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

[Chefpig]

I have read a news article about the person who died on Everest 30 years ago, known as Green Boots and wondered if his body would have been preserved by the snow and icy conditions up there. After some reading, I believe his body would not have decomposed and so his face will be the same, still in his late 40's. Forever young.

Some people don't listen to true crime podcasts and it shows 😂 I'm so desensitised nothing triggers me anymore

Unless they are genetically linking up to each other with a special backpack or something the effort will be the same? Would probably make things more dangerous though, more people in your way, more impatience, more risk of accidents?

a part of their brain is missing

Interesting contrasting story - Everest - Man Vs Mountain follows Dave Bunting and his team on their attempt to summit in the early 2000s.

Balls of steel required from him as the team leader in cutting short their summit attempt, but absolutely the right decision for the team. There should be more expedition leaders like him.

JK touches on that in ITA, "summit fever", experienced climbers always know when to call it off, inexperienced try to dash for the summit, but it is much much further and harder than it looks, he says on one attempt he turned back and cautioned another climber wearing a bright red ( I think) climbing jacket to do the same, the guy ignored the warning and headed off towards the summit into the approaching weather, couple of years later JK was trying it again and saw the guy"s body sitting there near the summit, frozen stiff.

A few years back I was visiting a friend in the US and met another friend of hers.
My friend mentioned afterwards that this woman had smoked down Everest.
i thought my friend was confused but i googled her afterwards and her friend actually had skied down Everest.

It always struck me as an astonishing thing to do. I imagine it is quite different to have a Sherpa help you.

Still not a sensible or advisable undertaking.

What I was thinking about was, are people thinking its easy and not putting enough prep in and being fit enough. I know they get help from the Sherpas but despite that.

Hypoxia is probably a big part of this. Brain and body starved of oxygen leading to poor judgment and irrational decisions. I can imagine it’s pretty much like tripping, hallucinating.

Yes exactly this

The final stages of hypothermia confuses your brain and you can feel hot and start to take your clothes off because of it. I believe that’s what they believe happened to the scuba diving couple who were forgotten in Australia and also the Austrian lady who was left on the mountain by her boyfriend

There's currently a draft law in Nepal, if it goes through then in future, anyone applying for an Everest summit permit will need proof of having summited another Nepalese 7000 footer.

It was named after the double glazing company wasnt it?

Yes, I believe they started making climbing goggles in Nepal around 1910?

Yes I thought so.

Who was the famous climber who said on one of his difficult climbs that ended up being very touch and go an invisible being climbed beside him for the last four hours or so, he could feel them there beside him?

People will just print them up off the internet like fake law degrees etc. There seems to be a sizeable number of people in society now just gagging to kill themselves doing dangerous things, if it isn"t sharks it is alligators or snakes or dangerous mountains or extreme sports or extreme selfies on high places etc. They will find a way to be total boneheads one way or the other.

The made me laugh out loud. Are you ok?

something weird happens to some of us when confronted with mountains, sometimes the ocean depths as well. Like the Oceangate submersible, although they’re harder to reach. Cave diving maybe a better example - It’s a real steely obsession with some people and I’ve no idea what dopamine starved part of the brain they’re working from. It’s almost like those places are calling to them like bloody cursed objects

That is such a first world attitude!

Was going to say this - they ARE thawing, and it does present a danger of contamination to the water supplies of everyone who lives in the surrounding areas.

That's the main reason for the push to recover the bodies.

Oh, god the cave divers / spelunkers! There are teams of highly specialised, expensively equipped clean-up divers who go down and move bodies that have blocked passageways. They tow them out if they can, but most are stuck in such narrow places that they can only be stashed in a niche out of the way.

No idea what happens to them over time. There's often no air and very little wildlife. They must be pretty unpleasant after months under water, though 😟

Andy Kirkpatrick is an interesting fella.

He's a climber who has spoken of the addictive nature of climbing and how it was always about pushing it just that little bit further and the inability to stop. It's also competitive both with others and with his self. There's always the next expedition....

He has suffered from extreme depression. He explains who the adrenaline of climbing almost gave him a high and this was really difficult to kick.

He made a conscious decision to reign back on what he was doing due to his daughter and then partner but has really struggled with it. He explains how so many of his friends didn't manage to break the cycle and are now dead.

He's written a few books and has done tours in the past. If you are interested in what drives people to climb, he's really worth seeing. He's entertaining. And he hates Bear Grylls who is almost his anthesis. Which is never a bad thing.

I recommend: Cold Wars: Climbing the fine line between risk and reality.

I think someone has hypoxia or is on the windup.

Mount Everest was officially named in 1865 by the Royal Geographical Society to honor George Everest, the former British Surveyor General of India.

https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/from-the-archive-blog/2011/jul/21/mount-everest-name-1856

I think this is one of the most disgusting and selfish forms of tourism. In this world, why are people spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to climb a damn mountain, risking their lives and those of the sherpas who depend on the industry to survive now that extreme, fast climate change has caused rapid glacier melt, extreme weather, and severe water shortages, forcing historic Tibetan and Nepalese mountain communities to face severe flooding, cultural disruption, and permanent relocation. The rubbish and bodies littering the place are one thing, but nobody’s talking about human waste, used O2 and Propane/butane (whatever they use up there to cook with) Cylinders, clothing, hiking and camping equipment made from non-biodegradable materials, etc.. It’s inhumane and irresponsible.

Why is it ridiculous to have a different take to you?