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Jonnnyyyzzz
Trad climber
San Diego,CA
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May 22, 2012 - 12:57am PT
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MT. EVEREST, Nepal — Colorado mountain climber Dr. Jon Kedrowski was not able to reach the summit of the world’s tallest mountain this weekend as severe weather trapped numerous climbers near the top.
Kedrowski, of Avon, Colo., told meteorologist Chris Tomer in an exclusive telephone interview that he tried to help at least four climbers near the summit Sunday, but was unsuccessful. Officials say at least four climbers died. Kedrowski says five may have died.
He says the weather changed as many climbers went to the summit on Saturday.
100 mph winds moved in and trapped dozens of climbers. Jon was ascending while others were descending from 18-hour climbs to the summit.
They were exhausted, sick from altitude, hallucinating, frostbitten, and disoriented.
Jon came upon four folks on the verge of death and tried to assist. “I counted four people that had either died that evening or probably got disoriented or basically passed out from their summit attempts on the 19th,” he says.
“Once you’re above 26,000 feet, the body deteriorates so fast that if you’re not with a big group of people that can help you there’s really nothing you can do.”
“[One man] was basically hallucinating, he took his hat off, his gloves were thrown away and then he kind of reached out and looked at me … he kind of reached out to me, kind of in a zombie-like fashion,” Kedrowski says. “At that point, there’s not a lot you can do for somebody that’s dying and frozen to death.”
Another person was lying face-down in the snow with his/her headlamp still on. Another person was so sick, Jon and a Sherpa stuck that guy with a needle full of DEX (Altitude drug). Everyone had their oxygen masks strapped on.
The victims have been identified as Ebehard Schaaf, 61, a German medical doctor; Sriya Shah, 33, a Nepali-born Canadian woman; Song Wondin, a 44-year-old man from South Korea; and Wen Ryi Ha, 55, of China, according to officials with the tourism and civil aviation ministry and at the base of the mountain.
There are 32 teams on Everest made up of 337 climbers and 400+ Sherpas on the Khumbu Icefall route to the summit, which is 29.029 feet above sea level. That’s the route Kedrowski is taking.
He says in his blog that he may make another attempt to reach the summit May 25-26.
May is a popular time for climbers to try to reach the summit of Everest since there are long enough windows of opportunity when the weather allows the ascent
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
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May 22, 2012 - 02:19am PT
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If you are on one of the popular, guided routes on Mount Everest, I don't think you can use the word 'climbing' anymore. Seems to me it's more like 'herding.'
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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May 22, 2012 - 09:52am PT
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So this guy, after seeing that horror, is going to try again for the summit, probably hiking right past those fresh dead bodies! Amazing!
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lubbockclimber
Trad climber
lubbock,tx
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May 22, 2012 - 10:23am PT
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I wish the media could separate these "climbers" from the real climbing community, instead of grouping us together with these over privlidged media hounds.
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Prod
Trad climber
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May 22, 2012 - 11:06am PT
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Sad experience.
Hiking at 14K is enough for me.
Prod.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 22, 2012 - 11:10am PT
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"Hiking" is the operable word Prod.
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Boz
Trad climber
Davis, CA
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May 22, 2012 - 11:13am PT
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Go do it. Come back alive, and then disrespect those who have passed attempting it. Herd route or not, until you do, STFU.
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Gary
climber
"My god - it's full of stars!"
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May 22, 2012 - 11:15am PT
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RIP to kindred spirits.
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Dos XX
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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May 22, 2012 - 11:24am PT
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Tragedies, and heroism also.
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Israeli quits Everest quest to rescue Turkish climber
May 22, 2012
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- An Israeli climbing Mount Everest abandoned his quest to rescue a Turkish climber.
Nadav Ben Yehuda, 24, was evacuated from the mountain along with the injured Turkish climber without scaling the last 300 yards to the top, Israel Radio reported Tuesday. Ben Yehuda would have become the youngest Israeli to reach the mountain's summit.
Ben Yehuda suffered frostbite in his fingers during the rescue and could lose one or more fingers, according to reports.
