High life :The Scientist [2009-06-01]


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	By Bob Grant

High life The windswept peak of Socompa Volcano, on the border of Argentina and Chile, is not a nice place to visit. Parching winds scour the mountain's gravelly slopes, temperatures can swing from below freezing at night to more than 38 degrees Celsius during the day, and the scarcity of oxygen atop the more than 6,000-meter peak fends off all but the hardiest of mountaineers. You certainly