AIBU to be blown away by this? TW - Deaths on Everest.

Do you judge parents that do dangerous jobs too then? No one needs to be in the armed forces, or be a fireman, or a deep sea diver etc? Would you judge the expedition leaders or the sherpas because that's how they choose to make their living?

It's not that I disagree you 100% more that I find it a difficult area to decide what I actually think.

I slightly judge people who do extreme sports when they have young children, or are pregnant, as in this case. Men too, I hasten to add in fact more so because they tend to do more of it.

I think they need to prioritise their family until the children are late teens.

Tough for them but tragic for their children if the worst happens.

Climbers should also stop dumping rubbish. If you carry it up, you carry it back down!

Standard high street policies will usually exclude extreme high-altitude mountaineering, so you have to use a specialist risk brokers or providers.

Absolutely. I’m just saying that it’s not exactly a free choice. One of the few things available that offers a viable living for people in a very remote area is incredibly risky.

But if you can afford to train for and pay for an Everest trip you can afford it…

I suppose it was never going to come cheap. You'd think any insurance company worth their salt would want huge amounts.

Because of this thread, I watched the Everest 2015 film last night. It was very sad but also very frustrating.

Yes you can, but it’s extremely difficult and expensive.

You can be very fit and still an egotistical wanker with more money than sense

I think climbers shouldn’t leave rubbish on Mount Everest but ultimately it’s the National Governments (Nepal and China) that make the rules.

(I live nowhere near Mount Everest.)

If you removed the Everest tourism though, the region as a whole would be even worse off.
I do think that the tour companies need to guard against exploiting the Sherpas, and I know the track record isn't great there.

Well. It’s ranked something like 150th out of 196 in the global HDO, so it’s one of the poorest countries in the region, and the extraordinary challenges of the terrain and remoteness means that there are huge disparities inside Nepal. The remote mountain communities will always be the worst off simply because there are almost no motorable roads to get crops out to markets or facilitate travel to education or healthcare, and those there are get snowed in, are at risk from rockfall, avalanches etc. Kids are walking for hours on dangerous roads and paths to overcrowded, under-resourced schools, so the dropout rate is high and educational levels are low, and healthcare is often woeful for the same reason.

So it’s not really a free choice for the communities who service mountaineers. Either you’re a subsistence farmer in a region with a harsh and unpredictable climate, or you migrate to the towns with a low level of education, or you work with mountaineering tourism, which, despite being much the best-paid opportunity locally, is still derisory for the risks involved. And there are summit bonuses for the guides, too, which potentially adds to the risks.

Obviously it’s the national governments (Nepal and China) that make the rules. Mount Everest generates millions of dollars annually so nothing will change.

Summiting Everest is still an incredible achievement - people on this thread are talking as if you can just stroll up - you can't, you have to be very, very fit.

That said, I agree that you should be able to demonstrate some sort of technical ability beforehand, for your safety and for the others on your rope.

The Nepalase government are trying to put procedures in place to reduce the rubbish on Everest - it is a big problem.

Can you actually get life insurance for Mount Everest?

I agree with this. How many of these climbers check that the sherpa has life and injury insurance?

If karma was a thing, the clueless climbers would perish in a calamity but the sherpas would climb back down safely.

Noone is being enslaved I assume? You look around your vicinity, see what work is available and make a decision based on skill set, availability and money. If you are part of a remote community that has little ability to earn money then you do whatever is available or you relocate or die of hunger guess. We are so far removed from this stuff I just see it as more white saviour complex from afar.

I didn't see that but I quite agree. The whole thing is a total disgrace.

While this is true, I feel it's a bit unfair to blame the tourists/mountaineers. Without tourism to the area, there would be few or no jobs. Surely a failing of the Nepalese government primarily?

Yes I'd heard similar. It really puts into perspective how few other opportunities are available that even with all this in mind, some still feel this is the best option they have. It's a good thing the equipment has improved somewhat.

Okay. So who are you cross with? The mountaineers? The government? The Sherpers themselves? I consider it absolutely none of my business but I’m assuming you live nearby and it’s closer to home for you.

Being a mountain guides on Mount Everest is exceptionally dangerous. It’s statistically more dangerous than serving as an infantry soldier in active wartime. Nearly a third of all deaths on Everest are Sherpas.

Who is disrespecting them? If everyone stopped marching up the icy hill I assume their ability to earn money would disappear and their families would struggle as a result. People go out and do dangerous jobs to support their families all the time. Why have you decided to wring your hands over this particular example?

All the docs I've seen the Sherpas get a raw deal and its only in recent decades that they've even had access to the same level of equipment as the climbers. I know that people want to be able to say they did it.. but that just doesn't seem like a good enough reason for so many people to die doing it.