Mt Everest 2023.

I really wish these cocksuckers would stop climbing that fucking mountain. Evidently there is a ton of shit - actual human shit - as well as other pollution they leave with each climb (to say nothing of the bodies).

It should be left alone.

If God intended for me to climb a mountain I'd been born as a mountain goat .

There are a ton of used oxygen canisters all over the mountain. And they can't clean it up they keep adding to the trash heap year after year. Humans are such pigs.

Hope the Sherpas are still over all this, literal, shit.

Deafies!

R2, you must climb until you find your dream.

Anyone die yet?

Gimp.

I must send my regrets.

R3- Humans are the WORST thing to ever appear on Earth.

Guess what, campers!

Oh shit, it was Sherpas, not climbers. Sherpa deaths are just sad.

I can still kick your fat ass, OP.

Three deaths. That is very sad. I hope their bodies can be recovered for their families.

"There are a ton of used oxygen canisters all over the mountain. And they can't clean it up they keep adding to the trash heap year after year. Humans are such pigs. "

Yeah, it's not worth the cost and would take forever. Essentially they'd have to pay sherpas or other very experienced climbers over a LONG period of time to make numerous journeys to collect cannisters. The window to do so is small every year, and they could probably only descend with one or two unless there was some way to slide them down. It's just too labor intenstive. It would take years, probably decades, to make a dent - and that's only if they suspended climbing during the cleanup period. And they can't fly up there in a helicopter with a clean up crew in perfect conditions because you can't fly up there in a helicopter. Plus there's probably a ton of cannisters that are covered or have been tossed into or fallen into crevices that would never be recovered even if there was a cleanup effort.

R15- Why aren't they (climbers) made to bring their empty cannisters down ?

Climbing it is the only way to reach the Valley of the Dolls.l

"[R15]- Why aren't they (climbers) made to bring their empty cannisters down ?"

I'd assume because they're using one and the weight of another one would be too much extra exertion. But that's just a guess; I don't know. I think it's usually the sherpas who have the extra cannisters ready for their clients. Even if it were possible, no one could ever enforce a requirement that they bring them down.

They are so unoriginal. It was a romantic pursuit when Mallory and Irvine tried to do it and now it's just prosaic.

These days they do get fined if they don't bring back a certain amount of trash but a lot of these people will just take the fine, I'm sure.

R19- Thank you.

I get woozy going up to the "HOLLYWOOD" sign. Pass 🥴

Bodies still not found.

243 climbers this year.

OK, these parents are stupid.

I was going to ask if base camp is necessarily that dangerous, but it's near 18,000 feet - higher than I thought.

Not Everest but Annapurna.

This thread isn't getting nearly the action it usually does.

R5 When blind people or amputees climb Everest, I agree that it is inspiring. But, a deaf person? Big deal. Last time I checked, mountains don’t talk. I can imagine it might be a little difficult because sign language must be hard with those bug gloves, but between the hats, ear muffs, and loud wind I doubt hearing people do much talking.

fat whores will use any excuse to be fat whores... they love being fat because uh, fit people climb mountains. yeah, that's it.

These are rich folk who are thrilled to think if they take a dump on the mountain, it will be preserved for 100's of years after their death. That is eternity.

I saw in a documentary about a doble amputee (from the knees down). Ended been unable to even move after the summit with his bleeding stumps, a Sherpa had to put him like a backpack to descend and save his life.

So much for being "inspiring".

If you lose your legs, "I'm climbing the Everett" to prove yourself is the most fucking stupid thing to do.

[quote] I can still kick your fat ass, OP.

R13 YOUR ass is frozen to a snowbank, you ain’t kicking SHIT.

I like reading about the different climbers, a combination of hope, experience and delusion.

Is this our official Bodies on Mt Everest thread for 2023? It has been a few years since we've had a really good one, but this is one of my personal annual traditions I do not like to skip. I've grown fond of my fellow posters.

From the article at post 26:

“ Almost four years ago, Mr Hanna accompanied Séamus ‘Shay’ Lawless (39) from Bray, Co Wicklow, who died just hours after summiting Everest. Mr Lawless, a professor of artificial intelligence at Trinity College Dublin, fell up to 500m during his descent, in an area known as the balcony.

Mr Lawless did the climb to raise up to €25,000 for the Barretstown Children’s Charity, dedicated to seriously ill children and their families. More than €200,000 was raised to fund an effort to locate Mr Lawless, but the search was eventually called off.”

What a joke. They were going to spend almost 10 times the money he raised for a good cause, just to get his body. An AI professor…supposedly an intelligent man…I wonder what his final thoughts were during that 500 metre fall….what a waste of life.

Noel Hanna has a face I'd like to punch.

"I can still kick your fat ass, OP." You are nothing more than signage now, a landmark for others to pause sadly in front of for a respectable minute before they move along, thinking to themselves that they will never end up like you .

I wonder if anyone up there died in a really embarrassing position or unflattering pose and now everyone will see them that way for generations. That would suck.

Hilariously they waste energy to push bodies like Green Boots away if they can. Out of sight, out of mind.

The creepiest one I've read about is Hannelore Schmatz. She died sitting up and a climber wrote in a book that he had to walk past her and that her eyes were open and her hair flowing in the wind. The pic I've linked to is a much older picture where she is mummified.

R39- That is horrific. The saddest death that I read was about Sleeping Beauty. She begged another climber not to leave her alone to die, but the climber had to because of oxygen.

Later on some climbers covered Francys with an U.S. flag and a teddy bear. The pic of this 'burial' which I've linked to is a gruesome because you can still see her ghostly hand. Her husband Sergei also died, trying to find her. They were trying to climb Everest alone and without oxygen which is VERY risky and her 11-year-old son Paul was given the casting vote on whether his mother should go (yikes, I would not give a child that kind of responsibility).

The wind finally push her body over the mountain.

R42- I'm glad because I can't imagine being out on the open and on display like that for years. She was the most gruesome body on Mt. Everest that I have seen so far.

"[R5] When blind people or amputees climb Everest, I agree that it is inspiring. But, a deaf person? Big deal. Last time I checked, mountains don’t talk. I can imagine it might be a little difficult because sign language must be hard with those bug gloves, but between the hats, ear muffs, and loud wind I doubt hearing people do much talking.

I'd think it would matter for hearing possible dangers - breaking ice, rushing snow, etc. There's a lot of auditory information that we never think about.

Did her husband ever think 🤔 to go up and get her?

R45- It seems like that would put others in danger, especially the Sherpas.

This is her husband's account of the expedition (Google will translate it to English pretty well). I like how he says that she did most of the organizing and kind of whines that he had to deal with that after her death.

