learning who the latest and greatest “rock stars” are in the climbing world, look no further than Rock and Ice and Climbing Magazines. Finally, outside of being at high altitude, there are many clinical or medical conditions that can cause hypoxemia (low blood oxygen) and these are beautifully outlined here by the Mayo Clinic. Be safe out there and climb on!

Customize this lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Andrew Lovering
  • Director Vitalii Nebelskyi, and action creative agency
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Storyboard Artist Alexandra Bolotova
  • Animator Alexandra Bolotova, Vitalii Nebelskyi, Volodymyr Boiko
  • Art Director Vitalii Nebelskyi
  • Composer Salil Bhayani, cAMP Studio
  • Sound Designer Amanda P.H. Bennett, cAMP Studio
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Producer Anna Bechtol
  • Associate Producer Abdallah Ewis
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
  • Fact-Checker Charles Wallace

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