The Ghosts of Mt. Everest

These stories are fascinating. Rich or Not, it takes a special type of person to even try to attempt climbing these mountains.

I've only come close to dying a couple of times... and one of those involved alcohol... :eek:
 
Anyone else delved into some of the darker tales revolving around Mt. Everest? I've been binging on documentaries discussing the various hardships and tales reviving around those who the mountain has claimed. From deadly avalanches that claim dozens to a notorious stretch on the mountain referred to as "rainbow valley" because of the multicolored gear of corpses that decorate it. Pretty interesting stuff if you're into all things dark or macabre.





Rogan has some good stuff on it too.

They talk about "green boots"?
 
As far as the garbage goes. Tons of it was removed back in 2015 and 2017.

That must have been a costly endeavor. Getting people up there solely to clean seems like a tall order haha.
 
They talk about "green boots"?

I don't think they reference him in the documentary posted but I've seen him mentioned in others. He seems like one of the most famous of corpses on Everest. Not sure if he has a name but I've heard he was an Indian climber.
 
I don't think they reference him in the documentary posted but I've seen him mentioned in others. He seems like one of the most famous of corpses on Everest. Not sure if he has a name but I've heard he was an Indian climber.
Yeah he was an Indian guy that died like 3 feet off the trail and his body just sat there for years before it finally got knocked off by an avalanche. That'd be so weird to be going up a trail with dead bodies literally within feet of you as you pass. I've always found climbing really cool and somewhat romantic, but it does sorta make you wonder what the point of it all really is.
 
If you ever make it out to Alaska make sure to GoPro that shit dude. I used to love snowboarding but fucked my knee up doing so years back and thus decided to stop. Shit was a lotta fun though.

A buddy of mine has been going up every winter since high school, said it changed his life. At first he would save up during the year then spend 2 months in alaska heli-boarding every winter. He got all his certifications a few years ago and now works as a guide all winter.

This is who he works for:
https://arlinc.com/

He broke down the costs for me and has been trying to get me to go for years and I just either haven't had the time or money to do it yet.

Here's the most recent photo he posted on fb:
26230858_10213879807925849_4705586928980280489_n.jpg
 
Thanks to this thread I have at least four movies confused: Everest, K2, The Summit, and Touching the Void.
I recall traffic jams caused by Asians, not enough rope, a guy aptly named Beck Weathers, an Irish man wandering off trail, and a guy who cut his climbing partners rope after a fall and arrest. How they relate to the list of movies.. I don't know.
 
PBS had a documentary a few years ago following one company that guides climbers. In their pre trip meetings they explained that once you entered the Death Zone, nobody could help anyone. If you couldn't get back to the camp on your own, you would die and nobody could retrieve your body. A team of Japanese climbers went with them to attempt to bring back the body of a Japanese climber that died on an earlier attempt. They were only able to move the body a few feet before they gave up.
 
Everest seems like something a lot of rich people do for some ego thing from some of the shows I watched.

Which seems likely to be the source of alot of the problems mentioned, alot of people climbing it who really don't have the skill/experience to do so safely.
 
Which seems likely to be the source of alot of the problems mentioned, alot of people climbing it who really don't have the skill/experience to do so safely.

It doesn't even seem that hard considering the amount and type of people that go up there every year.
 
Theres been less than 200 people attempt it in the last 70 years from what I've read, that's only a handful a year I'm sure it's not too overrun by tourists.

How many people attempt to climb Mt Everest annually?
10 ANSWERS

Erik Hille
, Mountaineering in NW, CA & NE since 1983. Most fun with winter summits.
Updated Jul 8, 2017 · Author has 1.9k answers and 1.7m answer views

Just under 1000 people attempt to climb Everest each year and about 500 climbers reach the summit every year, this being a combination of Sherpas, other guides, clients, and professional climbers.