This belongs here. Anyone seen Finding Michael? I found the brother tiresome.

Finders Keepers.

Record holding Sherpa talking about the rich western idiots

since 1921 around 121 Sherpas have died guiding climbers up Everest. In 2014 a single avalanche killed 16 Sherpas.

“The people who hire Sherpas climb Everest because they want to,” he says. “But, as a Sherpa, if you have the choice, you don’t want to die on that mountain.”

Will there be more death this year because Covid weakened people’s lungs?

2022 and 2021 were very disappointing in terms of the body count.

[QUOTE] I'd think it would matter for hearing possible dangers - breaking ice, rushing snow, etc. There's a lot of auditory information that we never think about.

Exactly. Imagine navigating the icefall and not being able to hear the ominous crack as a serac the size of a bus began to shatter nearby.

She ain't no K2.

I saw the documentary made by Pippa Middleton’s brother in law. He spent a packet sending a team up to Everest’s death zone to retrieve his dead brother’s body. They couldn’t find him amongst the many corpses they basically tripped over. It wasn’t a waste though because they brought back the body of a Sherpa to his family.

Oops sorry r48, that’s the one.

That film was reality TV star Spencer Matthews being highly unrealistic.

[QUOTE] Noel Hanna, 56, died in his tent at Camp 4 at 23,300 feet after summiting without supplemental oxygen. His sister, Irene, told the BBC that her brother had called, saying he was not feeling well. His body was recovered and flown to Kathmandu. The Irish climber was an experienced mountain guide and had summited Everest ten times plus K2 in 2019.

These veteran climbers make the mistake of thinking they're invincible because they've survived multiple epics as younger men. Noel Hanna should not have been on a death trap like Annapurna aged 56. That mountain killed Anatoli Boukreev and Alex McIntyre.

I wish we knew what happened to Pete Boardman and Joe Tasker on Everest in 1982. Two of the strongest climbers in history, swallowed up near the summit on the north side.

Swallowed might be a hint...

Strong snuggling?

They wuz fuckin.

R3 The trash on the mountain is a crime. There should be a Leave No Trace policy enacted. If a climber is not fit enough to carry their oxygen canisters back down they can pay for extra Sherpas.

And no one can summit until they have completed a climb a previous year up to Camp 3 collecting litter.

What was on their iPod?

Mountain MARY by Dr Hook

Diana Ross looks like ET in that photo.

Wonder if the Sherpas will throw rocks at anyone this year?

Everest Base Camp is filling up as permits topped 400, a record for the Nepal side. The fixed rope was set to the South Col. I expect it to reach the summit late next week. #everest2023

- Alan Arnette, 23/4

I looked it up and since 2014 anyone visiting Mount Everest has to pay a $4,000 deposit, and the money is refunded if the person returns with eight kilograms (18 pounds) of garbage, which is the average amount a person produces during a climb.

Also looked up the cost of climbing Everest. Alan Arnette says: "Most people pay between $30,000 and $60,000, and some will pay as much as $220,000".

The cost is insane.

Why don’t they fly planes with big magnets over the mountain, to suck up the empty containers?

You can't fly up that high. It's why most of the bodies can't be removed as well.

Why can’t a plane fly at that altitude?

Everest is around 30k feet which is the cruising altitude of a passenger jet. The kind of tiny plane needed to land in the Dead Zone can't actually fly that high.

Interest in this sort of personal goal/challenge thing escapes me entirely. And interest in other people's personal goals and challenges...nothing could be more boring.

Go away then, Klan Granny at R73.

Why is R73 a Klan Granny?

Here's a documentary about the 1996 season, the Big Daddy that spawned a few books. I've read a few accounts. I was slightly obsessed. "Storm over Everest."

They have interviews with the survivors, including Beck Weathers, the Texan left for dead on two occasions. The rich lady, Sandy Something, who brought an espresso machine to base camp. There's a guy from China or Taiwan who lost a limb or two. He totally regrets the climb.

Was that the year they filmed the Everest documentary?

The 1996 books are fantastic. Particularly "Into Thin Air" and "The Climb."

[quote]r72 Everest is around 30k feet which is the cruising altitude of a passenger jet. The kind of tiny plane needed to land in the Dead Zone can't actually fly that high.

They don’t have to land… just circle the slopes with big magnets and suck up the discarded metal oxygen containers. Rinse and repeat.

They have the solution and they just don’t want to do it.

They cant circle.

Magnets. How do they work?

Question, R79: Why should they even bother trying to remove the tanks at this point? Seriously. The used oxygen tanks, human feces & other garbage left up there aren't affecting the flora & fauna... because there is none.

The only living things being affected by the discarded tanks/feces/garbage are the other rich, narcissistic/delusional assholes who think they've actually accomplished something (when Sherpas do all the hard work) And the trash isn't affecting their health...it's just "bumming their ride".

R79 They really don't otherwise they'd do it already. Another big reason they can't fly there is because Everest has a lot of dangerous weather. Hurricanes, that kind of thing.

It's easy to get obsessed with the 1996 disaster. Beck's book is also fascinating.

[post redacted because independent.co.uk thinks that links to their ridiculous rag are a bad thing. Somebody might want to tell them how the internet works. Or not. We don't really care. They do suck though. Our advice is that you should not click on the link and whatever you do, don't read their truly terrible articles.]

Small planes can only fly at 10- 20k feet and you couldn't use a passenger jet to pick up oxygen cylinders with magnets. 🤪

This is why rescues from Camp 4 and higher are impossible. You can't get helicopters up there like you can in the Alps.

All this faux concern over Sherpas. If you sat down with them and asked if the Everest expeditions should cease, they'd throw rocks at you. In April and May they earn enough to spend the rest of the year doing nothing.

Okay, yes but it feels a bit exploitative.

r87 Yes, "doing nothing", because they are such lazy assholes and have nothing to catch up on once tourist season is over. *EYEROLL*

There are still climbers around who want to ascend Everest and other 8000 metre peaks Alpine style, i.e. quickly with minimum equipment and no Sherpa support.

In 2013, Ueli Steck and his team were doing this and fixing their own ropes but the Sherpas hated it and started chucking rocks at them, yelling 'we are the only ones to fix ropes on this mountain!'

And we all know what happened to Ueli Steck…

I'd like a luxury people cruiser to the summit. I'll get off and walk 10 feet before we descend in style.

Can't imagine how distasteful it would be to step on a lot of poop from people who had gone before me--fresh poo and poos of old, ancient poo, antique poo.

Seriously, though, someone should start a business where they collect antique poo from Mt. Everest--like more than 100 year old poo--and sell it in a shop in San Francisco.

