climbing Mt Everest

[bignok]

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

Mt Everest is a perfect metaphor for how the world works.

 

Who hasn't stepped on other people to try to make it to the top? 

Selfish and greedy. Life is all about me.

[save the frogs]

39 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

It's time we separated the men from the little boys.

yes, and you are not a little boy because you made it to the top of mt everest without oxygen and blindfolded.  

 

[GammaGlobulin]

One could even go so far as to say that the Traffic Jams on Everest are an abomination to this sacred mountain.

 

IMHO, only.

 

Viewing spectacles such captured in these images can most definitely tempt one towards entertaining misanthropic leanings.

 

c2877708-7d3c-11e9-8126-9d0e63452fe9_image_hires_174238.avif

Edited July 14, 2023 by GammaGlobulin

[jesimps]

1 hour ago, stoner said:

the proposals you make would result in so much more death up there. ultimately shutting it all down. 

 

so i say go full on with your suggestions. 

 

stepping over dead bodies is no skin off your nose. how compassionate of you. a quality of humanity to be proud of. 

If you've chosen to climb Everest, you know  beforehand that you'll have to step over dead bodies. It's either do it or don't go on the climb. There's no way of bringing them down, too dangerous. I reckon all those making the climb realise that they may end up like one of those bodies and would gladly give consent to being stepped over if it comes to it. To a climber it must seem like a good resting place.

I do think that the Nepalese should drastically reduce the number of climbing permits issued to cut down the log jams. The endless queuing is probably responsible for most of the deaths, especially inside the death zone.

[blackshadow]

i climbed into A FORD EVEREST......does this count ????

[CecilM]

I know someone (in excellent shape) who barely made it to Base Camp.

Oh well, guess I can’t add this to my bucket list then. 

[Hanuman2547]

5 hours ago, stoner said:

do you think that it's still appropriate to step over the dead bodies to achieve that dream ? 

 

or the impact it is having on the surrounding environment now ? 

You do not literally step over dead bodies when climbing Mt. Everest on the SE ridge.  Those that have perished, but unable to be brought down, have been moved from the standard route.  They are still up there but out of sight.  These are all above the south summit and have not been brought down as the risks are too great.  On the NE ridge there was one deceased climber, known as "Green Boots" as his boots were green that was just a few feet off of the route.  He had died in 1996.  In 2014, Green Boots was moved to a less conspicuous location by members of a Chinese expedition.  

[stoner]

22 minutes ago, Hanuman2547 said:

You do not literally step over dead bodies when climbing Mt. Everest on the SE ridge.  Those that have perished, but unable to be brought down, have been moved from the standard route.  They are still up there but out of sight.

even worse. 

[gearbox]

5 hours ago, stoner said:

do you think that it's still appropriate to step over the dead bodies to achieve that dream ? 

 

or the impact it is having on the surrounding environment now ? 

No it is not appropriate to walk over dead bodies, but then again Everest is a special case. It is attempted by a lot of people who are not real mountaineers in spirit, but trophy chasers. You won't see them in the Annapurna or K2 area.

 

 

[BusyB]

5 hours ago, stoner said:

the proposals you make would result in so much more death up there. ultimately shutting it all down. 

 

so i say go full on with your suggestions. 

 

stepping over dead bodies is no skin off your nose. how compassionate of you. a quality of humanity to be proud of. 

They're all volunteers not victims.

Edited July 14, 2023 by BusyB

[stoner]

8 minutes ago, BusyB said:

They're all volunteers not victims.

imagine if all the money nepal collected for fees went into improving the country and area all this takes place in....rather than having new sherpa *volunteers* every year dying so others can take a selfie. 

 

an earlier poster said it was about 200k total to do everest. in the video i posted a sherpa can expect 10k for their family upon death.

 

sweet deal. 

[thaibeachlovers]

6 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

And do it without oxygen. It's time we separated the men from the little boys.

Errrr, Hillary and Norgay used oxygen. Are you calling them little boys?

 

Otherwise I agree that all climbs to the peak should be done the same way as they did it- no ladders, fixed ropes etc.

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, jesimps said:

If you've chosen to climb Everest, you know  beforehand that you'll have to step over dead bodies. It's either do it or don't go on the climb. There's no way of bringing them down, too dangerous. I reckon all those making the climb realise that they may end up like one of those bodies and would gladly give consent to being stepped over if it comes to it. To a climber it must seem like a good resting place.

