Mountain-climbing is not a good line of activ- 

 ity for an invalid or for one who shies at the 

 edge of a precipice, or for any one, either, who 

 worries over the possible fate of his family while 

 he is on a narrow ledge. Altitude, the great 

 bugbear to many, is the scapegoat for a mul- 

 titude of sins. "Feeling the altitude" would 

 often be more correctly expressed as feeling the 

 effects of high living ! The ill effects of altitude 

 are mostly imaginary. True, climbing high into 

 a brighter, finer atmosphere diminishes the 

 elastic clasp — the pressure of the air — and 

 causes physiological changes. These usually 

 are beneficial. Climbers who become ill through 

 mountain-climbing would also become ill in hill- 

 climbing. In the overwhelming number of cases 

 the lowland visitor is permanently benefited by 

 a visit to the mountains and especially by a 

 climb in the heights. 



Mountain-sickness, with its nausea, first 

 comes to those who are bilious, or to those who 

 are hurrying or exerting themselves more than 

 usual. A slight stomach disorder invites this 

 nausea, and on the heights those who have not 



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