Four climbers died over the weekend on the way down after reaching Everest's summit. It was the first weekend of weather clear enough to attempt the summit for this climbing season, and the long wait resulted in overcrowding near the top.
--
In light of the present acrimony between Israel and Turkey it's nice to be reminded that climbers can have a larger vision of what's good and right.
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Prod
Trad climber
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May 22, 2012 - 11:29am PT
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Hey BOZ,
You shut the F*#k up. I just said that hiking at 14k is enough for me. I have no interest of bagging peaks higher than that.
Uptight prick.
Prod.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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May 22, 2012 - 11:38am PT
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It is the mountain that is getting disrespected.
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squishy
Mountain climber
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May 22, 2012 - 11:46am PT
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kindred spirits my ass...what a cluster f*#k...
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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May 22, 2012 - 11:58am PT
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Dos XX
thanks for that story.
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Branscomb
Trad climber
Lander, WY
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May 22, 2012 - 12:19pm PT
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I used to think I wanted to climb in the Himalayas. In 1979 I developed such bad tendinitis in my elbows climbing that I took a year off. Fortunately I'd had a great job as a grunt on a 500KV powerline construction crew and had some money saved, so I spent a year travelling around the world with a backpack.
Ended up in Nepal and trekked into Everest base from Lamu Sangu and back out to the same. I hiked up Kala Pattar across from the Khumbu ice fall one day and sitting there, I could hear what were obviously massive avalanches on Nuptse, etc. But I couldn't see any ice dust or anything. I realized that it was such a huge landscape that these things were just lost in the scenery. I thought, man, you could get crunched so easy in this place. That's when I started to think it was a lot more than I wanted to tackle.
Nowadays I watch those videos of people gagging their way up fixed ropes that the Sherpas put up for them and think, just from my limited experience in Alaska, yea that looks like a lot of agony that at 60 years I really am not interested in subjecting myself to. And the sea of tents and all the people, phew! No thanks.
It would probably be pretty cool to just stand on top of that big puppy and get the view, but it would just be so wierd with all those people and not really doing any climbing to get it. I just never had the big motivation for that stuff and now, it doesn't matter to me any more.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 22, 2012 - 01:21pm PT
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Nicely said Branscomb.
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paul roehl
Boulder climber
california
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May 22, 2012 - 01:39pm PT
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"The oldest person to climb Everest is a Nepalese man, Min Bahadur Sherchan, who climbed Everest in 2008 at the age of 76."
I was kind of shocked to read this today. As well, a woman in her 70s made the summit; I believe it was yesterday. I understand that age isn't just a numerical calculation but it makes you wonder just who is buying tickets to the top. I suppose it's also kind of encouraging.
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can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
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May 22, 2012 - 01:39pm PT
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Mt. Everest or K2, which one would you choose if you only had one chance?
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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May 22, 2012 - 01:54pm PT
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A friend of a friend was descending from the Summit of Everest several years ago by himself when he started having severe vision issues. He came upon another climber and asked for assistance and told him of his problem. The other climber seemed excited to help and told him he can help, the helping climber said "you see that blue dog over there, that dog told me how to get down, come on follow me". It was at that point he realized he was screwed and he became the rescuer. Never did find out what happened to the blue dog.
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squishy
Mountain climber
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May 22, 2012 - 02:12pm PT
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looks like the grack on a Saturday
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Seamstress
Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
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May 22, 2012 - 02:26pm PT
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Very sad.
I will never disparage someone going after their dream - no matter how much more grandiose or mundane it is compared to mine. We all can't be setting the bar for humanity.
I won't condemn all commercial operations as some will take advantage of people's dreams, and others carefully help people achieve their dream.
Wilderness experience, solitude experience, FA, or a mundane first time for the climber - they all get my respect. Compared to the people who are just armchair adventurers, judge and jury, they are going after it. No one can be there without knowing that the crowds will affect their experience - perhaps creating a gridlock which will cost them.
Older people can be quite capable. You can't summarily judge someone's chances for success solely based on their age, sex, nationality, etc. I climb with many people that are very capable from 20 - 70+. I have seen many 30 somethings relying on youthful exuberance get schooled.
