This morning’s Kuensel carried an article that deals with the increase in cases of, what the Bhutanese call, “La Doog”. It is timely. There is total lack of understanding surrounding this deathly condition.
I had requested the Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) to do a series on the subject – they agreed but I could not find a person with the knowledge as well as the Dzongkha language skill to speak on the subject.
Bhutanese people think that since we are mountain people, we will not be affected by La Doog – WRONG. International trekkers think that they have trekked in alpine regions in their own countries and that they can handle Bhutan’s altitudes – WRONG!! One of Switzerland’s highest peaks - the Matterhorn, is only 4,478 Mtrs. By comparison, our Bonte-La above Jumolhari Base Camp towards Soe Yaktsa stands at 4,980 Mtrs.
Bhutanese people’s understanding of La Doog is so poor that I dedicated ten articles to the subject of sickness brought on by high altitudes. Please read them all at:
Classification of heights
Type of high altitude sicknesses and their symptoms
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