you are going and what route you are taking and carry some water food and first aid articles with you if you find that the going is becoming too difficult retreat there is no disgrace in not being able to climb a peak the peak will always be there for you to climb the next year never have any competition with anyone while climbing if you feel you have to compete do so only with yourself comparing your present performance with your past ones those who are organising the trips should know the route the climatic conditions the various halting stations and lodge which are available 7 the organisers should take care that no one overstrains there should be one leader for every 10 trekkers go slowly to aid better acclimatisation twenty kilometres a day is a reasonable distance to cover start at the break of day and halt at midday dont go beyond that because in the mountains the weather conditions can change dramatically descend a little before setting up camp for the night this helps in acclimatisation acclimatisation is very important otherwise it can lead to altitude illness 7 mountain climbing is a wonderful exhilarating sport but one should be not only physically but also mentally fit sometimes it is sheer willpower which works beyond physical stamina and above all one must respect the mountains things to check before the climb in 1998 2 children died due to high altitude pulmonary edema in separate trekking trips to the himalayas later investigations revealed that it was due to the ignorance of the organisers the aditya anand agarwal memorial trust has brought out a chart which gives certain warnings to parents who wish to enrol their children for such camps parents are advised to check the following about the organisation before sending their children on campstreks etc whether the organisers have medically trained personnel to correctly diagnose altitude illness check temperature pulse blood pressure respiration rate and oxygen saturation percentage in blood whether the organisers are carrying necessary equipment like oxygen pulse oxymeter face mask with ambu bag and portable hyperbaric chamber whether the organisers can administer oxygengive cardiac massage etc whether the organisers are carrying any altitude illness drugs how far is the nearest telephone doctor and hospital from the site as told to mita banerjee