The leaders of the various teams are accountable for their decisions and the safety of their team. If there are too many ahead of you, you need to turn your team back.
I am so sorry the dream for some of these people turned into a nightmare. Peace.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 22, 2012 - 03:29pm PT
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Everest or K2? Neither one, the Ogre is the "real" mountain in the Himalayas.
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Trad climber
San Francisco, Ca
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May 22, 2012 - 03:55pm PT
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I dabbled with high altitude climbing. Once we did a more or less walk-up in South America. On the way down from the summit we came across a guided party with a client suffering from pulmonary edema- the breathing sounded awful! The client was seriously about to die and the guides had to leave the rest of their party to get the victim down asap, and I mean asap. We ended up taking down one of their clients on our rope team.
I also climbed a peak in Pakistan. Not a walk-up but nothing that hardcore either, a long alpine ice face- two tools and on your front points kind of stuff, but nothing crazy. Maybe 22,000ish feet. I was in my 20s, in top shape, well acclimatized and I was physically crushed. I was totally relieved to make it down with out just dying or getting killed making some stupid mistake—which we in fact make did but just lucked out on the getting killed part. It was like making life and death decisions after getting smashed drunk. Altitude has different effects on different people and seems random to me. I knew I was done with it after that trip.
No real point, just that being high is pretty freaking serious even it if it’s walking. I would never put myself way up there where some clusterf*#k could bring about my demise. It’s not like a back up at the chimney pitch on Cathedral.
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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May 22, 2012 - 04:01pm PT
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Mt. Everest or K2, which one would you choose if you only had one chance?
I figure it would be a minimum outlay of ~50k to atttempt either. So I'd skip both, take the 50k and spend 5 years living large CLIMBING on rock, instead of 5 weeks hiking up a big hill with a heavy pack.
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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May 22, 2012 - 04:16pm PT
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I look at that picture, and I can see that there is a new type of objective danger that has been introduced into the equation of climbing Everest.
That is simple insanity.
That's Half Dome. Or Chilkoot Pass.
One's speed has been reduced to the speed of the slowest, least fit, least skilled, least acclimatized, least experienced person present....up AND down.
I am astonished that 50 people didn't die.
The mountaineers are on the north side.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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May 22, 2012 - 05:40pm PT
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The Outside article is very good. The story of the Turk and the Israeli is nice to hear.
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viejoalpinisto
Mountain climber
Pahrump, NV
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May 22, 2012 - 05:47pm PT
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"kindred spirits"- Hiked from 13700 to 17,850 one time in four hours in zero degrees, in Nepal. I had very little in common, spiritually with the German group that was trying to help one of their members go up. She refusing their help, would not let them carry her pack, etceteras. She was dying in the cold and altitude from an overblown sense of self and an acute case of disrespect for the mountains. I don't know if she died. I am sure she would have been dead in about six more hours if she did not descend. I told them it was very dangerous for her to continue. I had nothing in common with the Dutchman that I met while descending at 11AM. He had flown into Jomson two days before and was planning on going over the top that day. I told him he could easily die before he got to 16000.
If you have a lot in common with the people that want to hike Whitney in a day, most of whom have not even been up Baldy recently, then you might be a kindred spirit with those on Everest. It is the neophytes ambition that makes standing inline hooked up to oxygen bottles a worthy goal. Experience tells you..."I will die when my oxygen runs out, I have never climbed anything when the wind was over forty miles an hour, it's not about quantity but the quality of the experience,". Experience tells you that very few of your ambitious plans can be executed without a whole lot of tedious labor and effort for moths and years beforehand. One woman that died yesterday did so after consuming nine bottles of Oxygen. It took five Shepas more than four days each just to haul her O2 to the South Col. And Boz you should try using STFU to a few people in person before you post it again. I am sure you will find someone that will give you the necessary experience to understand that it is really not a bright idea and reeks of estrogen when done electronically.
