Wyss, Oscar A. M.

Swiss research physiologist residing in Zurich, Switzerland. In 1950, Wyss modified a commercially available oxygen generator to be used by the Swiss climbing team during its 1951 expedition to Mount Everest. Wyss's design failed, which prevented the Swiss team from reaching the summit of Mt. Everest in 1951. In adapting the device for climbing, Wyss did not account for the fact that moisture content of respiration drops dramatically at high altitude. Also, he incorporated into the design a light-weight but non-flexible breathing tube that prevented the device from being used while actually climbing.