[quote] collect antique poo from Mt. Everest--like more than 100 year old poo--and sell it in a shop in San Francisco.

Talk about coal to Newcastle

[QUOTE] Can't imagine how distasteful it would be to step on a lot of poop from people who had gone before me--fresh poo and poos of old, ancient poo, antique poo.

It's all frozen, you numpty.

Everest: a mountain of shit!

Everest: The Shit Zone.

Feces Mountain. What a dump.

Why don't the put homing beacons on climbers, so if they do go crevasse diving, it would be easier to find the corpses?

Because no one should have to risk their lives searching for those creepy fucks.

It would be fun in a ghoulish way to go on a tour of Everest's famous dead bodies. We could go see George Mallory, 'Green Boots', 'Sleeping Beauty', etc. Of course the Very Serious climbers would scream blue murder at that.

R102 Green boots has been moved.

It has to feel just a bit haunted and creepy at times on that mountain of death.

R105 And cold.

[quote]r103 Green boots has been moved. — bastards

I think moving Green Boots and “ceremonially covering” Sleeping Beauty are a rip off. People climb a long ways to see them, and deserve their money’s worth.

At least 310 people have died attempting to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Listed.

Can the Scat Troll please shut the fuck up.

The ropes are now at the South Col, and the rope team estimates tagging the summit around May 10, depending on the weather. This is slower than previous estimates.

Alan Arnette

So if a hiker returned with a backpack of 36 pounds of frozen petrified shit after reaching the summit, would he gets his 4000 dollar deposit back and still get to keep the shit?

Shit gets matted up.

Whoops, wrong thread.

R113 Perfect thread.

Mountain climbing politics. Kinda agree with him, but he sounds like a dick.

These Alpine purists.

R114- Honestly I feel that is very arrogant of him and he has no right to remove them. He isn't the one responsible for the safety of others.

Removing safety measures beyond arrogant of that asshole French climber, it's actively endangering the lives of others! He thinks he's protecting the mountain, but what he's doing is endangering less skilled climbers.

'Which he is probably egotistical and territorial enough to think he has the right to do, it's the ultimate subculture "gatekeeping"! Only instead of just being an asshole to the noobs, he was trying to get them out of the subculture by making it more physically dangerous to be there.

He is a Mountain Karen

R117- Well stated, you you said it much better than I did. The audacity of that man.

Thank you, R119, and I'm very glad he's being prosecuted.

There's no keeping the arrogant assholes of the world from "gatekeeping", but he's taken it to a level that's beyond inexcusable, and actually criminal. He and anyone who agrees with him needs to learn a short, sharp, lesson.

[QUOTE] He is a Mountain Karen

Nah, the Karens would be the ones wanting a ladder of safety gear right to the top.

R120- He is damn lucky no one was hurt because of him.

Everest teams are doing the usual acclimatization rotations but are seeing heavy attrition that will ease crowding concerns. There’s a new level of base camp luxuries that might be beyond the pale for some purists. Heavy snow is forecasted on Dhaulagiri, stalling movement there. Overall, it’s been a low-drama year, thankfully.

**** What do you mean, Alan Arnette? We WANT the drama! We also want the deets on these new base camp luxuries and the 'attrition' and its causes? Are climbers being sent back down the mountain due to AMS?

I think Alan A might be suffering the early effects of dementia because his blog isn't nearly as detailed as it usually is.

Another death, and yet again he's too old to be climbing Everest:

An American, Jonathan Sugarman, 69, died at Camp 2 on Everest on Tuesday, May 1, 2023. He was climbing with International Mountain Guides. The retired MD from the Seattle area trained diligently for the expedition and was feeling well. Last year, he summited Lobuche and Island Peak and reached Camp 3 on Everest. #everest2023

Did he die from HACE or HAPE!

Our our HATE?

We don't know if it was HAPE or HACE because Alan Arnette is disappointingly short on detail this year.

US mountaineer dies on Mount Everest. 14 hours ago

A 69-year-old climber died after falling ill at a camp, at around 6,400 meters, as he prepared to tackle the world's tallest mountain. Link below:

Surprise surprise, and old doctor. Shoulda stuck to golfing, gramps - or getting your PPL.

The U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal, identified Jonathan Sugarman as the mountaineer who died at Camp 2, which sits at roughly 21,000 feet on the 29,035-foot peak.

IMG founder Eric Simonson said the death was not caused by a climbing accident or route conditions that could impact the safety of other climbers.

This is the fourth death on Everest this year. Three Sherpas died in the Icefall on April 12.

I hope they rescue his toupee and Just for Men beard coloring kit.

Is the Icefall the terrifying section out of base camp that is connected by ladders?

Exactly, R131. You've got to get across this festival of crevasses to even attempt the mountain, and that's done mainly with ladders tied together. And apparently you can't crawl over the rocks on the side of the icefall, because the danger of avalanches is too high.

NO. NO THANK YOU.

I'll be at the bar, thanks.

[QUOTE] And apparently you can't crawl over the rocks on the side of the icefall, because the danger of avalanches is too high.

'Crawl' lol - nope. That route involves some highly technical climbing but has been done.

Alan Arnette:

Big Picture

Teams are now scattered all over the Big Hill, working on their acclimatization, from EBC to Camp 3 just below the Lhotse Face. A spat of bad weather slowed some teams for a couple of days, but nothing serious.

However, over on Dhaulagiri, reports from base camp note five feet of snow in the last few days. Carlos Soria must be quite nervous given this is his fourteenth at, and he’s 84 years old.

WELL?

It sounds like there's nothing doing right now. One of the companies has taken its climbers down from Camp 2 to BELOW Camp 1, to get in some "thicker air" and prepare themselves for any summit opportunities later. They are also nervously monitoring a hurricane in the Bay of Bengal.

Seems like all bets are off for the moment.

Oh I was looking for an iteration of dead bodies on Everest thread like we normally have. This is good too. So 4 dead this year and it's not even summit time.

This is a really interesting article.

I worry about the effect of trash and litter left behind. I don't give a shit about the idiot narcissistic A-types that insist on spending thousands to go up and see nothing.

Perhaps Yeti will grab some of their asses.

[QUOTE] They are also nervously monitoring a hurricane in the Bay of Bengal

I was in the Maldives at Easter once and the island was lashed by a hurricane that originated in the Bay of Bengal. Pretty sure that's what happened in 1996 too. Jon Krakauer described hearing some terrifying thunder on his way down the mountain.

After watching this clip through Khumbu icefall, I can see how one misstep could mean death:

^^ Imagine if there were crap conditions with blowing snow and gusty winds. No wonder people miss the “trail” and become lost in whiteouts.

