Travel 

Massage on the Mountain

Interview with Jon Alcombrack, RMT

Interviewer: Doug Alexander

Massage Therapy Practice.com interviewed Jon Alcombrack in June 2007, as he was fresh from his trip to the Mount Everest Base Camp. Jon persued a dream of travelling to the Himalyas to treat Sherapas and mountain climbers.

Watch the video clip to see Jon talking some more about treating the Sherpas by clicking here!

Watch how Jon prepared for Everest on his You Tube training video by clicking here!

Read Jon's blog by clicking here!

MTP.com: What were the most memorable moments of your trip?

 Jon: 

• The first time I saw the mountains when I got of the plane in Lukla. The air was so clean the scenery was so beautiful.
• I will always remember playing volleyball in Lukla. How all the people came down to the court to watch the white guy play.  “Go Canada”
• The look on the Sherpas faces when they knew that the massages were free for them and the look on there faces when I told them they can come as many times as they want.
• The foods will always be memorable.
• Getting stuck on a mountain face and having to climb down the face with no ropes or safety equipment, pure raw rock climbing.
• The crazy fast trek off the mountain
• Getting to ride in a helicopter from Lukla to Kathmandu.

MTP.com: What types of physiological changes did you experience on the trip?

Jon:

• The trek up to the mountain is quite the experience because the different feelings one has with increasing altitude.
• I felt great going up the trail but my heart rate was above 120 beats/min the whole way up, even at resting rate.
• I checked my blood pressure in Dingboche at 4300m high. Westerners like my self have an average BP of 200+/150+!
• People who live at altitude have what we regard as normal blood pressures when they are at altitude.
• I don’t know why this happens but I didn’t die and didn’t feel like my heart was going to burst out of my chest.
• You also have to drink a lot of water. I was drinking up to 7 to 8 liters a day!

MTP.com: What were some of the more intense experiences you  had on your trip?

Jon: 

• My first car ride in Kathmandu was very scary. They have no rules of the road and no seatbelts. There was many times where my driver seemed to play chicken with oncoming traffic.
• My flight from Kathmandu to Lukla was really scary. The landing strip in is at the end of a cliff and is only like 75 meters long. Very frightening.
• I had a lot of anxiety and butterflies going to Nepal on my own, but that all cleared up when I saw the mountains for the first time.

MTP.com: Tell us a little about the Sherpas that you treated.

Jon: 

Sherpas have a larger lung capacity then Westerners. Their muscle structure is very strong, especially in the neck and upper trapezius. This makes it easier for them to carry heavy loads into the mountains. I saw porters that were carrying 100 kilo loads up to Base Camp. Most of these guys weigh about 50 kilos so they are lifting a lot more then their body weight! I think their larger lung capacity allows them to lift these freakish amounts of weight.

MTP.com: I understand that you have plans to return next summer for more high adventure treatments!

Jon:

I want to climb to above 27,000 ft and open the worlds highest massage clinic for ten days. I’m doing this to see the results of massage in an extreme hypoxic state. I found that many Western climbers were averse to treatment from a male, so next summer I want to bring two female therapists with me to work down at Base Camp (females because they will draw more clients in, so that we as a team can get enough bodies for the research.)

I want to bring some of this knowledge and experience back to Canada, and use it to help with the treatment of children with asthma and cystic fibrosis as well as high altitude athletes (like down hill skiers), marathoners, etc. I already have a good idea what massage can do but I think this research will be exciting and also help give massage more credibility.

MTP.com: How can people contact you if they are interested in sponsoring your trip or helping as therapists? Jon:

Any one interested in coming with me to Nepal or helping out with sponsorship can contact me by email: alcom_red@hotmail.com Massage Therapists please attache a resume. My phone number in Ottawa is 613-722-1003.