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Oxygen, and AMS Profile: Igor Gamow - The man inside the Bag Part I of III - The evolution of the Bag 
Last week ExplorersWeb featured Igor Gamow’s contribution to the mountaineering world, the Gamow Bag. Not stopping there, he went on to create the High-Altitude bed, another useful tool to help prevent AMS that acts in the exact opposite of the bag. ExplorersWeb had the opportunity to interview Dr. Gamow about his Bag, the Altitude Bed, and how they came about. Original idea The High-Altitude Bed and Gamow Bag were not originally intended for mountaineering use. The origins of the Bag and the subsequent creation of the Bed came about during the mid-80’s emergence of the training philosophy, “train low, sleep high.” Training low - is working out at low altitudes where your body can take advantage of the oxygen rich air and get a very strong workout. This was the original application for the Gamow Bag. Sleeping high - If a person sleeps at altitude the body starts producing more red blood cells which enables the person to take further advantage of the higher oxygen levels at low altitude for an even stronger workout. Beginning of the Bag Gamow thought about how athletes living at altitude could simulate training low. The idea he came up with was for a pressurized chamber (The Bubble) that athletes would go into for training. This portable environment would simulate low altitude and enable athletes living at higher elevations to train like their counterparts at sea level. Despite lots of media coverage in Sports Illustrated and numerous appearances on television shows, the original Bubble was not successful for a number of reasons. One problem was overheating and the equipment needed to overcome that. However, the issue that really killed the product was simply that athletes don’t typically live at altitude – the market was not there. Reinvention of the Bag The failed idea of a pressurized low-altitude simulator was then taken and applied to mountaineering and altitude sickness. Gamow credits the, “support of the close-knit climbing community,” to its success in this application. When the idea was introduced climbers took to it right away and gave lots of support and encouragement. The American Alpine Club invited Igor to come and give talks about it. - “Nothing like that has ever happened with any one of my other inventions,” says Igor. He started selling the Bags from his home taking the orders over the phone himself until 1989 when he sold everything, patents and all to DuPont. He now enjoys the occasional royalty check he gets in the mail. Optimally, this is how Igor likes to work, create an idea, make prototypes, and then leave the business end up to those who know how to do it. Next up, from Bag to Bed – The evolution, theory, and workings of the High-Altitude Bed |