Post: #1

http://www.altereddimensions.net/places/...erest.aspx

Quote:It is estimated that over 200 people have died in their attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The causes of their death vary as widely as the weather at Mount Everest’s peak. . .

Dead bodies in such a cold environment stay perfectly preserved. Given that a person can die between breaths, many dead are not recognized as such until quite some time after they succumb. In an environment where the climber’s every step is a struggle, rescue of the dead or dying is all but impossible and bodies of the dead are almost always irretrievable. The bodies become part of the landscape and many become “landmarks” that later climbers use as way markers during their climb.

Post: #2

Crazy stuff. I'm sure that for ascenting climbers, it's a sober reminder of the dangerous trek ahead.

I saw an article on the news the other day about some crew removing an assload of trash that has accumulated on Everest over the years.

Link: Overwhelming piles of trash collected from Mt. Everest

Post: #3

I was really shocked at just how hard it was to climb a mountain. One of the most difficult things I've ever done.

I think that in today's age we simply forget just how close death lurks.

Post: #4

This place is know as the Green Boots Cave.

Search on Wiki, there are some really scary accounts of deaths on the Everest

Post: #5

it's not even the most dangerous mountain to climb, some other mountains in the himalayas are fucked up ascents and many a climber has died

Post: #6

K2 is apparently a much more difficult climb than Everest. Everest has turned into a landfill. I've always had a morbid curiosity about Mt. Everest and plane crashes. In '96 15 people died while attempting it, and 8 of those deaths occurred over 2 days.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Mount_...t_disaster

Post: #7

Also interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sharp...over_death

Post: #8

The book Into Thin Air is a really good account of what happened on Everest in '95. It sounds cutthroat, but it's basically every man for himself when you're on the mountain.

Post: #9

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_peo...nt_Everest

Post: #10

(12-04-2012 09:17 AM)Nineteen84 Wrote:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_peo...nt_Everest

A guy just a year younger than me (61) died this year on the climb.

What the fuck!!

I get dizzy when I do business in Colorado.

Post: #11

I've heard that other climbers will sometimes drop bodies into crevices as a way of giving them a "burial," and so the body isn't on display for all to see. Since they can't bring you down off the mountain, it's the respectful thing to do.

Post: #12

Tenderman: climbing Mt Everest is more important than dead bodies. Who cares if people die as long as you can have the ULTIMATE bragging rights of tackling the highest mountain in the world? I don't care if my weak comrades die as long as I can reach the top!

Post: #13

I have mixed feelings about this. I don't know if I could be so cold as to leave someone to die at the side of the trail. At the same time, the margin for error is so small up there that helping someone else could compromise your own safety. There is an altitude at which you are struggling for every breath and every step forward is an act of sheer will.

At the very least, stopping to help someone else means that your own ascent is most definitely fucked. Each climber gets a very narrow window to make it up and back. I'd be very pissed off if I spent all that time and money and effort only to have my climb ruined by some guy who wasn't prepared and needs to be rescued.

I guess when you're up there it's almost impossible to tell who is in trouble because they were stupid and who just had an unlucky accident. I can't say how I would react in that situation. Except I can say that I'd never be up there in the first place. It's cold up there and we is a tropical people.

Post: #14

(12-04-2012 01:45 PM)j r Wrote:  I can say that I'd never be up there in the first place. It's cold up there and we is a tropical people.

My feelings exactly. Minus the tropical people part - I'm a white American of German and English ancestry - fuck cold weather and high altitudes though.

Post: #15

I'd have to help.

The sight of a newly frozen body that hours earlier walked and talked on my descent would be imprinted in my mind forever.

Post: #16

That's actually a cool way to go.

Post: #17

(12-04-2012 02:02 PM)FourToTheFloor Wrote:  I'd have to help.

The sight of a newly frozen body that hours earlier walked and talked on my descent would be imprinted in my mind forever.

You can't. It's almost physically impossible to carry someone down. And there are no rescue parties up there. Before the trek begins, everyone pretty much knows the deal. That if they get hurt, they are on their own and will be left to die. They go into this knowing that with the ultimate thrill comes the ultimate risk. They discuss all this at base camp and they are fully aware what they are getting themselves into.

Post: #18

My favorite climbing movie of all time.

These guys had the drive and charge to "hike the ceiling of the world" without serious support. Quick up and quick down.

At one point, thinking his best friend is dead, he cuts his friends rope to save his own life.... but his friend wasn't dead.

Unreal true story.

Post: #19

Post: #20

(12-04-2012 02:09 PM)speakeasy Wrote:  

(12-04-2012 02:02 PM)FourToTheFloor Wrote:  I'd have to help.

The sight of a newly frozen body that hours earlier walked and talked on my descent would be imprinted in my mind forever.

You can't. It's almost physically impossible to carry someone down. And there are no rescue parties up there. Before the trek begins, everyone pretty much knows the deal. That if they get hurt, they are on their own and will be left to die. They go into this knowing that with the ultimate thrill comes the ultimate risk. They discuss all this at base camp and they are fully aware what they are getting themselves into.

Yeah. It's virtually impossible to help people at that altitude because EVERYONE is in the "death zone" at that point. If you try to help people, you drastically increase your chance of getting into trouble and winding up dead.

Post: #21

What is truly amazing are the sherpas that climb without oxygen.

Post: #22

Just this past Friday I went to see a motivational speaker, filmmaker and founder of a charity from my city. He talked about his climbs up Everest. Did it 3 times and made it to the top once.
He did not mention the bodies.

Post: #23

(12-04-2012 03:31 PM)presidentcarter Wrote:  What is truly amazing are the sherpas that climb without oxygen.

It's the same principle as African runners that were born, raised and trained at altitude. They spend their whole lives living in high altitudes, so their bodies are acclimated and able to better process oxygen at altitudes. The trait has been passed down over thousands of years. It's basically an evolutionary adaptation.

Post: #24

(12-04-2012 11:05 AM)Roosh Wrote:  Tenderman: climbing Mt Everest is more important than dead bodies. Who cares if people die as long as you can have the ULTIMATE bragging rights of tackling the highest mountain in the world? I don't care if my weak comrades die as long as I can reach the top!

Like a metaphor for climbing the corporate ladder.

Post: #25

(12-04-2012 02:09 PM)speakeasy Wrote:  You can't. It's almost physically impossible to carry someone down. And there are no rescue parties up there. Before the trek begins, everyone pretty much knows the deal. That if they get hurt, they are on their own and will be left to die. They go into this knowing that with the ultimate thrill comes the ultimate risk. They discuss all this at base camp and they are fully aware what they are getting themselves into.

Once again, as in life, it's all about the odds, 1 in 3 will die trying, do the math, these are the facts, "do you feel lucky punk"?

Cost around $60k to do the climb with a professional team.

For mine not worth the risk or expense.

Its around 8900m high, on a fine low wind day they *could* land/hover a helicopter and remove the bodies if they wanted, but they don't, i think the mountain is giving the climbers a message but they don't listen and push the odds.

If you play with fire you get burnt..........

"Lifes about, shooting your load"