re: Deadly climbing season in the Himalayas

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and no one has to risk their lives to drag your frozen bodies off a mountain

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Mountaineers have a very different set of ethics to your average person. No one is EXPECTED to provide aid and certainly, no one expects to have their dead body removed, this is why there are a couple of hundred dead bodies on Everest. Certain bodies like "green boots" are used as position references while on Everest. The paid climbing guides are really in an odd ethical quandary and often the reason they die (Hall, Harris, and Fischer in 96 for example). The differing perception of climbing ethics is why Anatoli Boukreev received such condemnation outside the climbing community even when he went above and beyond what most any mountaineer would do in '96.

Nobody truly expects to die climbing but few disregard the odds completely, for some the sense of adventure, exhilaration, and accomplishment are worth the risks. It is hard to describe to a sane person, weeks of beating your body down to the point of feeling like a single step is the most difficult thing you have done in your life to potentially stand on the summit for 30-45 minutes only makes sense to those that are wired in that unusual way.

I’ve been to basecamp and it’s amazing. Want to summit, but I agree, it’s selfish as frick until the kids leave the house. I’ve got 4 years!

I’ve done massive and elbert

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I spent 17 years as an active mountaineer and summited 3 of the 8000m peaks including Everest.

traffic jams at the choke points on the major climbs. Sitting for two hours in the death zone waiting for your climb through a choke point is very bad juju.

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Wow. That's impressive. I bet you have some awesome photos.

I read a book called "No Way Down" about the big accident they had on K2 several years ago, and it was exactly as you said: too many climbers were waiting in a place called (appropriately) the "Bottleneck".

I also read another book called "Annapurna: South Face". From what I understand Annapurna is even more dangerous than K2.

Good beach reading material, but not something I would try LOL. Congrats on your achievements, definitely something to be proud of.

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Also, the ones that do it without supplemental oxygen are nuts.

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I smoked a pack of cowboy killers at the summit of Everest when I reached it.

That's just cheating. You at least have to hike up the same trail the summit guys are using. Some places offer a trip up the icefall and some others let you explore the south col (IIRC.) That requires more experience and demonstration of ice skills though.

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I’ve climbed Everest twice. Truly an unbelievable experience.

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Is that before or after you ran a 4.15 40yd dash?

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Stupid ego trip?

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Yes. Absolutely. Why else do you think it's become a haven for wealthy people? Paying a guide isnt cheap.

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We climb because it’s our passion. It’s a constant love affair with the mental and physical struggle of reaching the top and the euphoric feeling you get by accomplishing such a great goal. It’s impossible for someone who’s not into it to understand.

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Is it impossible for someone to understand what it's like to struggle to do something and accomplish the goal of succeeding?

Can a doctor who struggles through med school to eventually become a successful doctor identify with your struggle?

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Stupid ego trip. I love ignorance.

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No one cares or benefits from your climbing these peaks but you. When other people count on your living, like family, friends, patients, etc. I would think a wise person would find fulfillment in caring for people everyday and understand risking their life needlessly given what they contribute to society, is stupid. Maybe that's not your personality though.


You may think I'm ignorant of climbing, but I think you're ignorant of what ultimately matters.

Mallory's photo is haunting

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Yes. Absolutely. Why else do you think it's become a haven for wealthy people? Paying a guide isnt cheap.

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I have a lot of respect for guys who pioneer routes and make first summits.

While it's not an amazing feat today to climb Everest it's still physically grueling. I understand why some people want to test themselves.

The first know ascent of Denalis North Summit was a drunken bar bet

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In 1910, four area locals – Tom Lloyd, Peter Anderson, Billy Taylor, and Charles McGonagall – known as the Sourdough Expedition, attempted to climb Denali despite a lack of climbing experience. The group spent approximately three months on the mountain. Their purported summit ascent day included carrying a bag of doughnuts each, a thermos of hot chocolate, and a 14-foot (4.2 m) spruce pole

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