With the increasing number of inexperienced climbers, Cool [14 climbs on Everest] said he saw some kind of capability assessment as a step in the right direction.
The death tool has risen to 10. Based on news reports I believe that is over a 3% death rate. Perhaps if these organizers mention you have a decent percentage chance of dying that might weed out the amateurs.
If ya gotta die, and ya gotta, why not go out on the top of the world?
I dont get it. Misery for tens of thousands of dollars.
It has been done so many times as to be meaningless.
Id rather go to Hawaii and tan while staring at hotties in thong bikinis...
On a clear day, I can see Mt. Rainier from the front door of my apartment building.
Almost every year, someone dies up there.
Sometimes they fall off one of the hiking trails.
Sometimes they die climbing - avalanche, crevasse, or they just start tumbling down hill and can’t stop.
Sometimes we get 2 or 3 deaths in one year.
Crazy - hard to believe that so many people take so many foolish risks.
It would be like if I took the elevator in a 100-story skyscraper to the 67th floor and walked up the stairs the rest of the way to the top. Could I then say that I climbed that skyscraper?
The picture at the jump is in itself almost unbelievable - people lined up cheek-to-jowl in a queue at least 50 deep, waiting to set foot on the summit. Just personally, I have little tolerance for lines, and it would take something extraordinarily good to get me to stand in one I didn’t have to - literally freezing to death in one just so I could say I climbed the highest mountain in the world involves a kind of ego gratification I don’t really understand.
I do remember an incredible feeling of accomplishment just from finishing a marathon - but if I had to stand in line and spend an extended period of time in single file over the last half mile to cross the finish line, I think I would’ve said “screw it” and walked home.
Sorry...my “give a damn” meter is hovering right around zero.
“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes”
I took a rock climbing class in college as a gym credit. It was fun and challenging for a 20 year old. The rappelling down was wildly fun and exciting. Now I still enjoy hiking, solitude, and great views, but nothing more challenging than the occasional friction climb. What I’m saying is, I understand some of the thrill, but I guess my priorities are vastly different. The thought of the expense, risks, and crowd has zero appeal to me. Now, give me a warm sunny day, empty road, full gas tank, and my Harley... That’s a risk I’d enjoy every day of the week...
Besides the climb victory I’d be the 1st one wearing the James Cagney mask for the “Top of the world Ma!” yell.
"Moms, why did Daddy have to die?"
"Because he was a selfish dumbass, Sweety."
“US climber Don Cash died on Wednesday after being delayed in a bottleneck of climbers during his descent. Cash, 55, fell ill close to the summit and was being helped down by two Sherpas when he collapsed again while waiting in a queue for two hours to descend the Hillary step, a well-known chokepoint”
People are dying of altitude sickness because they’re having to spend so long waiting in lines at extreme altitude. Sherpas can’t get experienced climbers down to lower altitude fast enough due to the congestion of climbers. I have to wonder if people are being told how long the wait is to go up & then down so they understand how long they will have to endure not just the wind & cold but the lack of oxygen.
It seems like there’s criminal negligence on the part of the various group organizers on the scene there.
The facts are well-publicized. I don't think one more "warning label" will make a difference. A spectacular, multi-dozen fatality week might, though.
They chose to put themselves in danger for the ability to say they had climbed Everest. They willingly accepted the consequences of a mistake.
Do not interfere with that.
It's not just amateurs ... Everest kills the pros too.
The stupidity of the Everest high priced “unique” scam— is that it makes no difference if one is “experienced” or not- or even born genetically tolerant to height, cold and low oxygen (for example 16 Sherpas were all killed in the same ice fall in May of 2014- you never hear about them, cause it kills the marketing of this fraud).
At base camp, the problem is a blood chemistry absolute fact: the low partial pressure of oxygen has a immediate effect on blood oxygen saturation levels—one’s O2 Sat %. At sea level, blood oxygen saturation is generally 9899% in healthy individuals, not over 50 y.o.. Base camp blood saturation measured shows between 85 and 87%. Blood samples have been take at the summit (from a presumably alive climber, not standing in line for two hours walk to the “top”) and showed very low blood oxygen saturation. A result of this is increased breathing rate, commonly 8090 breaths per minute vs. a normal 2030/min. So, adding in “climbing” one step every full minute, say- adds to the body’s demand for already limited oxygen, and exhaustion and resultant death (increased by cold exposure) can occur just by the rapid attempting to breathe. Training, and even blood cell “doping” will not improve this.
The entire exercise of “the climb” is self indulgent and at the same time “hey look at me, I’m somebody” in wealthy trust fund baby ... nobodies and notably adrenalin junkies who cannot quit. Nature takes care of all these deficits.
BTW there is well over 200 bodies still there out some 300 plus deaths on the mountain. And also— nobody stops to help a climber in trouble— repeatedly observed- they have to “get to the top” and will not stop. Reversion to animal deprivation group models— rat eat rat, dog eat dog. Disgusting and unnecessary.
Glad to see them die. Sorrows for the Sherpa. They are slaves to the super-egos of Everest climbers.
We need to convince the muslems of the world that Mt Everest is the place to be, this is the thing to be doing right now. History and allah demand the muslems migrate to this mountain and worship. NOW!