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schwortz
Social climber
"close to everything = not at anything", ca
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May 22, 2012 - 05:55pm PT
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seeing those photos of people lined up like herded cattle really is pretty sad...
having done some crowded walk ups i thought were pretty horrible at the time i cant imagine taking that scene and multiplying it by the factor of everest..
at some point you do have to wonder...what _is_ the point?
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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May 22, 2012 - 06:03pm PT
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If you have a lot in common with the people that want to hike Whitney in a day, most of whom have not even been up Baldy recently, then you might be a kindred spirit with those on Everest.
I think Whitney in a day is the easiest way to do it. If you can carry a pack up to the base of Whitney, then you could easily walk it in a day.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 22, 2012 - 06:53pm PT
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Lep, the peak to the right of the Ogre is peak 6980 (or some similar number) hasn't been climbed as far as I know. We saw it from the other side on our Latok 1 trip. Super worthy objective.
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WBraun
climber
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May 22, 2012 - 07:55pm PT
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Seeing all those people lined up to climb that hill I'm surprised some capitalistic pig hasn't taken advantage and set up a general store at base camp yet.
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bmacd
Trad climber
100% Canadian
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May 22, 2012 - 08:53pm PT
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That Italian Alpinist Moro is pretty smart. Ten or twenty grand per helicopter evacuation job he does. More for the pyscho body recoveries I am sure.
Good business plan....
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John Mac
Trad climber
Littleton, CO
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May 22, 2012 - 10:55pm PT
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Rock and Ice mag is now reporting up to 11 people have died on everest so far this year.
Crazy sh#t for sure.
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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May 22, 2012 - 11:03pm PT
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Other reported deaths are:
Karsang Namgyal Sherpa, from alcohol poisoning at bast camp.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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May 22, 2012 - 11:08pm PT
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^^^^^^^ok, that's pretty sad.
methanol?
or something more depressing?
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jstan
climber
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May 22, 2012 - 11:45pm PT
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http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/nepal-mountaineer-falls-to-death-while-attempting-to-scale-mt-everest-200407
Kathmandu: A 30-year-old Nepali mountaineer died on Saturday while attempting to scale Mount Everest, a government official said. It is the second death of this season on the world's highest peak.
Namgya Tshering Sherpa fell into a deep crevasse while climbing towards Base Camp Two, more than two-thirds of the way up the 8848-metre (29029-foot) mountain, said Gyanendra Kumar Shrestha of the Nepal Tourism Board.
"He slipped from the snow and fell 40 metres into the crevasse. His body has been recovered near Camp Two, which is located at a height of 6500 metres," Shrestha told Agence France Presse (AFP).
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john hansen
climber
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May 23, 2012 - 01:12am PT
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You would think some one would set up another set of fixed ropes twenty feet lower to move people along. Ropes and pickets are cheap.
That slope does not look that hard.
Registrar four is now open for your shopping convienience...
the Hillary step is another story..
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Fluoride
Trad climber
West Los Angeles, CA
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May 23, 2012 - 02:06am PT
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Eliminate all the fixed ropes and supplemental O2 and this won't happen. You don't see this crap happening on any other 8000M peaks.
Ueli Steck sumitted Everest that weekend but without any supplemental O2. The people who died did so cause they ran out of oxygen.
The guides own this mountain cause people who aren't climbers can buy their way up it and the only reason they want it is cause it's the highest peak in the world.
I've always wondered in South America if Huascaran had been just a little higher and topped Aconcagua (a much easier peak). Would Huascaran be overrun cause it would be one of the Seven Summits?
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Boz
Trad climber
Davis, CA
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May 23, 2012 - 03:35am PT
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I say STFU again, electronically or in person. Are you kidding me? Sure these people are idiots, WELL below WORTHY climbers such as ourselves. Who are they to dare to attempt co climb that mountain, with their poor ethics and motives.
I say again. SHUT THE F*#K UP. They knew the risk for their reward. Some paid it. Respect that, it's not asking much.
"Oh, it's just a guided walk-up"... blah blah blah.
