Although the altitude at this time had not yet reached the death zone above 8,000 meters, losing an oxygen mask at the wind gap was extremely dangerous, even deadly.
Nowadays, most climbing teams ascend with oxygen tanks, and it's very rare to find someone like Li Younan who can maintain a blood oxygen level above 95 without one.
The team ahead all had oxygen tanks with them.
Because they were constantly breathing oxygen, once the mask was blown off, symptoms of acute hypoxia would quickly erupt. Within minutes, severe headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, and decreased judgment would ensue, like being unable to figure out how to re-wear the mask on their own, and their physical coordination would also diminish.
The team member was now lying flat, clutching the rope tightly with his hand.
Their guide attempted to rescue him but couldn't remove his own oxygen mask to give to him.