But don't get too excited there is a huge cost to attempting Everest in terms of Holograms (aka Franklins: $30k to $114k), cost of life (either 0% and 100% with around a 4% chance of the later), and the risk of having paid for a story but not a summit (about 50%).

Hologram cost:

“How much does it cost to climb Mount Everest?” is one of the most common questions I get after a talk. The short answer is, a car, or at least $30,000 but most people pay about $45,000. This post is the 2016 update of the most common questions and expedition prices. Everest 2016: How Much Does it Cost to Climb Mount Everest? - The Blog on alanarnette.com

-- previously the number I was told were about double this, but this is a somewhat detailed accounting and here is some explaination --

For decades, western operators like Adventure Consultants, Alpine Ascents (AAI), Jagged Globe, Himalayan Experience (Himex), International Mountain Guides (IMG) and others have guided hundreds to the top of Everest for prices ranging from $40,000 to $65,000, all inclusive
 
Sherpa guides struggled with high winds and snow Friday to prepare the final route to the top of Mount Everest, with a record number of climbers hoping to reach the summit this season, officials said.

The bad weather was slowing the work but the first attempt could occur as soon as Sunday, said government mountaineering official Gyanendra Shrestha, who is stationed at Everest's base camp.

The workers were fixing ropes above the last camp before the final approach to the summit at South Col at a height of around 26,240 feet, he said.

The Nepalese Tourism Department issued a record 371 permits this year to people to scale the 29,035-foot mountain. An equal number or more Nepalese Sherpa guides will accompany them
 
Makes Ueli Steck's feats all the more impressive. Set speed records climbing the tallest and most dangerous mountains on his own with no support team and no oxygen.

R.I.P.
 
It doesn't even seem that hard considering the amount and type of people that go up there every year.

I mean I'm sure it does take a good deal of mountaineering experience even to be lead up Everest but if you look at the quality of climbers on other 8000+ meter mountains it would likely be significantly higher.
 
I mean I'm sure it does take a good deal of mountaineering experience even to be lead up Everest but if you look at the quality of climbers on other 8000+ meter mountains it would likely be significantly higher.

Yeah I have heard from real climbers that Everest is more like a really long hike and as long was you are in decent shape and take your time its really nothing special. A lot of people hire teams to do most of of the work for them they just have to make the climb.
 
The closest I'v got to the latter would be the south end of Patagonia, the mountains down there aren't near Himalayan standards but they are rising right from sea level and are amazingly carved by ice...

torres-del-paine-national-park-patagonia.jpg


Holy shit.

I'm jealous.

I was thinking of taking a trip to Patagonia this year.

Not sure about all the logistics, but I wanna go.
 
Holy shit.

I'm jealous.

I was thinking of taking a trip to Patagonia this year.

Not sure about all the logistics, but I wanna go.

Honestly in some respects its actually easier than you would expect. I mean its isolated of course but CHile and Argentina are quite developed countries whilst the tourism down south is generally quite high end as well. Getting around long distances perhaps isn't the easiest but places like Torres Del Paine(that picture) or El Chalten/Mt Fitzroy(below) actually have a hell of a lot in a relatively small area. The latter especially is probably a better budget option as you can stay in town and do daywalks from it rather than having to pay a premium or drive in each day in Torres Del Paine, easily a weeks worth of walking there.

MaxRiche-Patagonia-FitzRoy-08.jpg
 
Honestly in some respects its actually easier than you would expect. I mean its isolated of course but CHile and Argentina are quite developed countries whilst the tourism down south is generally quite high end as well. Getting around long distances perhaps isn't the easiest but places like Torres Del Paine(that picture) or El Chalten/Mt Fitzroy(below) actually have a hell of a lot in a relatively small area. The latter especially is probably a better budget option as you can stay in town and do daywalks from it rather than having to pay a premium or drive in each day in Torres Del Paine, easily a weeks worth of walking there.

MaxRiche-Patagonia-FitzRoy-08.jpg

Absolutely gorgeous.
 
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