Plenty of "proud" lines, are merely walkups, but perhaps to a different scale. Whether bouldering, trad, big wall, or alpine, there is someone who is going to be better than you and do your dream in "better" style, or form.
I don't want to brag, but since a couple of you wanted to call me out in person, how about this. I will "walk-up" any of your projects. Name it. Sorry, but I will. How dare you demean other peoples ambitions merely because you deem them technically below you. How DARE YOU disrespect those who died going for their goal, their dream. NOT YOURS.
Everyone sucks at climbing. Period. Full stop. We all suck at our own levels, and we seek to further that level or not up to our own will and ambition. That is the beauty of climbing. That's what sets us apart. Or at least that's what I hoped was the case. Clearly, we are all actually a bunch of elitist pigs. Sh#t,
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Fluoride
Trad climber
West Los Angeles, CA
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May 23, 2012 - 05:46am PT
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Boz, why so touchy?
"Everyone sucks at climbing. Period."
Uhhh no. There's a number of people on this site.....Conrad included....who could never figure into that. At least in a negative sense. He's up there with a crew now awaiting the next good weather window.
And no, I'm not an "elitist pig" as you say. I hope he and he his team do well.
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bmacd
Trad climber
100% Canadian
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May 23, 2012 - 06:28am PT
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Simone Moro will be making his 5th attempt at the Everest Lhotse traverse with out oxygen this month. My prayers go out to him, the rescue pilot, Simone, the same man whom declined Conrads, invitation to climb the West Ridge.
If Corey Rich had not gotten sick, Simone would not have flown the West Ridge reconnaissance mission and made his call the climb being to dangerous. Thus Conrad perhaps has been excused a not so great fate this week.
Interesting how having a whirly bird in basecamp changes the game.
Best wishes to Conrad, Jenkins et al. On their summit bid.
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Delhi Dog
climber
Good Question...
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May 23, 2012 - 06:43am PT
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"Everyone sucks at climbing. Period. Full stop. We all suck at our own levels, and we seek to further that level or not up to our own will and ambition. That is the beauty of climbing. That's what sets us apart. Or at least that's what I hoped was the case."
Well Boz, for some folks around here the point is many of these "Everesters" aren't climbers which is a contributing factor at the root of the problem.
If they were actual "climbers" then maybe some of the decisions made along the way would have been different.
Knott saying "climbers" wouldn't have died too-that's idiotic, butt their decisions usually are based on experiences gained along the course of becoming that climber. ConRad mentioned above for example.
Here is a question.
Is a person a climber if their soul ambition is to summit Everest and their 'strategy' is simply to hire a guide service to make that happen?
I do understand I think your point about it being wrong in demeaning someone for what they can or can not do relative to another person.
Butt I also believe in honesty and integrity as well.
I have a lot of respect for folks knott necessarily for what they can do, butt how they go about doing it. Who is the person behind the act? That weighs more on my scale.
my $0.02
cheers
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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May 23, 2012 - 07:10am PT
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I'm all for letting anyone who wants to climb it have a go at it, just do away with guiding services. If you want to do it do it under your own means and power. Go get lost, fall in a crevasse, walk off a cliff, just don't pay someone else for the privaledge to do it.
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fear
Ice climber
hartford, ct
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May 23, 2012 - 10:03am PT
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A high altitude Circus of Death.
Ridiculous.
Who in their right mind (even a hypoxic mind) would want to stand in line at 8000+ meters? That's simply insane.
Last I checked there is no shortage of other peaks within a few miles that have no lines...
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 23, 2012 - 10:07am PT
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Fluoride, the Seven Summits craze is a perfect storm of having the highest summit on each Continent be a peak offering a NON TECHNICAL route to the top. Pandora's Box was first opened by the publishing of the book "The Seven Summits" by Dick Bass a self described "non climber."
Humans seem to need superlatives that can be determined objectively like; highest, longest, deepest etc. When it comes to subjective considerations like hardest, knowledge of the subject comes into play, and one actually has to think and analyze.
Every Continent has a peak that is the hardest to climb, by any route, and ,no, they are not the second highest peaks.
