Opening Ceremony

Mt. Everest Climber and Renowned Altitude Medicine Authority to Open ATS 2011

Peter Hackett, MD, an internationally recognized expert in altitude medicine, will give the opening address at ATS 2011. In 1981, Dr. Hackett, who is also a mountain climber, became the first person to climb alone from Mt. Everest’s high camp to its summit and survive.

The address, entitled  “High Science: Colorado, Everest and Beyond,” will be given during the Opening Ceremony, which will be held Saturday afternoon, May 14, from 4:30 to 5:30 pm.

Dr. Hackett recounted his historic climb at the American Thoracic Society’s 2001 International Conference, when he delivered the President’s Lecture.  His talk at this year’s International Conference will focus more on the history of altitude research, recent developments in the field and the potential applications of a growing body of knowledge on the healthcare of people living at lower altitudes.

Dr. Hackett’s career as a climber and high altitude medicine specialist began in 1974. After interning at San Francisco General Hospital, he worked as a rescue physician at Yosemite National Park, where he began rock climbing.  That same year, he traveled to Mt. Everest, where he worked for six years as a trekking and climbing guide and as a medical and rescue volunteer. It was then that he started collecting data on altitude sickness.

Dr. Hackett’s passion for climbing and for his research has taken him around the world and put him in leadership roles at several international organizations. He has served as president of the International Society for Mountain Medicine; chairman of the International Relations Committee of the Wilderness Medical Society; and co-chair of the International Hypoxia Symposium. He has often served in these positions while also working as an emergency medicine physician.   

In 1976, Dr. Hackett published his first paper on high altitude sickness in The Lancet. It was the lead article. At the time, he notes, there were maybe 20 papers a year published on altitude medicine. Today, about 400 papers are published each year on altitude medicine.

As the field of altitude medicine has matured, Dr. Hackett says, he has shifted the focus of his research. Originally interested in climbers and skiers—he directed research at both the Himalayan Rescue Association and the Denali [National Park] Medical Research Project for 14 years--he is now more interested in those who live and work at high altitudes.

In 2007, he founded the Institute for Altitude Medicine, in Telluride, Colorado, whose 2,200 residents live 8,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level. The institute provides care, conducts research and educates both medical professionals and the lay public about health issues related to high altitude.

“My hope is that I can contribute to helping people achieve the lifestyle they seek,” he says, summing up his career. “If you want to live in the mountains, I believe there are ways to manage the health challenges and maintain your well-being so that you can live the life you want.”