As forecasted, the winds have let up, allowing the rope team to continue fixing it to the summit. This will open the mountain for scores for clients with one or more Sherpas in support. Look for a busy first wave of summits over the next few days.

Big Picture

The question is, how many people will be on their summit push this weekend? Almost every team has completed their acclimatization programs and is ready. The lack of fixed rope to the summit and high winds above Camp 3 has stalled everyone, frustrating some team leaders. Some forecasts have acceptable summit winds, under 30 mph/48 kph through May 20. If this pans out, there will be plenty of time for everyone to have their shot at the top. Thus, it becomes an opportunity for the team leaders to cooperate and coordinate their summit pushes.

Nepal issued 467 permits, and each foreigner, aka client or member, has at least one Sherpa climbing with them. Some have two or more. Last year’s final statistics showed 683 summits on the Nepal side.

- Alan Arnette

Hopefully there won't be a long queue to summit, as has been the issue in the past, pre-Covid.

[quote]Hopefully there won't be a long queue to summit

Given the high numbers there will be. And there should because it's a joke now.

A unique adventure

That's Chilkoot Pass which prospectors and packers used during the gold mining rush to get through the mountains.

R148 they look like ants.

Could they find Julian Sands on Mt. Everest?

Is anyone LOOKING??

I'd rather mount Everett.

Guy Cotter: "We just discovered we’ve had a cache of gear stolen from South Col. Tents, stoves, pots and gas all gone. The thieves do not consider the impacts this might have on the safety of our people when they arrive to find this vital equipment gone. This is the work of cheap operators who do not have enough of their own equipment and have to steal to cover the shortfall. I think this may only be the start, we already hear of some of the large cheap operators not having enough oxygen to supply this teams. Anyone joining a cheap operator is as much to blame as the thieves themselves."

[quote]Guy Cotter: "We just discovered we’ve had a cache of gear stolen from South Col. Tents, stoves, pots and gas all gone.”

Haha!

[quote]”The thieves do not consider the impacts this might have on the safety of our people when they arrive to find this vital equipment gone.”

Or, they did.

#YankeeGoHome

I hope they didn't have their espresso machines stolen!

So Everest has come to that, tens of thousand of people on the mountain, all shitting on the trail and stealing each other's oxygen!

A sacred mountain is exploited this way. The Gods must have a hell of a Karmic bitchslap in store for the whole Everest industry.

I wonder if they’ll run into the guys whole stole their gear. It’s basically one trail up/down.

Maybe there’ll be a brawl!

Indian and Nepalese expeditions are suspected of stealing the Americans' gear.

Meanwhile:

It looks like ten people summited Everest in the leading part of the first wave. Scores, if not over a hundred, are staged at Camp 2, waiting for the South Col camps to be fully stocked. The weather continues to hold with good conditions and winds under the 30 mph threshold through May 20. Many teams are eyeing Wednesday, May 17th for their summit day. Look for summits each day this week. #everest2023

Arnette, 14 May

Guy Cotter was on Rob Hall's team during the fatal 1996 summit season. He was at basecamp on the satellite phone with Hall telling him that the rescue mission that would save his life is no longer coming.

Rob Hall, silly sausage.

We do and did R156. We caused the 96 disaster because that whore Sandy Pittman was boinking someone on the mountain.

We want DEATH, not mundane successful summits!

There's people every year who bail once they're pretty far into it. Like they get to Camp 3 or 4 and they're "um, you not what, I'm not gonna do this." I always respect that. It has to be based on they just don't like they're chances.

I meant "um, you know what ..."

Yeah R164 but those people have usually paid at least 100k and at that point the sherpa can short rope them, it's weird they'd bail them. I'm shocked this is the first year of deaths in the icefall, that to me is the most dangerous part and it's in camp 2 I think. Getting over that would be the worst part, I wouldn't bail once I got to the death zone.

You can at least breathe in the icefall though.

[QUOTE] I'm shocked this is the first year of deaths in the icefall, that to me is the most dangerous part and it's in camp 2 I think

The Icefall is on the way to Camp Two, not in Camp 2. It's not as dangerous as the Dead Zone as the altitude is much lower.

There were over 20 deaths in the icefall in 2014 following a serac collapse.

Oh right R167, I forgot about 2014. Yeah I'm shocked there arent more. And don't they go over it a few times as they acclimatize up and down the mountain? Yeah, fuck that.

An unexpected storm hit the hill but alas, no fatalities:

As the saying goes, if you must predict the future, do it early and often. Even some of the best weather forecasters may have missed this high-wind episode that stalled most climbing on Monday. But don’t blame them too much as pockets of winds can develop unexpectedly and suddenly.

However, four members of the Nepali army did summit supported by four Sherpas bringing the season total to at least twenty-nine, including the rope team.. #everest2023

Listen to the Sherpas.

Great photo of the lomh line of climbers. Dr McGinley also complains about inexperienced climbers who cannot put on crampons.

"alas, no fatalities"

Really? You're WISHING people would die?

Yeah, rich people climbing mountains is kinda gross but...wishing them to die for your amusement is disgusting.

R172 ...are you new to these threads?

The woman at r170 was an absolute moron. Can you imagine babysitting her for 12 hours when the guides could do it in 20 mins!? Selfish.

R172, I thin you might prefer any of a number of threads other than this one. Not to tell you your business, but I think the dark humor on this thread, as is tradition, will just disturb and upset you.

If you are one of our local no-fun hall monitors, itching for scold-drama, there are a few dozen threads about Harry and Meghan that need someone just like you.

[QUOTE] Really? You're WISHING people would die?

Begone, sanctimonious frau. Did you not even read the opening post?

"Suzanne, who had climbed up to 5,800 metres, a little above the Mt Everest base camp, was forcibly airlifted on Wednesday evening to Lukla town and was admitted to a hospital for treatment, said Dendi Sherpa, Chairman of Glacier Himalayan Trek, the expedition organiser."

So this arrogant fool had to be removed from Everest by force? Like an involuntary sectioning.

She was ABORTED!

There have been three other deaths:

Phurba Sherpa (Nepal) died above Camp III on May 16th

Victor Brinza (Moldova) died from illness at Camp IV on May 17th

Xuebin Chen (China), 52, died from a fall near South Summit on May 18th

Dr. Jonathan Sugarman was a good man and from my hometown.

Gone

This death could have been avoided. Which raises the question: Should women be allowed to hike?

Should men be allowed to hike? Sugarman was too old to climb Everest but still did it.

It is decided. Both men and women are henceforth banned from hiking.

A lot of Indian climbers die on Everest. They don't tend to prepare properly or they skimp on equipment and oxygen. Green Boots was an Indian man.

