High-altitude researcher, doctor Charles Houston, dies at 96

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Vermont doctor Charles Houston, who was part of two expeditions to the world’s second-highest peak and studied how the body responds in low-oxygen situations, has died at age 96.

Houston, who died Sunday, is perhaps best known for his research on high-altitude medicine and for his attempt to become the first American to summit K2 in Pakistan.

Houston never reached the summit but in 1953 his expedition got within 3,000 feet of the iconic peak, turning around only after a team member developed blood clots. The team nearly died descending the mountain. They wrote "K2: The Savage Mountain."

In 2006, Houston was honored by the Altitude Research Center at the University of Colorado for his contributions to mountain medicine, altitude research and public health. He had founded the Colorado Altitude Research Institute in Keystone.

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