Peak Bagging can necessitate the use of real climbing skills- in the case of the Seven Summits, it doesn't.
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Bowser
Social climber
Durango CO
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May 23, 2012 - 10:29am PT
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Wow, I thought the cattle trails up Camelback Mountain in Phoenix were bad.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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May 23, 2012 - 10:32am PT
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No matter how many clients die there will be more.
What bothers me are the deaths of the facilitators, the sherpas and guides.
Sure, they know the risks, but they are tempted by the high fees. It is a form of corruption.
Eventually I suspect that Nepal will not like having a high altitude open air grave yard.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 23, 2012 - 10:37am PT
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The sherpa situation reminds me of the de facto draft we have in America. For sherpas, working on Everest is far from voluntary when it is the only, and best, means of feeding your family in one of the Earth's poorest nations.
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John Duffield
Mountain climber
New York
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May 23, 2012 - 10:47am PT
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Well Boz, for some folks around here the point is many of these "Everesters" aren't climbers which is a contributing factor at the root of the problem.I read a TR yesterday, on another highly respected repository of Mountaineering excellence, and was kind of stunned that it appears this is sometimes indeed the case. A guy trained for it running 7 miles a day. I trained for a Half Marathon this weekend past doing exactly that. But a Half Marathon and summiting Everest seem in different worlds. I saw that photo of this weekends Conga Line going up and really feel 4 deaths there is actually to be on the lower end of what I would've expected.
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
merced, california
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May 23, 2012 - 10:49am PT
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Werner, thanks for the idea,but REI has contemplated that for years.
Batrock, the Blue Dog was saved. Some Sherpa had a can of Red Bull and it was enough.
Boz, you have a point, but it is hard to say that the recent achievement of the team of AH and Mr.ElCap#4 in YV SUCKS, so get off it, lad. It won't fly.
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fear
Ice climber
hartford, ct
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May 23, 2012 - 11:15am PT
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It really seems to have devolved into more of a deadly adventure-race triathalon-type event that attracts those same folks. Not to downplay the difficulty of the task anyway it just has morphed into something far, far from I would consider "climbing".
The fixed lines always blow my mind. Imagine the effort and materials expended to fix that entire hill. And the majority of pictures from this circus seem to have people just jugging the thing without even having an axe in their hands.
I'd never consider using oxygen since that violates some silly internal rule I've got. I also know I don't function well at high altitudes and acclimatize very slowly. So that scratches the Big Hill off the list for me. But now at least I know I'm not missing anything anyway!
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pFranzen
Boulder climber
Portland, OR
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May 23, 2012 - 12:15pm PT
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I saw that photo of this weekends Conga Line going up and really feel 4 deaths there is actually to be on the lower end of what I would've expected.
Same here. I hate to sound dramatic, but the toll seems quite low given the number of people up above 8000m. The safety margin is so slim already with relatively inexperienced climbers that a whiteout or even a moderate storm could really wreak havoc.
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Grampa
Trad climber
OC in So Cal
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May 23, 2012 - 12:50pm PT
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I Copied this off Yahoo Finance News:
Everest Tragedy Shines Light on Billion Dollar Tourism Niche
Four climbers died on Mount Everest over the weekend, making Saturday one of the deadliest days ever on the "rooftop of the world."
But the incident, which has been blamed in part on overcrowding on the mountain, has raised new questions about the commercial side of climbing the 29,035-foot Himalayan peak, which lies on the border between China and Nepal. Hundreds of wealthy clients every year pay guide services tens of thousands of dollars for escorted trips to the summit, and client numbers have been increasing steadily since the 1990s. According to reports, 208 climbers were packing the mountain last weekend, leaving some trekkers stuck in the high altitude "death zone" — so named because of its treacherous terrain and low oxygen levels — too late in the day to descend safely.
"There was a traffic jam on the mountain on Saturday," Nepalese mountaineering official Gyanendra Shrestha told The Associated Press. "Climbers were still heading to the summit as late as 2:30 p.m. which is quite dangerous." As a general rule, Shrestha said, climbers are advised not to try for the summit any later than 11 a.m.