They are OFF the list! No Indian men!!

Sixth and Seventh Deaths of the Season

- On Tuesday, a Sherpa died bringing trash down from the mountain.

- On Wednesday, a Moldovan climber died at Camp Four en route to the top.

No Sherpas…. No Moldovans.

I just checked and after Nepal (about 123), India is the nationality with the most deaths on Everest (25). Then USA (20), Japan (20), UK (18), China (13), South Korea (11).

Maybe We can get Dinesh D'Souza, Nikki Haley, Ajit Pai, and Bobby Jindal interested in climbing…

R185 I miss Green Boots....

New death. Malaysian climber Ag Askandar Bin Ampuan Yaacub died from illness at South Col on May 19th.

Christ, more people are dying from not even being physically up for the challenges of being on the mountain, let alone climbing the fucking thing.

I told Nepal those handicap ramps were a bad idea

Another Malaysian is missing: "A deaf and mute Malaysian climber, who stood atop Mt Everest on May 18, has gone missing from South Col. According to Nivesh Karki, director at Pioneer Adventure Pvt Ltd, Muhammad Hawari Bin Hashim, 33, has gone missing since yesterday when he arrived at Camp IV."

[quote] "A deaf and mute Malaysian climber,"

The sign for "help" is made by closing your left hand into an "A." Place the outstretched palm of your right hand under the left "A" hand and raise both hands.

It'll be different in Malaysian sign language though. Even BSL (British Sign Language) is completely different to ASL (American Sign Language).

R196 I think waving weakly as your spirit leaves your frozen body will convey the same message.

A mountaineering expedition led by world-record-holding Nepalse climber Nimsdai Purja carried out a high-altitude rescue after they discovered a struggling climber near the South Summit of Mount Everest in Nepal on Tuesday, May 16.

Purja is a veteran mountaineer who has climbed all 14 of the world’s “death zone” peaks (those over 8,000 meters, where oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life more than 20 hours).

His expedition encountered a stranded Nepalese army captain named Dipendra Singh Khatri at the South Summit (8,749 m) of Mount Everest while descending from the summit.

"Together we brought the climber all the way down to Camp 4 (7,950 m) and there we handed the climber into the care of two Sherpas from the other guiding company," Purja said. “I am very proud of my elite exped team and clients – on the mountain we are all one community and we look out for each other.”

Purja has since posted a picture to Instagram of himself and Khatri, who is in recovery after being medically evacuated from lower down Mount Everest.

I thought they didn't rescue people who got in over their heads? I mean I know that cunt Beck Weathers was rescued but it's too dangerous and if people go up there it's a tacit agreement that it's every man for himself. I'd feel like such a dick if a dangerous rescue flight had to be launched for me.

Some attempt may be made to rescue some people, depending on the circumstances.

But basically, if you can't walk off the mountain yourself, you die there. Nobody's carrying anybody else.

[QUOTE] I thought they didn't rescue people who got in over their heads?

Nimsdai Purja is the exception to every rule. Probably the most talented mountaineer there has e ever been. Led the first winter ascent of K2 and climbed all the 8000 metre peaks in six months (the previous record was seven years). He's Nepalese so no hate please.

He saw a fellow countryman in trouble and knew his team had the skills to get this guy down the mountain, so of course he was going to help.

Oh yeah, no hate R202, I mean good for him. So whats the death toll at now? It may be in the 96 season numbers. 9?

Yes R193. I remember a few years ago a quadriplegic summited! All on their own, I'm sure. We all have dreams but need to know our limitations. I'm sure some blind people have wanted to pilot planes, but they can't.

R203 - still only seven.

R203

15 people died during the 1996 season.

Named corpses

"The German Woman", Hannelore Schmatz

"Green Boots", possibly Tsewang Paljor

"Sleeping Beauty", Francys Arsentiev

Oh thanks R206 and R207.

Those parents that took their kids, need their asses KICKED! Ignorant ass people.

A Singaporean climber, Shrinivas Sainis, 39, an executive director at a real estate firm, is missing as well. He contacted his wife to tell her that he had summited but also that he was not likely to make it back down.

[quote]On the missing Singaporean climber issue, his wife Sushma, a 36-year-old musician, said: “Through his satellite phone, he told me that he had made it to the summit. But then he followed with bad news, saying he would not be able to make it down.” She added that he told her he had come down with high altitude cerebral edema (Hace), a severe type of high altitude illness that could prove fatal. She learnt at 2am on Saturday that the two sherpas he was with as well as another person in the group made it down from the mountain, but her husband never did.

About to watch this film. My only question is why do this.

So the horse is doing all the work.

R213 He seems to have confused prejudice with reality.

Horrifying to think of what the guy in the story at R211 was going through with the HACE--that high altitude sickness includes inability to walk, loss of balance, and high sensitivity to light. Basically the worst type of symptoms to endure right after summit and yet he was still mentally able to understand his life was over and to call his wife to tell her he wasn't making it down. They were both only in their 30's. Totally tragic and preventable death and suffering.

R215, but aren’t they all? What I mean to say is, aren’t they all preventable, every single one? That’s what gets me and I think everyone else. These people understand how high the risks are, but they go in spite of the knowledge that they may die. It’s kind of like watching people jump into a human-sized blender. Am I supposed to applaud? Grieve? Roll my eyes?

And yet, having said all of that, I get why people love mountaineering. It is truly beautiful, there’s nothing else like it. And I think getting lost into the process of the climb has to be an incredible mental high because you are in a state of Flow.

But yeah….I have yet to read one of these annual threads where my emotions are different. I’m always caught between horror and cynicism when a climber dies. Is it that they really think they are invincible?

[quote] Is it that they really think they are invincible?

International yuppies with too much money totally focused on how afterward they will be able to lord this over their friends

(not counting the Chinese and Nepalese soldiers sent up to remind the other of sovereignty claims)

"Is it that they really think they are invincible?"

Like I said on the Julian Sands threads, you can only make that fatal mistake *once*! Everty time you make a mistake and survive it, it can add to a feeling of overconfidence, and after a while, a person who's fit and who's met many challenges can greatly overestimate their odds.

Just because your last mistake in a dangerous environment wasn't fatal, doesn't mean your next one won't be.

I think a lot of these climbers are suicidal exhibitionists who hope they’ll die on the mountain and be on display for decades to come.

To be fair though it s a below 1% chance of dying if you climb above Base Camp. So most people do survive Everest. I'm basing that on the calculations in this article. A lot of other mountains are statistically more dangerous to climb. Nanga Parbat for example has 1 death for every 5 successful summits.

"it s a below 1% chance of dying if you climb above Base Camp. So most people do survive Everest."

