Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Ben on May 24, 2019, 09:11:18 AM
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Sounds to me like a lot of this is the Nepalese government taking advantage of a revenue stream and coincidental "good" weather. Were I inclined to to climb Everest, I wouldn't even want to do so with Disney-like crowds. That would kill the experience for me.
I've posted pictures of my hikes to places less than half the height of Everest where I was totally isolated. Much as the experience of getting to 30K' would be very cool, I'll take those empty, lower places any day of the week over a crowded Camp 4.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/everest-traffic-jam-deaths
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At least they died on the way down. =|
I can't imagine taking a vacation from work and traffic to go off to climb Mt Everest only to experience problems due to traffic. That would ruin it for me. I agree a smaller, quieter area would be better.
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Not my thing.
I enjoy getting above tree line for the views but prefer camping below tree line near water.
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At least they died on the way down. =|
All for a 30 second photo op at the top of the world, if they even get that long. =|
They still get to stay up there forever whether making the celestial transfer happens on the way up or on the way down. Stuck @ 26K feet for 12 hours, no way they carry that much oxygen. You run out of O2, develop altitude sickness and that can lead to High Altitude Pulmonary Edema or High Altitude Cerebral Edema, neither one is good and the only cure is descending. We would see mild cases of altitude sickness every summer when I worked on the Rez. Being on the edge of Glacier National Park we would see flatlanders on vacation develop it. They normally had a mild case and would exhibit Headaches, nausea, and fatigue. We would tell them to to go lower, your vacation in Glacier is over.
bob
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Only five people were known to have died on Mount Everest last spring season.
Only?
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I like day-hiking at around 12000 to 13000 feet. Maroon Bells wilderness area near Aspen, CO. The Cathedral Lake to Electric Pass trail also near Aspen (gotta watch the weather pretty closely on that one, there's a reason they call it "electric"). Rocky Mountain Natl Park. &c. But it has been at least 10 years since I've done so, so I'd probably have to acclimatize taking it easy at 8000 for week first. I have little desire to go much higher than 14k.
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All for a 30 second photo op at the top of the world, if they even get that long.
Talk about peak stupidity...
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Any word on if they're going to be able to get the bodies off the mountain?
That's the most disturbing part of the whole Everest thing too me. The trash and debris left by the hikers is bad enough, but all the bodies just really amplifies how disgusting humans have been to that mountain. I'm not an environmentalist or any such thing, but if you pack it in, you pack it out. The fact that they can't even regularly get the dead off the mountain, much less the trash, makes me want to say they shouldn't be going up at all. :mad:
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Announce to the world that a mistake had been made and that K2 is actually the tallest mountain in the world. Darwin should take care of the rest even more than he is at Everest >:D
As a side note: A while back they thought that very mistake had been made and that K2 was maybe the tallest.
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Any word on if they're going to be able to get the bodies off the mountain?
That's the most disturbing part of the whole Everest thing too me. The trash and debris left by the hikers is bad enough, but all the bodies just really amplifies how disgusting humans have been to that mountain. I'm not an environmentalist or any such thing, but if you pack it in, you pack it out. The fact that they can't even regularly get the dead off the mountain, much less the trash, makes me want to say they shouldn't be going up at all. :mad:
I don't think they bring any of the dead back down, just throw them off the trail. ;)
It takes way too much energy to tote a lump of meat down from the summit. I imagine if they can die at one of the base camps the family may eventually get the remains back.
bob
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And I understand that some of the bodies end up being used as trail markers:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/there-are-over-200-bodies-on-mount-everest-and-theyre-used-as-landmarks-146904416/
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151008-the-graveyard-in-the-clouds-everests-200-dead-bodies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Boots
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And I understand that some of the bodies end up being used as trail markers:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/there-are-over-200-bodies-on-mount-everest-and-theyre-used-as-landmarks-146904416/
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151008-the-graveyard-in-the-clouds-everests-200-dead-bodies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Boots
Yeah, they do, and it was one thing when it was a couple here or there, but with more and more people going up and more and more deaths, eventually the trail is just going to be lined with corpses.
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Interesting chart from one of the above links.
Seems like that before 1980s most of deaths were occurring below 7158m but during the 1980s there was huge addition increase in deaths above 7158m.
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Fwwfeatures%2Fwm%2Flive%2F1280_720%2Fimages%2Flive%2Fp0%2F34%2Fs0%2Fp034s06h.jpg&hash=898c0a25541b6a9f4bbe0f8ae2c6ed076c20e0a7)
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The trash is SUPPOSED to come back down with them. I understand the bodies are left due to the difficulties in getting them out of the ice and back down the mountain is very dangerous.
