Using the 6-minute walk test for screening summit success on mount aconcagua

摘要

Mount Aconcagua, at 6962 m, is the tallest mountain in the southern hemisphere and one of the highly sought after 7 summits. It is a preferred destination among climbers owing to the psychological and physical demands it imposes, and serves as a nontechnical introduction to extremely high altitude climbing. With more than 3000 visitors annually attempting the climb predictors of summit success are in demand. In a 2010 Wilderness & Environmental Medicine article, Lazio et al proposed the use of a 6-minute walk test (6MWT) as a possible predictor of summit success. They found age and post-6MWT oxygen saturations above 75% to be statistically significant predictors of summit success, and suggested the test was easy to replicate in remote high altitude environments.