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.

I don't think it's being different about death. It's about avoiding danger. What were they supposed to do?

Mistake, see underneath!

Extreme high-altitude mountaineering attracts personality traits similar to a psychopath, especially when they push past others in distress or fixate entirely on reaching the summit.

It’s estimated that there’s 250 tonnes of rubbish on Everest.
I watched Death Zone on Prime last night; it should be mandatory for everyone.
https://www.oneglobenepal.com/travel-tips/mount-everest-garbage-problem-the-dark-side-of-the-worlds-highest-mountain/

Climbers that want to step foot on “top of the world” just don’t care. It should be mandatory that whatever you carry up the mountain, you have to carry it back down!

Climbing Everest doesn't have the kudos that some think it has. In the past, it really was an achievement but now... not so much. The Sherpas do a lot of the heavy lifting helping these egotistical prats to summit. The experience is just another tick box challenge to brag about.

How can anyone be comfortable climbing it knowing they are contributing to the mess which is there? Hearing about all these bodies is horrific - why would you want to see that? Idiocy.

No worries, that part of my comment was also a bit off topic! That was our third and final date so I never found out how professionally interesting he thought I was. Probably for the best. I reckon a relationship with a therapist could either be the easiest relationship ever, or a source of stress and judgement! He was a psychotherapist and had a particular interest in sex psychotherapy, but the sex wasn’t great and I didn’t feel much enthusiasm from him about dating in general. I thought looking away from unexpected dead body faces was quite a normal reaction, his response of staring at the corpse and staring at me was weirder imo! Maybe he didn’t even want a relationship, he just wanted a way to observe and study random people 😂

You understand they get paid? If there were no walkers on Everest then that’s a larg number of people who no longer have a wage.

Personally I couldn’t give a shit about the idiots that choose to walk up it but let’s not pretend the Sherpas are doing it for charity. They understand the risk and are undoubtedly paid above local rate which is why they take the risks they do.

Yes, the problem there is that so many Sherpas are in a position where that kind of risk might genuinely seem like their best paid work option. I doubt they'd all be doing it if there were better choices available, but that's not likely in a very remote part of a poor country.

7000ft is no preparation for Everest.

I think the base camp alone is 15000ft and that is a trekker destination.

Oh I don't know.

Firstly, it is an objective which has a serious risk of death. Maybe not as serious as it once was. But it's still pretty risky. Some of those risks are under the control of the climber. Some of them aren't. Mentally you have to be prepared for both of those and deal with them. Unless you are an idiot. A lot of the people who climb it are far from being idiots. I think it takes a special kind of person (or someone completely ignorant) to be able to put those risks on one side and still continue. There are a lot of things humans have done where they have really put themselves out there in terms of risk. The Apollo astronauts for one example. No one would accuse those guys of being idiots, just special people that were capable of compartmentalising the risk and continue to operate under extreme pressure while knowing that if anyone of a million things go wrong they would be dead.

Secondly, you don't get to the top of it by being unfit. You have to either train like crazy or be naturally very fit before you attempt it. Otherwise you won't even get halfway up the mountain. No matter how much someone else carries your gear or even drags you up the thing on a rope, you are not going to get up it without putting in some serious effort and being in top physical shape.

I don't like the rubbish thing, but I understand why it happens. It should be part of the permit fee that it includes removal of rubbish. I think drones are starting to be used to ferry equipment up and down the mountain. Maybe soon they will start being used to take rubbish down as well. The same drone that can take 30kg of oxygen cylinders up the mountain can take 30kg back down.

The 7000 will refer to meters, not ft.

My mistake - should have said another 7000m+ summit.

Of course they do but they are doing it to feed their families... they can't just go work in the local shop or Tesco can they!
They are paid between $2-5k per season so whilst that might be above 'local rate' it's hardly making them rich.
Difference between us and the Shepa iss they are actually prepared to die for their families so bit of respect is due.

I know it’s their choice to become mountain guides but living in remote mountain regions, there are limited jobs available to them. The main commercial industries are tourism and mountaineering.

It was a normal reaction and he does sound weird and a bit observey. 🤓All the best @Kimmers4334 😃

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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

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 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.