After effects

After returning to NJ, there was one unexpected after effect from the climb: euphoria!
About a week after returning and continuing for 2-3 weeks, I felt lighter, faster, quicker, not only physically but mentally as well. This near euphoria, I-can-do-anything attitude, slowly faded and by the end of October I was back to my normal self.

So what made those weeks following the climb so amazing?
I'm pretty sure it was oxygen.
Being above 12,000 feet for 5 days, and above 15000 feet for 2 days, my body sensed I was in oxygen deprivation (remember my visual impairments at the summit?), and my body adapted by inducing the generation of additional red blood cells. It takes about a week or so for those cells to mature and begin caring oxygen, so in the weeks after I returned my body was carrying more oxygen and allowing my brain and muscles to work better.

Sadly, this really suggests we are all in oxygen deficit our entire lives, living at about 70-80% of our capacity. What would life be like if only we all had more oxygen? Would we all be smarter, happier, more active?