Human "Evolution" observed on Mt. Everest

With respect to Mt Everest, and it does deserve our respect, there are two extremes of personalities who have climbed it. Hundreds of people have died trying to summit the tallest mountain on earth. That is one extreme. But believe it or not there are people who have reached the top of the highest point on the planet without even an oxygen tank. That's the other extreme.

We know how the others died - poor preparation, weather, freak accidents, whatever. And we know how those who make it are able to breath so high above sea level where the air is so thin that no helicopter could ever find enough of it to grab onto if someone needed saving. How do they do it without dying? They "evolve".

It's true. Whenever a human being climbs Everest the person must willingly participate in the process of biological adaptation thousands of feet above sea level in real time. At a certain altitude if a person climbs any higher their lungs will fill with fluid and the person will die. So they have to sit at this altitude, in the cold, on the side of the tallest mountain on earth, for five weeks! That's correct! Five long weeks of "evolving". This is one method. Another is doing the climb in several stages by climbing and descending; each time climbing a little higher and descending a little less. "Climb high - sleep low" is a common phrase among Everest enthusiasts. Whatever the method the end result is the same. The person will have to achieve acclimation by adaptation.

The goal is to double the number of red blood cells in the body. This enables the body to carry twice the oxygen load. So when the height is reached where the oxygen level is half the normal levels (above 20,000 feet) the red blood cell count doubles to compensate. This is a rapid adaptation observed in humans.

This is scientific evolution - or - change over time. We observe this happening in most biological systems. Darwin observed this on the Galapagos Islands over a hundred years ago with finches and others. The birds "evolved" different sized beaks for different tasks but they all remained finches and they all remained in the same genus, or biblical "kind" if you will.

Bible believing Christians have no issue with adaptation. In fact it is predicted in the biblical record that creatures would be able to adapt and reproduce "according to their kind". The problem here comes when so-called "scientists" make grandiose claims that any biological system can "evolve" beyond the gametic barriers of its kind. This is not science at all but religious dogma designed to take God out of the equasion. It is the height of pride and arrogance.

The word "science" comes from the Latin word "scientia" which literally means "knowledge". The creative work of God is responsible for the templates. The "kinds" have always been in tact and changes through adaptation have been scientifically proven to happen rapidly without deep time myths and without EVER invoking "microbe-to-microbiologist" religious nonsense.