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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Jun 23, 2013 - 10:28pm PT
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OK.......
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Morgan
Trad climber
East Coast
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Jun 23, 2013 - 10:46pm PT
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Don't know about the rest of the group, but the Chinese mountaineers climbed for real with 10 and 11 of the 14 8000 meter peaks to their credit, respectively. As big a country as China is, the climbing community is small and tight knit, and they are devestated.
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Jun 23, 2013 - 11:03pm PT
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I'd imagine so.
Again Condolences as we find out who in this small world of climbers we have lost.
The sad story is just beginning.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Jun 24, 2013 - 01:05am PT
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Frankly, I almost cancelled my climbing trip to the Wadi Rum in Jordan in 2012. During the months leading up to the trip I was getting really anxious. But I decided to go, and I had a great time.
I wanted to return to Jordan again this year, but I decided that was pushing my luck.
Instead I went to Atlantis resort in the Bahamas and had a great time.
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Largo
Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
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Jun 24, 2013 - 01:19am PT
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Seems so random. I wish I knew more about the US drone attacks to which this was said to be a counterpunch, however insane. But it's hard to get the truth about what we are doing with those drones, and who is getting killed in the bargan. What a freaking mess, and innocents on both "sides" taking it hard.
JL
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Jun 24, 2013 - 03:23am PT
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The International Expedition leader Alexandra Dzik is now reporting more details about the nationality of the victims.
"One Lithuanian from International Expedition, two climbers from Slovakia, three from Ukraine, three from China, one from Nepal and one from Pakistan"
http://www.explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?url=details-about-nanga-parbat-diamir-bc-mas_137201169
The New York Times is reporting that one of the Chinese may have been a resident of the U.S.
In any case, a more unlikely group of people to symbolize the American drone program could not be found. One wonders if the killers had ever even met a foreigner before.
Needless to say, most expeditions in Pakistan are pulling out though not all. Even more bizarre is the fact that some who are still approaching the mountains have not got the news yet and are sending back cheery trip reports from every village with electricity, totally oblivious to any danger.
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Jun 24, 2013 - 12:32pm PT
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Ned gillette was a victim of robbery/gun violence, Not an act of war or politically motivated terrorism. And he certainly wasn't the first.
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couchmaster
climber
pdx
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Jun 24, 2013 - 12:37pm PT
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Rsin, looks like you boffed the link or one of the thousands that the US government employs to monitor and manipulate the net have shut you down. Says "Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again in a couple of minutes."
So whatever your point is with that link: not made.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Jun 24, 2013 - 12:55pm PT
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Jim Brennan said
Just because there is political justification for dropping bombs on the object of your desire, it doesn't mean they're going to like it and not get back at you.
You want war without the other guy sending you a love letter once in a while ?
But we're the good guys! and we said sorry for burning alive all those innocent other people someone cared about while getting the bad guys.
Understand the reality of big phrases like collateral damage and how it can apply in both directions. Right on target.
Shining Path were mentioned earlier, don't forget the Maoists made western Nepal a very dangerous place even for foreigners, Medellin and Cali Cartels terrorized Columbia for nearly 20 years, Mexican drug cartels right now. Non of them are religious groups. There are Maoist areas in the Phillipines mountains where you'd be crazy to go today.
Plenty of nasty groups make remote and mountainous areas dangerous places to travel.
As for the Taliban, it is obvious they only represent a very small portion of Islam. The only places they've had ANY real control of the population since we ran them out of the Afghanistan cities are the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the deserts of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.
The great majority of Moslems reject them.
Of course those idiot warmongers Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney/Rica/Bolton, etc. wanted you to think the Taliban were going to take over Iraq and we know how THAT turned out.
Bombing the hell out of Baghdad isn't terrorism? We'll never know how many Iraqi civilians were slaughtered by all sides in the war we started. (Probably near 200,000 deaths by violence alone).
The most baffling thing to me is 1000 years of Sunni vs Shiite Moslems. Yes, I know the historical origins but to carry on for 1000+ years is beyond comprehension. Get over it! But again, it is only a tiny minority of bomb throwers who are the terrorists.
Oh....speaking of religious schisms, let's not forget Northern Ireland' s "troubles" for 30 years, Protestant vs Catholic.
Should we condemn all Christians for that?
Buddhists (go figure) murdering Moslems in Burma/Myanmar as I write this.
The split between Muslims and Hindus that divided Pakistan from India. Which religion is to blame?
Don't go pissing on the Moslem religion without a good look in the mirror and at other places/religions in the world.
