Posted on 05/30/2006 4:02:28 PM PDT by Raebie
Everest 2006: A message from the deathzone
06:30 pm EST May 30, 2006 Let me tell you what it feels like on 8500 meters, deep in the Death Zone.
It depends...on 3 things:
1. The weather 2. How long you have been up there 3. And if you use (good) oxygen
If the weather is bad, you are out of oxygen (or use a bad system), and you are returning from a summit - chances are you feel like shit. Your brain is a distant blur, your legs hardly move, and you just want to sit down and sleep.
But if the weather is nice, and you have plenty of gas - it's an entirely different ball game. In good conditions, high above 8000 meters, even after a summit, you frolic in the snow, you have tea in the sun, you shoot pictures and video, you chat with fellow climbers - and maybe even call your mom.
On a mountain where all bets are off
I am not a strong climber. I seem to lack the altitude gene some of my lucky mates such as Messner and Viesturs enjoy. And I'm a woman. I have not climbed many Himalayan peaks, but I know Everest well. Ever since it first introduced itself to me, in the fateful year of 1996, Everest has been my special mountain. I returned there for 4 years, determined to show its soul to the world, through the eyes of uncensored, real adventure.
I have seen people fall horrible falls, screaming in the thin air. I have met people telling me they are ok, while they were in fact dying, without even being aware.
I have seen bad oxygen being sold to clueless climbers, and weather reports altered to fool fellow mates. I have seen false heroes hit world headlines and true heroes disappear. I have seen the cheaters, and the lies. I have listened to the Base Camp chatter, and watched the resigned look in some of my fellow climbers' eyes. For 4 years, I watched a battle between good and bad play out on a mountain where all bets are off.
The truth about us
Everest is not about the summit. Everest is just a rock. The top is the hat but the climb is the soul. A miniature of the world with no strings attached, on Everest I have seen the truth about us humans, stripped down to our barest bones.
Ever since it became known that 40 climbers stepped over a dying mate to reach the summit last week (and it's not the first time), I have seen some of my fellow climbers defending the act. Many of them, I knew, only guarding their own agendas. I watched the rest of the world become confused - is it OK to bury people alive - as long as it's on Mount Everest?
The world from a distance
Jochen Hemmleb, perhaps the foremost Everest historian today, wrote in an email today:
"For decades Everest was seen as the epitome of human challenge. In recent years, however, its role has changed. From a testing place it has been transformed into a stage on which human vanities and other habits are put on display. As Everest historian Walt Unsworth once wrote, 'Everest can bring out the best and worst in people.'"
"Mountaineering can act as an escape from society. It can also serve as means to view society from a distance. Seen in this context and keeping in mind the mountain's special role, the current events on Everest are in great part a reflection of what's going on elsewhere in society, and the questions about ethics should not be confined to Everest or climbing circles."
"The events on Everest raise some hard questions about how we, as society, regard and define success. Nowadays Everest history has come round full circle in so far as the summit seems once more to be the only goal - and few care about how it was achieved. Am I the only one who thinks that this speaks volumes, that the attitude behind this spreads beyond the climbing world to other parts of society and culture?" asks Jochen.
Choose our role models
The fact is, that the world celebrates strength unconditionally today. The next step, is to sacrifice the weak. If a climber is part of a "far less professional outfit" and "had no oxygen, and no proper gloves," he deserves to die, we decide.
The Spirit of Adventure is anything but these days. Lawsuits are filed by cheaters trying to bully their way to acceptance of false claims. Explorers with the biggest PR staff get the fame. Commerce hides bodies and damage control becomes an all important task. And it works, too.
But the question is if the problem is isolated to the community of Adventurers - or if it's a dormant cancer lying within us all. We need to talk about that, a lot, and choose our role models with better care.
This was the message Everest wanted to leave with us in 2006, ten years after Into thin air. When you check the timing between the death and miracle of David and Lincoln, it hits you that the MotherGoddess could have spoken no louder. It's not a cute message folks. It's a warning.
Tina Sjogren (born in the Czech rep) is one of the founders of ExplorersWeb. She climbed Everest in 1996 as a member of Henry Todd's outfit, and the next three years in small independent expeditions with her husband Tom (Sweden). The couple summited in 1999 after managing much of the infrastructure on Everest south side with only a team of 5 Sherpas. The expedition became famous when the couple built a wireless network high up on the mountain, and the expedition Sirdar, Babu Shirri Sherpa, camped out on the summit for 20 hours without oxygen, a dream he had long wished to try. Babu perished 2 years later in a crevasse on Everest south side camp 2. Tom and Tina later skied to both the earth's Poles (unsupported), and live in New York today.
I just finished Steven Venables' book. It was amazing.
Lots of these Everest pings this year!
Babuuuu!!!
Is this the NYC woman who was mentioned in "Into Thin Air" as taking all the baggage with her?
No, that was Sarah Pittman.
Thanks.
Bad take on things.
She said "If a climber is part of a "far less professional outfit" and "had no oxygen, and no proper gloves," he deserves to die, we decide."
Who is saying that? No one. It's a strawman. The only question was whether there was any possible hope in saving the climber. If it was impossible to do anything then the other climbers actions could at least be explained. If there is a chance they could have saved the climber then they did the wrong thing. The issue should be examined based on information and not just ground-based emotions. I read nowhere of anyone suggesting he "deserved to die". That's absurd.
This climber just sounds bitter and cynical and I would certainly want other knowledgeable opinions besides hers.
Sorry, make that Sandra Pittman.
Kiss me baby!!!
I'm sure there are many instances where people are beyond help and that it would be foolhardy to risk your own life in a vain attempt at rescue.
I am just as sure that there are plenty on instances of people being "stepped over" in a callous attempt to achieve ones' own ambitions.
I think she raises some valid points.
$65,000 facial peel.
Suggestion for the next climb:
Based on what? Speculation? But this "article" added nothing to the discussion. Cynical people sporting an attitute are easy to find.
Hockalunger who?
He was left for dead on the mountain. He survived due to the heroic efforts of afew.
I don't know what more needs to be said.
"You a bery, bery bad man."
Thanks. Rough year, from all accounts...
There is no evidence anyone was ""stepped over" in a callous attempt to achieve ones' own ambitions." They reportedly went on because they didn't believe the person would survive. You can't read their minds so you don't know either.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.