I do think that the Nepalese should drastically reduce the number of climbing permits issued to cut down the log jams. The endless queuing is probably responsible for most of the deaths, especially inside the death zone.

Money money money. Less climbers less money.

Not hard to understand why they allow so many.

[thaibeachlovers]

5 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

One could even go so far as to say that the Traffic Jams on Everest are an abomination to this sacred mountain.

 

IMHO, only.

 

Viewing spectacles such captured in these images can most definitely tempt one towards entertaining misanthropic leanings.

 

c2877708-7d3c-11e9-8126-9d0e63452fe9_image_hires_174238.avif 68.37 kB · 0 downloads

It's not, IMO, sacred. Just because some people think it is doesn't make it so. It's just a big pile of rock formed by the collision of continental plates.

Pity it isn't as dangerous as K2 as that would put the <deleted> off.

[thaibeachlovers]

6 hours ago, stoner said:

stepping over dead bodies is no skin off your nose. how compassionate of you. a quality of humanity to be proud of. 

World is full of dead bodies of those that died young. Do you have compassion for all those millions, or just those that died on Everest, a completely un necessary way to die, IMO, given no one forced them to go up there.

[stoner]

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Do you have compassion for all those millions

for the most part yes. 

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, stoner said:

for the most part yes. 

I only have compassion for those forced to put themselves in harms way ( eg conscripted soldiers ) and those brave souls that die trying to help others ( eg search and rescue, lifeguards etc ). Far as those that chose to do something reckless that was their choice and not for me to mourn them.

[stoner]

11 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I only have compassion for those forced to put themselves in harms way ( eg conscripted soldiers ) and those brave souls that die trying to help others ( eg search and rescue, lifeguards etc ). Far as those that chose to do something reckless that was their choice and not for me to mourn them.

what about children dying of cancer ? things like that. 

 

 

[roquefort]

12 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Well, although you only quoted the first sentence of my comment, I believe that if you pay closer attention to the tenor of my comment as a whole, you will know my thoughts about climbing Everest.

 

So, to clarify...

 

a. Stepping on the bodies of those who have climbed Everest and died as a result is no skin off my nose. Those bodies would not have been there if the users of those bodies had been more thoughtful before making the ascent.  They must have known that they would be stepped on, or stepped over, if they petered out along the way.

b. I have read a lot of accounts of climbing Everest, K2, and other high peaks, and I find the psychology of it fascinating. For example, what must it have been like to call your wife, back home in the USA, while dying on Everest above the death zone during a gale?  It must have been quite a conversation.

c. I do not like the fact that there are now traffic jams on Everest, just as you are about to go up the Hillary Step, caused by idiots who rely on Sherpas to carry them up; I mean the non-climbers who have no business being there in the first place, mucking up the climb for the very few who do deserve to be there.

d. As a first step in the right direction, I would like to see a COMPLETE BAN on all oxygen tanks above base camp.  Without oxygen, only the strong and talented climbers would attempt the ascent.

e.  Sherpas should be banned from stringing up ropes and ladders, especially the ladder at Hillary Step should be removed.  If you want to summit, then do it like a man, not a mouse.

f. The rope which is strung up to the ladder needs to be removed, and the anchors should be removed.

g.  All the climbing aids to assist weak climbers of Everest must be removed.  Otherwise, it cheapens the accomplishment of Norgay and Hillary!!!

 

Just because one has money, one should not be allowed to buy their way to the summit. Do it alone or with a friend.  And do it without oxygen. It's time we separated the men from the little boys.

 

 

 

 

For once I completely agree with you.

 

If you read Jon Krakauer's 'Into Thin Air', a great account of the 1996 disaster when a dozen climbers died, you'll see that one woman was totally unsuited to take on such a challenge but the expedition company took her money anyway. Another was on his third attempt and because his guide (Rob Hall) knew that the client had set his heart on reaching the summit, he went on against his better judgement instead of turning back when conditions got too rough. They both died. 

 

Money distorts everything. If someone wants to put their own life on the line, that's up to them. But endangering the lives of guides and sherpas who accompany them for financial reasons is another matter.

[GammaGlobulin]

4 hours ago, roquefort said:

For once I completely agree with you.

 

If you read Jon Krakauer's 'Into Thin Air', a great account of the 1996 disaster when a dozen climbers died, you'll see that one woman was totally unsuited to take on such a challenge but the expedition company took her money anyway. Another was on his third attempt and because his guide (Rob Hall) knew that the client had set his heart on reaching the summit, he went on against his better judgement instead of turning back when conditions got too rough. They both died. 