Still, another 200 climbers are set to try for the summit this weekend, during what is expected to be the final clear weather window of the 2012 season. In total, more than 316 climbers are believed to have reached the summit so far this year, up from just 91 a decade ago.
Including the losses from this weekend, six climbers have perished on Mount Everest in 2012.
Money and Climbing
The solution to all this overcrowding seems simple enough: Limit the number of climbers on the mountain, avoid the "traffic jams" and ensure the safety of all involved. But, in reality, it is not that simple. Climbing the world's highest peak has become a big business, and a lucrative one at that. The Nepalese government, for example, issued 325 climbing permits to foreign mountaineers this year at a price of $10,000 each. And that's just the beginning.
The average Everest climber spends around $51,000 on guides, porters and permits, according to Alan Arnette, a mountaineer and Mount Everest expert who speaks frequently on issues related to the mountain. On the high end, RMI Expeditions charged clients $74,000 apiece in this season, while local Kathmandu operator Asian Trekking was the cheapest guided option at $30,300 as of 2010. Gear and travel expenses can easily add another $5,000 to $10,000 to the cost.
And yet, despite these prices, they keep on coming.
According to AdventureStatistics.org, a total of 4,866 climbers attempted to climb Everest between 2000 and 2006, with 1,861 of those reaching the summit. Just over 2,000 of those climbers were part of commercial climbing tours.
Adventure Travel a Growth Market
Beyond the high peaks, however, adventure travel as an industry has never been hotter. According to the Adventure Tourism Market Report, released in 2010 by the Adventure Travel Trade Association in partnership with George Washington University and Xola Consulting, adventure travel is an $89 billion business that accounts for 26 percent of the overall travel market.
"Instead of being seen as a small, niche market, the study shows that adventure tourism is a sizeable market with the potential for significant economic growth opportunities," said Dr. Kristin Lamoureux, director of George Washington's International Institute of Tourism Studies, when the study was released.
Two percent of adventure travelers participate in "hard adventure" activities, which are defined as mountain climbing, caving and long distance trekking, while the remaining 24 percent focus on softer adventures such as bird watching and photography. Based on that math, hard-core adventurers account for some $1.78 billion in annual travel spending, plus the additional millions they spend on related gear and accessories for their travels.
And numbers like that are hard to ignore, especially in developing nations like Nepal, where per capita income hovers around $490 per year and tourism makes up more than half of GDP. The mountain is "there," who can blame them for cashing in?
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Majid_S
Mountain climber
Bay Area , California
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Topic Author's Reply - May 23, 2012 - 01:01pm PT
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There were a similar number of climbers attempting the summit last weekend.
In addition to Shah-Klorfine, German national Eberhard Schaaf, 61, South Korean Song Won-Bin, 44, Chinese climber Ha Wenyi, 55, were also found dead near the summit.
A Sherpa mountain guide had been reported missing but Shrestha said the information turned out to be false.
Due to an increased numbers of climbers in recent years, there is a bottle-neck every season at the Hillary Step, a rockface near the peak that climbers from the Nepal side have to ascend and descend with the help of ropes.
The climbing season runs from late March to the first week in June but this season’s first clear conditions for reaching the peak were on Friday, two weeks later than usual.
The window had closed by Saturday afternoon due to high winds, Shrestha told AFP, leading to a rush of climbers attempting the summit.
“The climbers have to rely on a single rope and the traffic jam there will delay the ascents for hours,” he said by telephone from base camp.
“Some Sherpas who returned have told me that they had to wait for up to three hours. Not moving means that your hands or feet will be frostbitten.
“Then, there is the issue of oxygen… high up, you tend to use more.”
Zimba Zangbu Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said climbers were increasingly taking unnecessary risks when time was running out or conditions were poor.
“Now there are so many people trying to reach the top, vying for this or that record,” he said.
Some climbers near the peak — most of whom have paid tens of thousands of dollars on the expedition — often ignore the advice to expert guides to turn back, he added.
“In some cases, they don’t even heed the suggestions of their Sherpa guides. The Sherpas can’t advise them otherwise because their clients will think ’I’m so close to the mountain, why shouldn’t I try a bit more?’”
