Chapter 417: Chapter 415: The Small Animals on the Mountain

After finishing a bag of water, Bi Fang stopped to look around and planted his mountaineering poles near a glacier.

He first took out the ice axe from his waist, tapped with it to find a suitable spot, and then slammed it down fiercely, the tip of the axe penetrating the ice, creating cracks that spread like lightning.

Holding the other end of the ice block, Bi Fang leveraged with his right hand, and a thick chunk of ice was knocked off. He scooped up the block of ice, took out a small knife, and started to shave the ice into chips, filling his water bag while scraping and speaking.

“At this altitude, there are no streams on the mountain, and all the water is in the form of ice and snow. To hydrate, one can only use ice and snow, like I did in Mohe, slowly melting it with the body’s dissipated heat. Because you need to hydrate frequently, it’s best to prepare three hydration bags to avoid running out of water when you need it. Don’t put in big chunks of ice; they won’t melt easily. It’s better to shave it into chips, as I am doing now.”

“Don’t underestimate this situation; it’s actually very dangerous. I’ve said before that drinking water can effectively alleviate altitude sickness. Once dehydrated, it could disrupt the entire mountaineering rhythm. You should never wait until you’re thirsty or showing symptoms to hydrate, by then it would be too late. You should know exactly when to run, walk, drink water, and replenish energy.”

The opening of the water bag was very large, specially prepared by Bi Fang, so shaving the ice went quickly. After filling it up, he reinserted the dagger, tightened the cap of the water bag, and placed it inside the inner pocket of his coat.

“Moreover, you shouldn’t overhydrate; it can lead to water intoxication. The frequency should be to drink little but often, better to sip and hold a mouthful, or you could add some salt to make saltwater. That would also help a lot.”

[Why not use snow, though? Snow is finer, right? Ice requires scraping.]

“Because ice is cleaner than snow,” Bi Fang pointed towards the sky. “For water vapor in the air to condense into snowflakes, there needs to be a nucleus for condensation. Only with a nucleus can it form snow, and usually, this nucleus is a speck of dust. But the ice on the glacier is different, much cleaner than snowmelt.”

“Glaciers are also transformed from snow through slow changes over time. The snow that fell in ancient times was compressed over millions of years, and any impurities originally contained in the snowflakes were squeezed to the edges of the crystals and washed away. The resulting ice blocks, especially those formed from single-crystal snowflakes, have a purity that can compare to water distilled three times.”

For this reason, Bi Fang had seen many businesses selling mineral water under the guise of glacier water, which wasn’t exactly a deception; it truly is clean, even cleaner than water purified by water filters.

After crossing the glacier, Bi Fang continued forward with his mountaineering poles, but after a short distance, he suddenly stopped, then stepped back two paces.

Everyone tensed up, only to see his gaze constantly shifting, as if Master Fang was looking for something.

[What’s going on, what’s happening?]

[What happened? Old Fang, what are you looking for?]

[Let me have a look]

The moving gaze gradually came to a halt, and the viewers also saw what Bi Fang was looking for.

[A bird… a bird’s nest?]

[Holy shit, what kind of bird builds nests on Mount Everest?]

[Props team, props team, continuity error! Continuity error!]

The fans were dumbfounded, finding it unbelievable that a bird’s nest could appear at an altitude of over six thousand meters!

Bi Fang was also surprised; the bird’s nest was hidden in a crevice between rocks. If he hadn’t glanced at it and sensed something amiss, and then looked back to search, he might have missed it.

The nest wasn’t big, made of dry twigs, leaves, feathers, and even bits of cotton. When Bi Fang got closer, he was astonished to find that there were actually eggs in the nest!

There were three eggs in the bird’s nest, yellowish-grey with brown specks.

Bi Fang removed his gloves and picked up one of the eggs, feeling its surface before smacking his lips, “It’s still warm, the bird mother or father must have just left recently. In low temperatures, birds require a lot of energy, so they often need to search for food.”

Holding the egg in the palm of his hand, Bi Fang scavenged his memory. The current altitude was 6,289 meters, and it was a rarity to find birds nesting at such high altitudes. Based on the location, altitude, environment, and the shape of the egg…

Bi Fang tucked his climbing pole under his arm and stroked his chin, “If I’m not mistaken, this should be an Alpine Chough egg. These birds typically nest between three and six thousand meters, with some even at six thousand five hundred meters, which is higher than any other bird species. Now it’s May, which theoretically is spring, a time when a large number of birds reproduce. Laying eggs now means that they’ll hatch in summer when the temperature rises, which is very suitable for the chick’s survival. Sir, could you help me take a look to see if this is indeed an Alpine Chough egg?”

Bi Fang took out his phone and contacted Edinburgh. The old man’s academic status was not for naught; it was better to ask to be on the safe side.

It didn’t take long for Bi Fang to receive a positive response; it was indeed an Alpine Chough egg.

Bi Fang’s expression brightened, “It seems Sir has been watching my livestream all along. Such attention!”

[Hit the little star]

[So, can it be eaten?]

[Eat, eat, eat, all you think about is eating.]

“It can be eaten, as the Yellow-billed Chough is not a protected animal and its population is over a million without the risk of extinction. However, I do not recommend eating it,” Bi Fang placed the egg back to its original place and covered it with some nearby cotton fluff, “Yellow-billed Choughs, especially, like to rummage through garbage piles for food, which isn’t very clean. They may circle through a garbage pile and then come back to incubate their eggs, so unless necessary, I don’t recommend eating their eggs.”

The audience felt a pang of regret, having thought they could eat local food on Mount Everest.

Watching the livestream, the most exciting part was always seeing Master Fang hunting, eating authentic game.

[Speaking of which, are there other animals there, at an altitude of over 6,300 meters? Is there anything living even higher?]

As Bi Fang pondered while moving forward, he recalled a creature that could definitely be said to live at the highest known altitudes, “This creature can even live at altitudes of over 6,100 meters. It is absolutely the highest-altitude living being.”

With this thought, Bi Fang sped up again and arrived at the edge of a glacier, occasionally looking inside, but unfortunately, there was nothing to be seen.

[What is it? Tell us already]

[Yeah, spill it]

The audience’s curiosity was piqued. What kind of creature could live at such a high altitude?

“Don’t rush, don’t rush. You’ll know once I find it. It shouldn’t be hard to find,” Bi Fang calmed the anxious hearts of the viewers. While mountaineering, after half an hour or so, he indeed made a discovery!

Bi Fang lay down at the edge of the glacier, reached out his hand, and scooped up something too quickly for the viewers to see clearly. He looked delighted, obviously having caught something. When he opened his hand…

[Holy shit, a spider!]

[There should be screaming right now.]

Indeed, if there were any girls there, there would undoubtedly be screaming because in Bi Fang’s hand was a fuzzy, large spider crawling about!