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Highest Strangeness: Everest Oddities, Excesses & Risks

The majority of successful ascents are made by Nepali people who can buy permits at a lower price than foreigners; but I confess that this year it makes me queasy and angry that foreign climbers still pressed ahead with their expeditions even while oxygen for medical use was running out in Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur.

The whole shebang is wrapped up in politics and money (please see my earlier posts in this thread) as the Nepalese government sees climbers as (a) national status-enhancing and (b) easy money.

Nepal is very proud of its Himalayan ranges and rightly so - but breathtaking views don't make for much GDP or put rice in hungry bellies.
 
Xanatic* said:
Stay home and watch TV like the rest of us? I'm glad there are people going out, pushing the boundaries.
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As am I, but:

How many people have reached the summit of Everest? Somewhere over 4,000.

How many people have reached the bottom of Challenger Deep? Twenty-two.

How many people have set foot on the Moon? Twelve.

How many people have set foot on a planet beyond Earth? Zero.
 
Xanatic* said:
Stay home and watch TV like the rest of us? I'm glad there are people going out, pushing the boundaries.
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I'm glad too, and I am not saying people shouldn't climb Everest. My point was more that some of the people shown in the film seemed to think they had the right to climb the mountain, and that whilst they knew they needed the Sherpas to do so, they seemed to think the Sherpas existed purely for their own needs. They didn't seem to want to listen to the reasons why the season was cancelled and there was little to no understanding of the conditions under which the sherpas worked. There seemed to be an expectation that because they had paid, they should get want they wanted.

AnonyJoolz said:
The majority of successful ascents are made by Nepali people who can buy permits at a lower price than foreigners; but I confess that this year it makes me queasy and angry that foreign climbers still pressed ahead with their expeditions even while oxygen for medical use was running out in Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur.
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I agree, it doesn't sit easy knowing that.

Did you see the film Anonyjoolz? Would love to know your thoughts on it, based on your knowledge/experience
 
Little_grey_lady said:
I'm glad too, and I am not saying people shouldn't climb Everest. My point was more that some of the people shown in the film seemed to think they had the right to climb the mountain, and that whilst they knew they needed the Sherpas to do so, they seemed to think the Sherpas existed purely for their own needs. They didn't seem to want to listen to the reasons why the season was cancelled and there was little to no understanding of the conditions under which the sherpas worked. There seemed to be an expectation that because they had paid, they should get want they wanted.


I agree, it doesn't sit easy knowing that.

Did you see the film Anonyjoolz? Would love to know your thoughts on it, based on your knowledge/experience
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I haven't seen it, but can guess at some of the attitudes on display.

My own view is that the people who probably find the most personal fulfilment from the experience of ascending Everest (Sagarmartha, Chomolungma) are those that engage with the culture, history and people of Nepal rather than it just being a 'bucket list' item.
 
These are educated people.

Dont they have better things to do?

(I was talking about the Sherpas actually)

My own view is that the people who probably find the most personal fulfilment from the experience of ascending Everest (Sagarmartha, Chomolungma) are those that engage with the culture, history and people of Nepal rather than it just being a 'bucket list' item.

That's an interesting observation, but unlike the Incas and the Japanese, the Himalayan people have no history of mountain ascent...they go around a holy mountain (Like Kailas)
 
Dang, I attempted to put quotes in...why isnt it coming up as quotes??
 
Kondoru said:
That's an interesting observation, but unlike the Incas and the Japanese, the Himalayan people have no history of mountain ascent...they go around a holy mountain (Like Kailas)
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Well, no history that is recorded - but then some people in Nepal do effectively live at pretty high altitudes (much like some Peruvians) actually on the mountain! In past times their primary motivators would not have been climbing to the top, but elementary survival.

However - there is anecdotal evidence I've personally heard from Sherpa, Tamang, Limbu and Rai people that recreational climbing has been a popular activity for a very long time in the northerly sections of Nepal which doesn't seem to be the case in other Himalayan regions in Pakistan, India and China.
 
Kondoru said:
Dang, I attempted to put quotes in...why isnt it coming up as quotes??
Click to expand...
Select the text you want to quote > look along the icons in the text box for the quotation marks - 3rd from right > click.
 
ramonmercado said:
He never rests.
A Sherpa guide has scaled Mount Everest for the 25th time, breaking his own record for the most ascents of the world’s highest peak.
Kami Rita...
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Kami Rita has indeed decided to give it a rest, and it involves a rare mention of heeding a dream in a mainstream news story ...
Bad dream stopped Everest guide from climbing peak 26th time

A record-holding Sherpa climber halted his attempt to scale Mount Everest for a 26th time because of a bad dream but plans to try again next year.

Kami Rita already reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain for a record 25th time earlier this month but stopped his most recent climb more than halfway to the top.

“I was making (the 26th) attempt and had reached up to Camp Three but the weather turned bad and I had a really bad dream,” Rita said on return to Kathmandu on a helicopter from the mountain on Tuesday.

“The gods were telling me not to go and because I really believe in God, I decided to return,” he said but would not elaborate on the dream.

Sherpas believe Everest to be a goddess and have a religious ceremony before stepping on the mountain to make their climbs. ...
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FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/lifestyl...demic-sports-4b3bbe56fa366020553f1273b66658ef
 
I wouldn’t mind, but it’s not even the highest mountain on Earth.
 