But what are the odds of dying if you're a Sherpa, who climbs above Base Camp every year for decades, and stays at in the Death Zone far longer than any paying climber?

I can see why a lot of Sherpa people are sick of the whole overcommercialized business. Too many of them die, and if they die they die for no reason except Xtreme Tourism.

R221 Sherpas are included in the analysis - check out the article I linked to. Sherpas do have a lower chance of dying than other climbers.

Australia to represent today! Jason Bernard Kennison, 40, fell ill and died on the Balcony.

So, what's the death count so far for 2023?

Is there a site that keeps a total.

10. It says so in that article and someone linked to a wikipedia article too upthread.

I'm guessing that the two missing climbers are probably dead too but that's unconfirmed.

[quote]r211 Missing… He contacted his wife to tell her that he had summited but also that he was not likely to make it back down.

A touching love story.

#Not

The Australian was given a second chance for life. Now throws it away.

Jason, who was with two Sherpa guides, started showing abnormal behavior from the South Summit and Sherpa guides brought him to the Balcony area. "They ran out of oxygen and bringing supplement bottles from Camp IV couldn't be possible due to excessive winds," Sherpa said, adding that two of his guides descended to Camp IV without taking any risk to their lives. Jason, who collapsed near the balcony area, refused to move with Sherpa guides, he added. Jason's remains are still in the Balcony area.

𝐽𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑢𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑗𝑢𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑑 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 2006 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦, ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛. He aimed at raising funds for Spinal Cord Injuries Australia to help others who are in similar situations, reports said.

R227 These people with disabilities trying to climb her, fucking idiots.

I feel the word tragedy is overused. As in the r227 headline.

"[Australian channel]Nine has yanked a National Geographic documentary from its Tuesday schedule.

Lost on Everest was originally scheduled to follow The Summit tomorrow night. But news reports today of the tragic death of an Australian Everest trekker, Jason Bernard Kennison, on Friday, appear to have led to a scheduling change.

It has now replaced with a repeat of Million Dollar Murders, “Collateral Damage” at 8:45pm."

--Somehow I found that unintentionally funny.

The Summit is some great trash TV, they keep talking about how they will summit a mountain to win cash, so far, no snow on the mountain.

R230 That Lost On Everest show is so stupid. You keep trying to make you think, is that pile of rocks Mallory, and it never is.

Nine deaths so far this season. Higher than 2021 and 2022. That Jason guy clearly had a death wish.

Alan Arnette is reporting 'ten or eleven deaths and several missing.'

"The death toll climbed to ten, perhaps eleven, for the spring 2023 season, with multiple climbers missing. Wednesday, May 24th, may be the last summit day this season. #everest2022"

R234 The climbers just seem to keep wandering away and dying....now.

[quote] ... keep trying to make you think, is that pile of rocks Mallory, and it never is.

They already found Mallory some years ago. But I don't believe they specified the location, probably to keep others away.

There is a possibility that another climber (Chinese, perhaps) found Irvine years ago.

It would be great if they could find the camera. I remember reading that Kodak believed they could still develop the film, if it has been preserved.

The film might prove that Mallory and Irvine were the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Really? They found George? Well, it makes the documentary even more worthless.

This guy is almost certainly dead too:

Mr Shrinivas Sainis Dattatraya summited the 8,849m peak on Friday (May 19). He then seemingly sustained frostbite and altitude sickness, became separated from his group and fell down at around 8,000m, said his cousin Divya Bharath in a petition on the Change.org website.

On Monday evening, Ms Sushma wrote in an Instagram Story on her personal account that the search for her husband was still ongoing. She also thanked everyone for their support.

R238 That was already posted in R211

So it's at eleven right? My friend just texted me the Rob Hall's group of summiters...too bad Rob never got to. I think like 4 of the adventure consultant people made it. Today is the last safe day right? Or should I say "safe" cause there's no fucking safe time to do this shit.

I think it's probably 12 because there's no word that the missing deaf guy has been found.

Arnette says Weds 24th may be the last day.

Why May?

[quote]It comes down to snow, temperature, and wind. "Mount Everest protrudes into the stratosphere, and most of the year the summit is buffeted by winds of over 100 miles per hour that will kill a climber in minutes or even hurtle them into the void," All told Popular Mechanics. "It is only during the onset or cession of the Asian Monsoon that these winds die down and allow climbers short seven- to 10-day windows to climb the mountain."

[quote]The highest recorded wind speed at the summit was a 175 mph in February 2004. For reference, a Category 5 hurricane has sustained wind speeds of at least 157 mph. Throughout the winter, hurricane-force winds pummel the summit for three days out of four.

[quote]The two windows in which those wild winds die down happen in May and September. But snow falls during the September calm, so fresh snow drifts offset the break from the wind. That's why so many people try the ascent in May, All says.

[quote]The monsoon season also provides survivable temperatures. The Everest summit temperature ranges from an average of minus 4 F to minus 31 F, but the temperature is generally warmer as the winds blow more gently from the end of May until the third week of October, according to weather reports.

New confirmed death (unfortunately a Sherpa): Ang Kami Sherpa who was working to clean the mountain. He died from a fall at Camp II.

So the toll is 11 and two still missing? Lucky number 13. Too bad so many sherpas died this year.

Far more sherpas die overall although it's still proportionately lower a % than foreign climbers - it's just that there are just so many of them on the mountain supporting foreign climbers.

Now we don't need to go, just use this!

It's good but I wish there was a tour or at least a list of links to go to the places we hear about. It's rather sanitized too - no dead bodies or trash. They don't like those. They'd rather push them out of sight.

Ha, I agree R247! Let us see Green Boots (or is he gone now?) and empty oxygen and human shit.

R248 that will cost you around 50000 dollars, only the rich allowed to see those awesome sights.

Go left at the frozen German.

It is insane that people do this.

I know this post was way back at r200, but Beck Weathers wasn’t rescued, he basically rescued himself.

They sent a chopper though right R252? Which is something they aren't really supposed to do. And Beck shouldn't have even been there since he just had that eye surgery so I have no sympathy for him.

Beck W was heli-rescued from Camp 2. It was rare at the time but there have been plenty of rescues from Camp 2 since. There were dozens after the avalanche messed up the Icefall in 2015.

From Wiki:

Weathers spent the night in an open bivouac, in a blizzard, with his face and hands exposed. When he awoke, he managed to walk down to Camp IV under his own power. His fellow climbers said that his frozen hand and nose looked and felt as if they were made of porcelain, and they did not expect him to survive. His nose appeared like a piece of charcoal and his cheeks were black. His hands were so frozen his peers described his hands as "the hands of a dead man."[5]

With that assumption, they only tried to make him comfortable until he died, but he survived another freezing night alone in a tent, unable to eat, drink, or keep himself covered with the sleeping bags with which he was provided. His cries for help could not be heard above the blizzard, and his companions were surprised to find him alive and coherent the following day.

