Often the most difficult part of invention is just identifying the unmet need. Once you figure this out, bringing technology to bear on the problem is generally pretty simple. Having suffered mightily from dehydration on long hikes, treks and climbs in the past, I knew performance and good hydration were closely linked. From a climb of Cerro Aconcagua in South America, just shy of 23,000 feet, I also learned how quickly water bottles can crust over (despite being inside my down jacket), and eventually become blocks of useless weight! I’ve long been a fan of Camelback-type hydration systems, where you can take a swig of water whenever you need to, but the neoprene insulation commercially available for the tubing can’t come close to handling even modest cold, as I demonstrated to myself on the approach to Alaska’s Denali. In an effort to stay healthy and hydrated on Everest, some NASA colleagues of mine and I built the HAHS, a.k.a. High Altitude Hydration System. Check it out: http://www.fuentek.com/technologies/HighAltHydration.htm

Karen Hizer of Fuentek (NASA’s commercialization consultant) took my Everest HAHS to the Outdoor Retailers convention in Salt Lake this week, and several companies expressed great interest in licensing the technology. Patent pending, and coming soon to a mountain near you!

http://fuentek.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-from-outdoor-retailer-show-in-salt.html