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Last summer, the first three stations of the Radio Neutrino Observatory Greenland (RNO-G) were successfully deployed in the Greenland Ice Sheet near Summit Station. With an eye towards ultra-high energy (>10 PeV) cosmic neutrinos, the radio detection techniques employed by RNO-G can explore the neutrino flux and energy spectrum beyond the limit of traditional optical methods. These three fully autonomous and operational stations, consisting each of 24 specialized antennas lowered to depths of up to 100 meters into the ice, are the first of an array of 35 to be constructed in the coming years. Lessons learned during the first deployment along with data taken during the 2021 season have been extraordinarily valuable, teaching us much about the drilling and installation procedure, ice properties, and hardware calibration. Furthermore, we have been able to successfully identify anthropogenic noise elements in the local environment and have first confirmation of how the detectors behave in the real world vs simulations. We will present first results on calibration, data reduction, and advances in reconstruction techniques.

Objective High altitude headache (HAH) is the most common neurological complaint at altitude and the defining component of acute mountain sickness (AMS). However, there is a paucity of literature concerning its prevention. Toward this end, we initiated a prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in the Nepal Himalaya designed to compare the effectiveness of ibuprofen and acetazolamide for the prevention of HAH. Methods Three hundred forty-three healthy western trekkers were recruited at altitudes of 4280 m and 4358 m and assigned to receive ibuprofen 600 mg, acetazolamide 85 mg, or placebo 3 times daily before continued ascent to 4928 m. Outcome measures included headache incidence and severity, AMS incidence and severity on the Lake Louise AMS Questionnaire (LLQ), and visual analog scale (VAS). Results Two hundred sixty-five of 343 subjects completed the trial. HAH incidence was similar when treated with acetazolamide (27.1%) or ibuprofen (27.5%; P = .95), and both agents were significantly more effective than placebo (45.3%; P = .01). AMS incidence was similar when treated with acetazolamide (18.8%) or ibuprofen (13.7%; P = .34), and both agents were significantly more effective than placebo (28.6%; P = .03). In fully compliant participants, moderate or severe headache incidence was similar when treated with acetazolamide (3.8%) or ibuprofen (4.7%; P = .79), and both agents were significantly more effective than placebo (13.5%; P = .03). Conclusions Ibuprofen and acetazolamide were similarly effective in preventing HAH. Ibuprofen was similar to acetazolamide in preventing symptoms of AMS, an interesting finding that implies a potentially new approach to prevention of cerebral forms of acute altitude illness.