From: Brandon Brylawski (brandon@caldonia.nlm.nih.gov)
Date: Mon 29 Nov 1993 - 16:30:48 EET
To those discussing whether Wintertop would be climbable without oxygen
equipment or equivalent magical help:
Why are you assuming that the air gets thinner as you climb higher? The entier space between Earth and Sky is Filled with Air since Umath separated the two; it's no "thicker" down on the ground than it is at he sky dome. It does get colder as you get further from Earth (presumably until you reach the midpoint between Earth and Sky, after which it gets warmer from being closer to Yelm). Remember, Glorantha is flat; Yelm rises and sets only because he has to make his daily trip into Hell; Things fall down because they naturally do, not because the Earth attracts them. The physical laws that rule this world do not all have counterparts on Glorantha, nor should they. Note that this is not to say that climbing Wintertop is easy or low-risk! The cold, lack of food sources, slippery surfaces, high winds, and extreme height of the journey make climbing the mountain a formidable and dangerous undertaking, worse than Everest by far. Remember that Wintertop is preternaturally steep, rising its 12 kilometers from a tiny base - it is more like a spire than an Earthly mountain, and ascending it involves much more climbing than walking.
Brandon
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