Weathers was later helped to walk, on frozen feet, to a lower camp, where he was a subject of one of the highest altitude medical evacuations ever performed by helicopter.[6] Following his helicopter evacuation from the Western Cwm, his right arm was amputated halfway between the elbow and wrist. All four fingers and his thumb on his left hand were amputated, as well as parts of both feet. His nose was amputated and reconstructed with tissue from his ear and forehead.[7

That's horrific R254. I bet he regretted that climb, to have to live like that.

In his book he said that prior to the accident he was depressed and alienated whereas after he felt more content and closer to his family. He had no real choice to be close to them, in my opinion. His wife has to do everything for him.

R256 Jesus, what a cunt.

[quote]An ongoing search and rescue mission for deaf climber Muhammad Hawari Hisham who disappeared after conquering Mount Everest last week will end on May 28, according to officials. Youth and Sports Ministry secretary-general K Nagulendran said the government today channelled RM1.48 million to the expedition organiser Altitude Exploration Club to assist in the mission launched following Hawari's disappearance on May 18.

Christ, that's a lot of money - I don't like that the government is spending it on these people. And he's almost certainly dead. Well, he has 3 more days to turn up now and will probably be announced as another death then even if not found.

A Hungarian climber has been missing for two days now too.

[quote]Szilárd Suhajda set off for the 8,848-metre summit of Mount Everest in Nepal at 9 PM local time on Tuesday evening. At the time of publishing our story, the Hungarian climber has been missing for 45 hours. To make matters worse, he’s out there without emergency oxygen or personal Sherpa support, so he has to carry his equipment and cope with the elements entirely alone.

R251 It's more insane that people do this and get into trouble and then lives are lost and money gets pissed away trying to rescue them. Let them freeze.

Video of a sherpa having to carry one of the bodies down the mountain on his back.

Video of the crowding on Everest

R259 To make matters worse, he actually had to carry his own shit....oh the humanity.

Canada to represent today!

The official death toll is now 12 with 3 still missing.

[quote]A Canadian climber died above Camp III on Mt Everest on May 25, taking the season's death toll to 12, officials said. At least two Nepali climbers and three foreigners are still missing in the high camps of Mt Everest. Petrus Albertyn Swart from Canada breathed his last after he fell ill above Camp IV, said the base camp sources.The Vancouver-based climber suffered from high altitude sickness while heading for the summit push and was helped to descend to Camp IV, sources said, adding that he then died on his way to Camp III. The climber was a part of an expedition managed by Madison Mountaineering, sources claimed.

Dr. Petrus Albertyn Swart, Dept. of Anesthesia, Vancouver

So there's only been 2 deaths so far?

If you exclude freak events (like the 2014 avalanche that killed 15 sherpas and the 2015 earthquake/avalanche that killed 19 people at Base Camp), 12+ is high - most people seem to be dying from altitude-related issues.

The Malaysian and Singaporean have been missing for 8 days now, the Hungarian for 3 days.

R267 Never forget '96.

Yep, '96 was the worst year that didn't have a freak incident. 15 people died that year so this year could match that if the 3 missing are confirmed dead.

Always fucking doctors.

Here's a picture of the Canadian doctor. And he was 64-years-old...

[quote] he was 64-years-old...

and now frozen in time

It's Over. The search for the Hungarian, Suhajda Szilárd, 40, has been ended, thereby adding him to the list of dead.

Pretty sure we'll be able to add the Malaysian tomorrow once his search officially ends.

The Singaporean's wife confirms that he is dead:

“And now, Shri is in the mountains, where he felt most at home.” (Yes, frozen on the mountain and not with his wife and kids.)

So, has climbing finished now?

Interesting stat - as of 2019, of the 212 climbers who attempted to summit Everest without oxygen, 160 died. This resulted in a fatality rate of approximately 75.5%. Relevant because the Hungarian was climbing without oxygen or personal sherpa support. That was very high risk.

Father of the missing climber Szilárd Suhajda, Tibor Suhajda, had left an emotional message for his son stranded near the summit of Mount Everest. Although a rescue mission is on its way to the Hungarian mountaineer, hopes for his safe return are fading.

“What you could you be going through now! Successes and failures? Let go now and think only of yourself, of survival, concentrate! Keeping the country together, friends and relatives – WE ARE WITH YOU and I PRAY, PRAY FOR YOU that my little grandson, your son Soma, can slap you in the palm of your hand again – that hello “daddy” is back home… With tears in my eyes, I share the current, encouraging news… We love you and are waiting for you at home. Hold on, you are strong!”, reads the message of the the climber’s worried father.

The last group of sherpas to see Mr. Suhajda alive saw him only a short distance from the summit, but he was reportedly way off the right track, without oxygen mask, had signs of frostbite and was suffering from mountain sickness (AMS).

------------------

Sorry Soma. It was more important to take selfies on a cold rock.

I will always love DL's love of Everest season. It's so random that we gladly pivot to this. A lot of people have good info. Nice combo of DL snark and genuine engaged, interesting discussion about all aspects of mountaineering.

I know where he is.

R277 Poor little Soma. No high five for him, ever.

A special permit to carry on looking forever for a dead man on a dangerous mountain!

[quote]The Malaysian Altitude Exploration Club through the Malaysian Embassy in Nepal will apply for a special permit to extend the search period for the ME2023 hearing impaired climber, Muhammad Hawari 33, who has been missing in the Everest mountains since Friday last week.

And of course he had two young children:

[quote]The wife of Muhammad Hawari, Saffiyah Tang, 34, said that every night her two children ask about the whereabouts of their father, especially Hana Sakeena, so they express it in the form of drawings. "My two children (Hana Sakeena and Haris Suffian) every night ask where their Daddy is and most often it is Hana who misses her until she draws a picture of us as a family in a mountainous area where she seems to know her father is nearby.

Poor Hana and Haris, and their poorly spelt names.

There are men and women who put their life at risk for things that matter and there are those who do so for clicks or a midlife crisis.

The difference between heroes and assholes.

Thank you, R283!

There are doctors who give their lives to protect others from a deadly pandemic, and then there are doctors who throw their lives away from a selfie on a mountaintop.

[Quote] R177 "Suzanne, who had climbed up to 5,800 metres, a little above the Mt Everest base camp, was forcibly airlifted on Wednesday evening to Lukla town and was admitted to a hospital for treatment, said Dendi Sherpa, Chairman of Glacier Himalayan Trek, the expedition organiser."

