As part of research work for her thesis, doctoral student Shaunna Burke is attempting to reach the top of Mount Everest. Her research on the factors influencing the performance of Everest climbers is being funded by the Discovery Channel and will form part of a documentary to be broadcast in the fall.
Burke and her team left for their Everest trek at the end of March and were expected to arrive at base camp in the first week of April. They will attempt to scale the summit in May.
Before leaving for Kathmandu, the four climbers were tested by François Haman and his team at the fitness labs in the School of Human Kinetics. That testing will also be shown in the documentary.
Burke’s thesis is being supervised by Natalie Durand-Bush in the School of Human Kinetics and by Raymond Leblanc, in the Faculty of Education.
Her research deals with how the performance of climbers can be affected by their feelings in the face of obstacles on the mountain.
The Discovery Channel is putting together a six-part series on the research that will air starting November 8. The series will document the gruesome process that the climbers – three of whom have climbed Everest before – have to go through to reach the summit.
If Burke reaches Everest’s summit, she will be only the second Canadian woman to do so.
The Ottawa Citizen is covering the journey on a weekly basis.
