Everest 2019

[Janne]

Reports say the missing Brits were found safe, or at least, alive.
So 4 bodies less to worry about.

I am happy to spend my time between 0 and 20 feet above sea level.
Maximum concentration of Oxygen I do not have to carry.

 

[Robson Valley]

A surprising number have died on the way down from the summit.
They stripped down with just enough oxygen to summit and get down.
They can't. They run out. Trying to sleep at -40C must be Hell of the first order.
Things like pulmonary edema finally catches up to them because
they have to wait for the clumsy inexperienced jerks on the rope in front of them.

The weather-window will close before long.
The dead and the dying will be forgotten for another year.
Of course, it would never happen to me.

 

[Janne]

Now I am not sure if those missing 4 were found?

I find it strange they do not clise the mountain temporarily after this many deaths.
I guess the money is good and a refund painful?

 

[Robson Valley]

I read (fake?) that the Nepalese have been kind of sloppy when issuing permits from checking on preparation and experience levels.
The Chinese side, much more carefully vetted teams.

Here, the entrance to the Iditirod Race is very tightly controlled. There will be just a single winner-take-all.
You have a race card with your results from many other races, all over the snowy world.
You must have done well and finished them all or you get no look inside at all.

Climate change has moved the race start inland, far from the original point of Wasilla, AK.
I have an aquiantance who is growing grapes in Wasilla.

 

[rich d2]

I read (fake?) that the Nepalese have been kind of sloppy when issuing permits from checking on preparation and experience levels.
The Chinese side, much more carefully vetted teams.

Here, the entrance to the Iditirod Race is very tightly controlled. There will be just a single winner-take-all.
You have a race card with your results from many other races, all over the snowy world.
You must have done well and finished them all or you get no look inside at all.

Climate change has moved the race start inland, far from the original point of Wasilla, AK.
I have an aquiantance who is growing grapes in Wasilla.

The nepalase don’t check experience or ability before issuing a permit. Why should they to be fair? Not their role or their job. If
you’re not able to independently climb an 8000mer then surely Everest with its infrastructure and Sherpas makes most sense. Also if you’re going to spend daddy’s trust fund before embarking on an annoying corporate speaker career then only Everest will do.

 

[petrochemicals]

I am happy to spend my time between 0 and 20 feet above sea level.
Maximum concentration of Oxygen I do not have to carry.

sipping on pina collada's and doing dentistry, probably at the same time.

Britian has a lot to offer when compared to large mountain ranges. Terrible thing is that mountain ranges with sharp peaks wall you in, you have a problem of having to make a multi day expedition with ropes etc just to get to the top. If you are not going to do that you are walled in like a maze. So either a great effort to get to the top, or a walled view, either way it's not going to be free rangeing. Give me nice rounded hill anyday.

 

[Robson Valley]

British Columbia is bigger than Japan, the UK and New Zealand, rolled into one.
Less than 3% of this place is flat. I've lived in or near BC mountains for some 40+ years.
It is never claustrophobic, I've never felt hemmed in or walled in = doesn't happen.
You just get used to having a lot of the scenery arranged vertically.

Take a look. I see this view but from ground level, out my kitchen window.
Pick any one you want. Lots of climbers but you'll never hear a word about them
unless the trip goes sideways somehow.

 

[Janne]

sipping on pina collada's and doing dentistry, probably at the same time.
.

Sweet drinks like a pina colada are for youngsters tourists and women.
Well aged rum with a splash of soda.

Zacapa XO is nice. After work though!
During work I sip on a nice French press made coffee, all day long, to keep me alert and peaked!

 

[petrochemicals]

British Columbia is bigger than Japan, the UK and New Zealand, rolled into one.
Less than 3% of this place is flat. I've lived in or near BC mountains for some 40+ years.
It is never claustrophobic, I've never felt hemmed in or walled in = doesn't happen.
You just get used to having a lot of the scenery arranged vertically.

Take a look. I see this view but from ground level, out my kitchen window.
Pick any one you want. Lots of climbers but you'll never hear a word about them
unless the trip goes sideways somehow.
View attachment 54107

That's a bit further down the valley, wide plane sides not so steep, maybe even walkable.

This though, whist being extremly nice vertical scenery, is vertical scenery you cannot escape or change very fast.

 

[Woody girl]

Five bodies have been spotted on Nandi Davi doesn't look good for them. Poor souls.

 

[Tengu]

Wasnt that the one in Shiptons book? He described it as a mass of peaks...Climbable...If you can work out a route.

He did not.

No doubt very interesting to explore, but not if you want a simple peak.

 

[Woody girl]

11 tonnes of rubbish and four bodies have been cleaned up off the mountain.
11 tonnes of rubbish including toxic cylinders and sweet wrappers. Why can't these tourists take their rubbish home with them? Lazy blighters! If they can haul it up full, they sure as heck can take it down empty. Grrrrr!

 

[Tengu]

Which means, presumably, that there are now four families finding that their self congratulation on being spared funeral expenses is a bit pre emptive?

 

[Robson Valley]

One argument is that since the clients pay so much for the permit and the Sherpas do the heavy lifting going up,
they ought to be humping the dross on the way out.

 

[Janne]

On the other hand, the people carrying the rubbish down to be taken care of are paid.
Same as our rubbish collectors.

 

[Robson Valley]

Obviously that has not been a long term aspect of climbing Everest.
They don't have a clue who the dead climbers are. Some just melted out this summer.
Won't be long until everything is buried in another winter of snow.
Out of sight, out of mind. Nothing to see here, move along, move along.

 

[Woody girl]

On the other hand, the people carrying the rubbish down to be taken care of are paid.
Same as our rubbish collectors.

But the climbers are just being lazy leaving it for others to pick up after them. My point is that if climbers can bring it in they can bring it out. They shouldn't be leaving it for others to clean up after them. I know it gives employment to locals but would you realy want a job cleaning up plastic sweet wrappers after a load of thoughtless rich kids just to keep your sacred mountain tidy? It should not be happening in the first place. It's rather a superior attitude to say ah well it gives the poor locals paid work and they should be grateful. Or we pay enough for others to clean up after us. I'd be furious if visitors treated my moors like that.
It was bad enough when I worked as a volunteer on dartmoor. Most of my time was spent picking up visitors rubbish. Disrespect is the word that comes to mind.
Exmoor isn't too bad but there are still hot spots of rubbish here and there. Volunteers don't get paid here to clean up the crap these selfish idiots leave behind.
Leaving waste on Everest is disrespectful and selfish!!!
Rant over!

 

[Janne]

Do you take all your rubbish to the reclamation yard or do you have the communal rubbish collection collect it?

My point is - not much difference in practical life. We use, throw away, somebody is paid to come and collect it and dispose of it.

The main difference is that your council provides you with bins to place your rubbish in, but the country/council where the camps are do not so the rubbish ends up everywhere.

Nobody has thought that maybe it would be a good idea of providing some sort of points where they can put the rubbish?

Even separated?

 

[Janne]

For fun, see it this way:
You pay some very good money for the organized trip
You arrive at camps that look like dumps and smell like pig farms because there is no organisation to provide you with toilets, cooking areas, waste disposal.

I am just as upset as you over the shocking state of those areas, but am unwilling to only blame the tourists!

 

[Tengu]

https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/highest-strangeness-everest-excesses-risks.65891/