EDIT: I probably didn't make myself clear. I have NO sympathy for the Taliban, nor other true terrorists. Regardless of religion/political beliefs/greed.
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Don Paul
Big Wall climber
Colombia, South America
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Jun 24, 2013 - 02:00pm PT
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In retrospect it's surprising that everyone considered it safe before. The part of the Himalaya in Afganistan (Tora Bora, Hindu Kush) is full of land mines and is where the insurgents can escape. Also, being a millionaire tourist in a place where people are fighting a war, it probably doesn't matter what kind of a foreigner you are, you'd be blamed for the drone attacks.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Jun 24, 2013 - 02:10pm PT
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I remember back in 1977, after decades of being closed to all climbing, Pakistan opened the range for climbing once again. Seems like every big-time Himalayan climber headed into the Karakoram Himalaya that year. Mountain Magazine devoted a whole issue to it, in a monster feature titled "The Karakoram Opens Up." Looks like once again they'll be off limits for a bit. Hopefully not too long.
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Jan
Mountain climber
Okinawa, Japan
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Jun 24, 2013 - 02:13pm PT
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That will certainly put a dent on people climbing all the 8,000 meter peaks in the world.
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Lambone
Big Wall climber
Ashland, Or
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Jun 24, 2013 - 02:17pm PT
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Monkeys are headed into the Karakorum soon to climb the Great Trango. Godspeed fellas...
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Social climber
SLO, Ca
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Jun 24, 2013 - 02:27pm PT
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When I was in Gilgit we were walking back to our hotel during some political upheaval. The military had moved into town in a major way. Anyway, an officer pulled up and asked WTF we were doing walking around just before dark. He told us to get in his Land Rover, which we did. He raced us back to our hotel--road blocks would just open when he approached so me must have been a high ranking guy. He drove us right to our hotel, wished us well and sped off. I reckon the guy saved us some major trouble!
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Jun 24, 2013 - 02:32pm PT
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I don't know what I find more sad -- the murder of innocent climbers, or some posters' attempts to justify those murders to make political points.
I'm sorry, but I find no moral equivalence between the actions of the Taliban in Pakistan and international climbers on Nanga Parbat. The Taliban in Pakistan have a long, documented history of perpetrating violence on people whose only crimes were not being part of them. The fact that the United States uses violence against them, in a seemingly successful effort to kill their leadership, does not in any way justify murdering Chinese, Russian or American climbers who killed no one.
The fact that we can expect violent criminals to continue to perpetrate violence until they're wiped out in no way justifies the criminals' violence, nor does it indict the efforts to end those criminals' reigns of terror.
John
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Jun 24, 2013 - 03:45pm PT
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The Taliban have said that the 10 climbers shot dead in northern Pakistan were killed by a branch of the militant group set up to target foreigners.
They were forced to kneel and shot in the head, officials said, as more details emerged about Saturday's deadly assault at Nanga Parbat base camp.
Pakistan's cabinet met to discuss the attack and its impact on the country's already troubled tourist industry.
Climbers in the area of the world's ninth highest peak have been evacuated.
The Pakistani Taliban said that the new faction - named in local media reports as Junoodul Hifsa - was set up to take revenge for drone attacks in Pakistan.
The Taliban had earlier said that the attack was in retaliation for the killing of their second-in-command, Waliur Rehman, who died in a suspected US drone strike in May.
Rounded up
The nationalities of the foreign victims have now been identified as American, Chinese, Ukrainian, Slovakian, Lithuanian and Nepali. One Pakistani also died.
The BBC's Orla Guerin in Islamabad says the carefully choreographed assault was the worst attack on foreigners in Pakistan in a decade.
Survivors have yet to speak publicly about the attack but more details about their ordeal have emerged from local reports and from officials.
Police and army vehicles escorted the ambulances transporting the victims' bodies
At least 15 gunmen dressed in the uniform of local security forces carried out the attack. Even though it took place at base camp, this was at a height of 4,200m (13,779 ft) and the attackers would have had to travel for at least 18 hours by foot or by mule, correspondents.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23027031
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pud
climber
Sportbikeville & Yucca brevifolia
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Jun 24, 2013 - 04:24pm PT
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Condolences to the victims families.
Stranger than fiction.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jun 24, 2013 - 04:31pm PT
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Advances in science, medicine and technology aside, the human race sees to be plunging into a Dark Age of religious fanaticism, tribalisim and ethic intolerance and hatred. I, for one, am not very hopeful.
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