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I don't think they bring any of the dead back down, just throw them off the trail. ;)
It takes way too much energy to tote a lump of meat down from the summit. I imagine if they can die at one of the base camps the family may eventually get the remains back.
bob
There have been efforts to remove bodies, one of the most famous of which just ended up leaving another body on the mountain. There has also been an effort to clean up some of the trash with hikers being encouraged to grab empty oxygen tanks and such on their way back down.
But there is just no way that they can hope to make an impact since they can't even guarantee getting down alive, much less with more than they went up with. And every season, more litter just collects.
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The trash is SUPPOSED to come back down with them. I understand the bodies are left due to the difficulties in getting them out of the ice and back down the mountain is very dangerous.
Hard enough getting yourself back down alive.
Wonder what future archaeologists would make of all the bodies if civilization resets. Be like Iceman* (not the movie!) x1,000. They would probably come up with lots of crazy reasons why people were dying to get up there.
*This guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi
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At this point, climbing Everest seems like an exercise in narcissism more than anything else. There are plenty of other risky endeavors that don't exact such a toll on the environment, families, etc., and plenty of other ways to experience the majesty of nature.
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Obligatory bad humor:
With all the bodies still up there, no wonder they call it Mount Ever Rest.
Some sources say 300 killed. I guess it depends on date of writing or how far back you go. After all, the mountain's been around for a while.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_died_climbing_Mount_Everest
Latest: #307 Robin Fisher May 25, 2019
Died of exhaustion 150 metres down slope from mountain peak after summiting, so according to protocol, it was not a successful climb.
Not sure of how the dating works, what with the date line and all.
"Sleeping Beauty"
On the morning of May 24, Briton Ian Woodall, South African Cathy O'Dowd, and several more Uzbeks encountered Francys Arsentiev while on their way to the summit. She was found where she had been left the evening before. Sergei Arsentiev's [her husband's] ice axe and rope were identified nearby, but he was nowhere to be found. Both Woodall and O'Dowd called off their own summit attempts and tried to help Francys for more than an hour, but because of her poor condition, the perilous location, and freezing weather, they were forced to abandon her and descend to camp.[3] She died as they found her, lying on her side, still clipped onto the guide rope. She was aged 40, with one son.[2] Her corpse had the nickname "Sleeping Beauty".[1]
The mysterious disappearance of her husband was solved the following year when Jake Norton, a member of the 1999 "Mallory and Irvine" expedition, discovered Sergei's body lower on the mountain face, apparently dead from a fatal fall while attempting to rescue his wife.[4]
RIP X 307 + any others not even reported missing.
Smartassed question from Terry: "If the thrill and challenge and narcisstic goose is derived from climbing a very difficult mountain, why do they take the easiest routes up the thing instead of the most difficult routes?" =D
Terry, 230RN
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Let's be real here... it's all about the selfie.
The only problem is that you are walking on the sharp edge of natural selection in that environment. It's not meant for everyone to make it and people seem to overlook that.
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Let's be real here... it's all about the selfie.
The only problem is that you are walking on the sharp edge of natural selection in that environment. It's not meant for everyone to make it and people seem to overlook that.
Yeah, well, they can natural selection themselves all they want somewhere that's easier to clean up the mess left behind when they go meet Darwin.
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Welcome to Nepal's Disney
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/17477/production/_107115359_cdf29cf8-c20b-43db-9ce3-534021fd2213.jpg)
Nepal says overcrowding not 'sole reason' for Everest death toll rise
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48415290
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Welcome to Nepal's Disney
(https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/17477/production/_107115359_cdf29cf8-c20b-43db-9ce3-534021fd2213.jpg)
Nepal says overcrowding not 'sole reason' for Everest death toll rise
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48415290
:rofl:
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Be a hell of a thing to go through that much and run into dozens of other aholes on top :P
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Ancillary info, just curious. Max altitude for helicopters.
https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-2666,00.html
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Wiki article on Didier Delsalle, the only person to land a helicopter on Mt. Everest.
He did it again the next day to prove it wasn't mere luck.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Delsalle
video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXNXSvnCtKA
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I'm not sure I saw a landing.
And where were all the people? Did they just not issue permits for that day?
Anyhow, a new Everest "trap" for people. "I landed my chopper on Mt. Everest."
At least downed helicopters would be easier to find up there than downed people. >:D
Terry
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Any word on if they're going to be able to get the bodies off the mountain?
[snip]
Yetis gotta eat too.