 He conducted extensive research on the physiological changes in animals and humans in extreme conditions.Many of his field studies were conducted at Capanna Regina Margherita, a research station at the apex of Monte Rosa, Italy.In 1902 with his assistant Hermann von Schrötter and meteorologists Arthur Berson and Reinhard Süring, he made two high-altitude balloon ascents in which they reached an altitude of 5000 meters.