re: Anybody on the OT climb Everest?

This thread makes me glad I can drink a beer, slay poon, and not have the need to try and kill myself.

I do admire those that can. As mentioned before, I’ve trained and did and Ironman. Was a different point in my life and was addicted to the commitment. However, in that scenario, if I would’ve reached my limit…it’s a phone call away from someone picking me up in a car.

Hard to not admire that level of human commitment, but hard to put a gauge on why as well.

Really enjoying every word.

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Charlotte Conant Fox (10 May 1957 – 24 May 2018) was an American mountaineer and the first American woman to reach the summit of three 8,000 meter peaks. She survived the 1996 Mount Everest disaster as a member of Scott Fischer's Mountain Madness expedition. She died of head injuries on May 24, 2018, after falling over a stairway railing at her house.

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Ironic.

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Did you ever climb with Joby Ogwynn, the climber that was going to attempt the wingsuit jump off of Everest?

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No. He is younger than me and AFAIK we never crossed paths.

I can’t remember is it too high for helicopters? How much do the sherpas make? I would think the government would be requiring anyone new going in to pay for the cost of their own clean up and more?

I guess there’s no possible method of getting bodies out through the air?

Dang that cheval is wild. No thanks.

I read somewhere that 25% of people that attempt K2 still pass away? Holy sheet. I’d be curious to know more details on that? As in, there’s mountaineering under proper conditions and then there’s pushing the limits beyond what professionals would recommend. How many of those deaths were in conditions most would not enter and how many just ‘part of it’?

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I can’t remember is it too high for helicopters?

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There is one Eurocopter that can actually make it to the top of Everest but the weather conditions have to be perfect and they rarely are. In general, you can expect them to go higher than Camp 2 ~21,000 feet if my metric conversion is right and again the weather has to be hospitable. It is very dangerous for the pilots so getting a body down is too high a risk for the living much of the time. It is hard to describe how difficult it is to move a human that is dead weight on the mountain and in thin air. Once they are actually dead or clearly going to die the risk to others is just too high.

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I would think the government would be requiring anyone new going in to pay for the cost of their own clean up and more?

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In recent years the government has been paying the Sherpa people to pack out trash but it will take decades to catch up. I think anyone climbing Everest should have to pay for at least a new zero trash balance. I also think they should cut the number of permits by 75% but it is too important for the local economy.

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How much do the sherpas make?

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I think the average is $25k-30k per year. Like any job some make more and some lake less depending on experience and strength. Poor wages in the big picture but they are OT ballers in their communities. I go back and forth thinking they are being exploited to thinking it is a good opportunity for them. I suppose it is both.

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I read somewhere that 25% of people that attempt K2 still pass away?

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Annapurna has a higher rate than that. 1/2 to 1/3, depending on the source, die attempting to summit.