The Nello Pace Himalayan Documents contain writings relating primarily to the 1954 California Himalaya Expedition to Makalu, the world's fifth highest peak, located in Nepal. Dr. Nello Pace served as the assistant leader and chief scientist for the expedition, studying the affects of hypoxia (low oxygen levels) on human performance.

Dr. Nello Pace (1916-1995) was born in Richmond, California, on June 20, 1916, and grew up in San Francisco. In 1936 he received his B.S. in chemistry and in 1940 his Ph.D. in physiology, both from the University of California at Berkeley (UCB). Pace began his career as a research associate at the Medical College of Virginia, but was interrupted when he was called by the Naval Reserve to active duty in 1941. During World War II he served as the head of the physiological facility at the Naval Medical Research Institute in Maryland where he studied diving and aviation medicine, particularly the effects of extreme conditions on the body. At the end of World War II the Navy made him Officer in Charge of a group studying the residual radiation at Nagasaki and Hiroshima. After the war, Pace continued his career at UCB, first as an assistant professor and then as an associate professor of physiology. During this time, he established and served as the first the director of the White Mountain Research Station near Bishop, California, where he studied the physiology of hypoxia and ventilation, among other subjects.

0.2 Linear feet (1 archives box)

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