Yithian said:
As am I, but:

How many people have reached the summit of Everest? Somewhere over 4,000.
How many people have reached the bottom of the Challenger Deep? Twenty-two.
How many people have set foot on the Moon? Twelve.
How many people have set foot on a planet beyond Earth? Zero.
Click to expand...

May 31st this year:

E3SKDV3XEAMNMOQ.jpeg


KWNL.gif
 
Now, if you were an achiever, would you want to be depicted that way?

Its much more embarrassing than those American false perspective hunting photos.
 
Guinness has certified a 2021 hot tea and cookie gathering at an elevation of 21,212 feet on Everest as the world's highest tea party.
Mount Everest climbers hold world's highest tea party

An adventurer from Seattle was awarded a Guinness World Record for hosting the world's highest tea party when he and his team sat down for hot beverages at a height of 21,312 feet above sea level on Mount Everest.

Andrew Hughes, an endurance athlete and adventurer, received word from Guinness World Records this month that he and his team had officially set the record for the world's highest tea party when they had tea and snacks at an altitude of 21,212 feet on May 5, 2021. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/0...orld-Records-highest-tea-party/7171647022478/
 
EnolaGaia said:
Guinness has certified a 2021 hot tea and cookie gathering at an elevation of 21,212 feet on Everest as the world's highest tea party.

FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/0...orld-Records-highest-tea-party/7171647022478/
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Keeping it classy.:rolleyes: Not too keen on those silly stunts.

Anyway, I read this morning that Base Camp needs to be moved as the glacier there is unstable. The ice is melting and humans are peeing out 4000l of urine into it every day.:oops:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61828753
Nepal is preparing to move its Everest base camp because global warming and human activity are making it unsafe.
The camp, used by up to 1,500 people in the spring climbing season, is situated on the rapidly thinning Khumbu glacier.
A new site is to be found at a lower altitude, where there is no year-round ice, an official told the BBC.
Researchers say melt-water destabilises the glacier, and climbers say crevasses are increasingly appearing at base camp while they sleep.
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Also I wondered about this:
Mr Sherpa of the SPCC said that despite the problems, the present base camp site was still essentially stable, and could continue to serve its purpose for another three to four years.
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Are there really people called "Mr Sherpa" or does the writer just not know what to do with "Tshering Tenzing Sherpa"?
 
Quick question guys.

Is Annapurna the most dangerous mountain or K2?
 
People leaving their germs and bacteria behind.

Each year, hundreds of mountaineers camp at the South Col on Mount Everest's southern side in preparation for their attempt to reach the roof of the world.

While these adventure seekers may be taking home some well-deserved bragging rights, a new study shows they may also be leaving behind some tenacious microbes that seem capable of bunkering down to survive on the icy, desolate outcrops.

Despite the extreme conditions on Everest, researchers have been able to cultivate bacteria and fungi isolated from the mountain's sediments. These organisms, which are dormant for the most part, may have been transported from less extreme terrain to the snowless dip of the South Col by wind or by humans.

This study reveals the impact of tourists on the world's tallest peak, and may shed light on the limits to life on Earth and the potential for life on other worlds.

Located in the Mahalangur Himal range of the Himalayas, Mount Everest (Sagarmāthā in Nepali, or Chomolungma in Tibetan) stands taller than any other land surface on Earth, peaking at 29,031 feet (8,849 meters) above sea level.

Everest's high-altitude environments are among the most extreme on Earth. The South Col, where the research team led by microbial ecologist Nicholas Dragone from the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) collected soil samples, is around 7,900 feet above sea level. ...

https://www.sciencealert.com/everest-is-preserving-the-germs-coughed-and-sneezed-out-by-climbers
 
Vid at link.

Moment climber found in rare Everest ‘death zone’ rescue​

Nepali guide Gelje Sherpa found a Malaysian climber shivering and clutching a rope in the area of Mount Everest called the "death zone", where temperatures can dip to -30C.

He carried the climber down from 8,500m above sea level over the course of six hours.
Nepali tourism official Bigyan Koirala said it was "almost impossible to rescue climbers at that altitude" and that it was a "very rare operation".

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-65773723
 
Disgusting scenes all over social media this week of climbers queuing up up to ascend like it's Disneyland accompanied by shots of abandoned tents and discarded oxygen bottles everwhere.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1663711901484822530

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1662880927050240000

Edit: I've read elsewhere that the first clip is miscaptioned and does not show a location near the summit, but the final ascent routes are almost as bad.

I have read that climbers pay a fee of 528,000 Nepalese rupees (£3238) to be permitted to dump whatever they like during their expedition.

How about telling them to carry their junk or be imprisoned?
 
Yithian said:
Disgusting scenes all over social media this week of climbers queuing up up to ascend like it's Disneyland accompanied by shots of abandoned tents and discarded oxygen bottles everwhere.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1663711901484822530

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1662880927050240000

Edit: I've read elsewhere that the first clip is miscaptioned and does not show a location near the summit, but the final ascent routes are almost as bad.

I have read that climbers pay a fee of 528,000 Nepalese rupees (£3238) to be permitted to dump whatever they like during their expedition.
Click to expand...
If you ever get the chance to visit the mountaineer museum in Pokhara they have a pile of discarded oxygen tanks as an exhibit.
 
Lord Lucan said:
Just found this meme elsewhere, it did raise a chuckle.

View attachment 67604
Click to expand...

That's Mr Hari Budha Magar!

He's an ex-Gurkha who lost his legs in an IED attack in Afghanistan in 2010, and who now lives in Cambridgeshire. He and (also ex-army) Krish Thapa did a mighty fine climb together:

 
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