[Quote] So this arrogant fool had to be removed from Everest by force? Like an involuntary sectioning.

A well timed push was all that was needed here. Judging by the condition of that frau (originally described at r170) it wouldn't have taken much effort either.

On this day 70 years ago at 11:30 am on 29 May 1953, Edmund Hillary (New Zealand🇳🇿) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal🇳🇵) became the first to summit Mt Everest (Nepali: सगरमाथा Sagarmāthā Tibetan: ཇོ་མོ་གླང་མ Chomolungma). 📷Tenzing photographed by Ed. #Everest70 #Everest #History

Video of what it looks like on Everest.

Wow R287 what a mess! Why would anyone pay to go there, not alone risk their lives for that shithole?

That's one of the things that's really horrible about the Everest industry.

Regular hikers have long had a rule for vulnerable wilderness areas - "Pack It In, Pack It Out", which means you do NOT leave litter or piles of shit behind you! No, if you go into a pristine wilderness you damn well leave it as pristine as you found it, and that means you haul your garbage away with you instead of leaving it behind, and that IS the code of the wilderness!

But these spoiled rich bastards who go to Everest expect someone else to clean up their garbage, and they haven't noticed that there isn't actually anyone available to clean up after them. But, they still seem to think it's someone else's problem.

Omg @ r287....horrible.

Didn't I see one of this year's dead Sherpas died on a garbage removal trek.

[quote] Regular hikers have long had a rule for vulnerable wilderness areas - "Pack It In, Pack It Out"

I expect most of these midlife crisis yuppies are doing well just to pack themselves out after the rigors of the climb and descent.

The climbers who participate in this scam should be shamed by society. Instead, most people are still ignorant enough to treat them like heroes, as if they accomplished anything but needlessly risking lives and ruining the environment due mid-life crisis and vanity.

Exactly r292.

Everest has been conquered - with oxygen and without, with sherpas and without, with modern gear and without. It really once was a huge accomplishment, and it probably still is in a broader context - most humans couldn't/wouldn't do it. Still, it's been done to death (pun intended). You'd think the vanity crowd would move on to something else that truly set them apart. Yet Everest remains as selfie-ready accomplishment.

[quote]You'd think the vanity crowd would move on to something else that truly set them apart.

They don't have the imagination. What Mallory did was probably seen as quixotic at the time. Climbing Everest seems to be a rich people thing as well - like owning a Rolex it's a way of showing off that you have the disposable income to spend on that.

R294 R295

Oh yeah, I seem to recall that years ago Branson wanted to be the first person to circumnavigate the world in a hot-air balloon as well. (He made 4 attempts but Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones took the honours in March 1999.)

A final two names have been added who went missing at the South Summit on May 25th: Ranjit Kumar Shah and Lakpa Nuru Sherpa. Since Everest climbing season is over now, they can be assumed to have died.

That gets the total for this year to 17 which is the second highest ever in any year.

R298 And what, half died from complications, wandering away, or being stupid? And the other half were sherpas.

And thus, the climbing season ends. I'd like to thank the Sherpas.

Shit mountain is officially closed!

(that's not ice you're trekking on btw)

When does Mount Shitsicle reopen?

Op here. Thank you all. As usual, the Everest threads are a delight. Am going to watch this tonight, And let us hope next year they can finally bet the record.

I'm sure it's not done, OP. When they confirm the deaths of the missing, we'll come here to clown them. And that storm of 96 show is good, after you watch that we'll probably talk shit about Sandy Pitman but Beck Weathers is the real asshole of that year.

"Return to Shit Mountain": Coming spring 2024.

I watched 'Storm over Everest' last night and i couldn't believe that Taiwanese guy - at the end he said that if he knew that could happen and that he could be injured, then he would NEVER have gone, but nobody told him the risks.

wtf? People die EVERY YEAR!!!! And he didn't realise he could, at minimum, suffer permanent injury.

He was also a jerk about the Sherpas not coming back for him, even though they just weren't able to.

The Taiwanese team also contributed to the tragedy but he doesn’t acknowledge that. Wouldn’t take care of a dead body and went for the summit after saying he wouldn’t, helping cause the traffic jam.

So much narcissism amongst these climbers.

He came across as a complete arsehole - even worse than Beck.

See I forgot about him R309, so I'll have to rewatch too. Funny, we all hated Sandy years ago but over time I think Beck was more to blame. Now I can blame Taiwan guy.

Why does anyone blame Beck?

He never summited and stayed too long like the others.

He followed instructions to wait before descending until finally urged to descend with others.

Why is any of the tragic events his fault?

Because R311, he had recently had eye surgery and shouldn't have even been up there. When his eyes blew up, that cost everyone time. I can't remember the particulars now because I haven't read Krakuer in a few years but he basically slowed them up and shouldn't have been there to begin with, and he knew that.

[quote] When his eyes blew up, that cost everyone time.

How?

He stopped his climb and obeyed Rob Hall's instructions to wait for Hall to come back down, which obviously never happened. Even when others heading down encountered Beck and encouraged him to go down with them, he continued to obey Hall's edict. It was only after the large group was heading down that they encountered Beck and he agreed to go down with them. (I think the storm had already happened by then.)

It wasn't Beck's fault that the group stayed on the summit too long.

There was plenty of blame to go around.

Hall should have forced Hansen to stop much earlier as he was already behind before they go to the summit.

Scott was ill because he had depleted his strength by repeated trips escorting people down to lower camps (even on down to base camp) before the summit day.

Krakauer's point that it was because it was a team of people who had paid to climb, there was not the same group dynamic as a team of experienced climbers who knew each other and would have recognized the problems that some of their companions were experiencing. Andy Harris for one, who was clearly confused when he was claiming all the oxygen bottles were empty.

To try to place so much blame on Weathers is not supported by viewing the actions of others who were more experienced climbers.

There's Beck Weathers apologists on earth?

I'm happy to blame Taiwanese guy for the whole event now including the storm, since he is such a mega-arsehole. Possibly even the current cost of living crisis could be his fault.

WTF is up with the guy who wants to blame Beck Weathers for everything that happened in 1996???

Mother Nature and inadequate weather reporting were what's to blame, that and overcrowding the mountain. And obviously, the lesson about overcrowding was not learned.

Since the 1996 events have been mentioned, I just found this (link below) in which Jon Krakauer refutes charges made after his article and book came out and he cites proof of interviews from other people who were present.

Apparently, this was written as a afterward to the 1999 edition of "Into Thin Air".

Well worth reading if you have an interest in the 1996 climb and the followup stories that were published.