Nearly 4,000 people have climbed Everest since 1953 when Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay first scaled it.
More than 200 people have died on the slopes of the giant peak.
Two Sherpa climbers were killed on Everest in April, one falling into a crevasse at 5,900 metres and the other succumbing to altitude sickness at base camp.
Elizabeth Hawley, a Nepal-based American former journalist and chronicler of Himalayan expeditions, said overcrowding was being exacerbated by poor preparation.
“The overcrowding has been going on for years… the problem is people who don’t belong there getting permits,” she told AFP.
“They think anyone can climb Everest. Anyone can, if they know what they are doing and have proper help and have had the right exercise and are fit. But a lot of people keep going when they should go home.”
Earlier this month Russell Brice of Himalayan Experience, a major operator on Everest, told clients and staff he was canceling the rest of their season due to the increased danger of falling ice and rock.
The Nepal government said it had issued 325 Everest permits to foreign mountaineers at $10,000 each for 2012.
With files from The Canadian Press
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steve shea
climber
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May 23, 2012 - 01:17pm PT
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It was not always like this. But with computers, phones and satelite link ups the whole game changed. There were low key, low impact expeds to this mountain when communication was done by runner. You felt cut off, remote and truly out there on an "expedition". Now it is a fish bowl for the world to see. The first real clients were the sponsors of these trips who wanted that positive exposure of their product or logo in real time on real climbers on the highest mountain in the world. They paid big bucks but it was still cheaper than television advertising. This proliferation of glorified exposure and notoritey increasingly appealed to the spectrum of individuals who would be attracted to an Everest endeavor. Add in the huge amounts of cash being thrown around and instant "fame", it is no wonder guiding companies jumped on the band wagon. Obviously it became too much of a good/bad thing and now has degenerated into a mess. When we were there, North Ridge post monsoon 1986, we were alone but for the Swiss overnight ascent team. Three people, two climbers. I think somehow all of the publicizing of this success and tragedy has dumbed down the perception of Everest because hundreds do summit and get bragging rights. The sad part is that now climbers could care less. But it really used to be something special.
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WBraun
climber
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May 25, 2012 - 11:46am PT
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If people want to go to Everest and and die why do YOU care?
What's in it for you to care besides all your holy pontifications of who is the real climber.
Save yourself first.
If you don't even know how to save your own soul from the cycle of birth and death then you have no say ......
Stupid Americans.
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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May 25, 2012 - 12:06pm PT
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I say STFU again, electronically or in person. Are you kidding me? Sure these people are idiots, WELL below WORTHY climbers such as ourselves. Who are they to dare to attempt co climb that mountain, with their poor ethics and motives.
I say again. SHUT THE F*#K UP. They knew the risk for their reward. Some paid it. Respect that, it's not asking much.
"Oh, it's just a guided walk-up"... blah blah blah.
Plenty of "proud" lines, are merely walkups, but perhaps to a different scale. Whether bouldering, trad, big wall, or alpine, there is someone who is going to be better than you and do your dream in "better" style, or form.
I don't want to brag, but since a couple of you wanted to call me out in person, how about this. I will "walk-up" any of your projects. Name it. Sorry, but I will. How dare you demean other peoples ambitions merely because you deem them technically below you. How DARE YOU disrespect those who died going for their goal, their dream. NOT YOURS.
Everyone sucks at climbing. Period. Full stop. We all suck at our own levels, and we seek to further that level or not up to our own will and ambition. That is the beauty of climbing. That's what sets us apart. Or at least that's what I hoped was the case. Clearly, we are all actually a bunch of elitist pigs. Sh#t,
I'm framing this and putting it on my fridge. This is a rant for the AGES.
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chill
climber
between the flat part and the blue wobbly thing
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May 25, 2012 - 01:51pm PT
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Boz said - I don't want to brag, but since a couple of you wanted to call me out in person, how about this. I will "walk-up" any of your projects. Really enjoyed that, Boz. Classic Internet bombastic BS.
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