 

Money distorts everything. If someone wants to put their own life on the line, that's up to them. But endangering the lives of guides and sherpas who accompany them for financial reasons is another matter.

Into Thin Air

Good book

 

Here is a nice bar graph, taken from National Geographic,

for you showing  at a glance what's happening (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/maxed-out-everest) :

 

Edited July 14, 2023 by GammaGlobulin

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, stoner said:

what about children dying of cancer ? things like that. 

 

 

What about all the adults dying of cancer? Does being a child dying of cancer make them more worthy of compassion than those that die while being taken by their parent(s) on a leaky boat to enter another country illegally?

 

BTW I was a nurse caring for sick children and adults for decades, for a lot less recompense than I deserved. I don't qualify for the "not compassionate" label, but how about you? What did you do for the sick and dying and those in harms way in your lifetime?

[thaibeachlovers]

22 hours ago, CecilM said:

I know someone (in excellent shape) who barely made it to Base Camp.

Oh well, guess I can’t add this to my bucket list then. 

Altitude sickness? I suffered that when visiting a resort in Saudi that was at a high altitude, but no way as high as Everest Base Camp. Back then I was fit as, so it can strike anyone. I know it was altitude sickness as it vanished as I returned to a lower level.

Not fun at all.

[stoner]

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

What about all the adults dying of cancer? Does being a child dying of cancer make them more worthy of compassion than those that die while being taken by their parent(s) on a leaky boat to enter another country illegally?

 

BTW I was a nurse caring for sick children and adults for decades, for a lot less recompense than I deserved. I don't qualify for the "not compassionate" label, but how about you? What did you do for the sick and dying and those in harms way in your lifetime?

compassion for fellow man. 

 

for the last 20 years i have been involved with medical cannabis helping out numerous people however i can along the way. i have given away 10's of thousands of dollars worth of products.  i was not a nurse but i think you can see the connection in the effort i was trying to make by helping others out.

 

in thailand i have helped a few dozen people with cancer. not saying i cured cancer lets make that perfectly clear. i am saying that i was able to help these people in a time of need. relieved symptoms. gave others a chance at a reasonable life while they were suffering so much. in all of those cases i made no money and donated my work and time. which in the end cost me quite a bit of money. 

 

i helped build a large successful co-op cannabis organization in Toronto. our goal was to help those less fortunate that wanted access to safe reliable medical cannabis. hundreds of medical card holders benefited from this. 

 

 

[jerrymahoney]

I made it once to the Hotel Everest View via Pilatus STOL aircraft and helicopter.

https://hoteleverestview.com/

[stoner]

4 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

I made it once to the Hotel Everest View via Pilatus STOL aircraft and helicopter.

https://hoteleverestview.com/

hotel looks spiffy. :)

 

[sirineou]

It  wasn't Everest but I did climb the highest mountain in Florida and boy was I winded .

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, stoner said:

compassion for fellow man. 

 

for the last 20 years i have been involved with medical cannabis helping out numerous people however i can along the way. i have given away 10's of thousands of dollars worth of products.  i was not a nurse but i think you can see the connection in the effort i was trying to make by helping others out.

 

in thailand i have helped a few dozen people with cancer. not saying i cured cancer lets make that perfectly clear. i am saying that i was able to help these people in a time of need. relieved symptoms. gave others a chance at a reasonable life while they were suffering so much. in all of those cases i made no money and donated my work and time. which in the end cost me quite a bit of money. 

 

i helped build a large successful co-op cannabis organization in Toronto. our goal was to help those less fortunate that wanted access to safe reliable medical cannabis. hundreds of medical card holders benefited from this. 

 

 

Good for you.

I wish that recreational weed was legal where I live as my fellow humans ( the ones you want me to be compassionate towards ) are making my life intolerable, and I'd be as high as a kite every day if I could.

[stoner]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Good for you.

I wish that recreational weed was legal where I live as my fellow humans ( the ones you want me to be compassionate towards ) are making my life intolerable, and I'd be as high as a kite every day if I could.

hug it out ? 

[thaibeachlovers]

3 minutes ago, stoner said:

hug it out ? 

Haven't had a decent hug since I left LOS. People where I live are not into hugging.

[thaibeachlovers]

11 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

I made it once to the Hotel Everest View via Pilatus STOL aircraft and helicopter.

https://hoteleverestview.com/

Given you didn't climb gradually, were there problems with altitude sickness- did they provide O2?