Anybody watch? I thought it was pretty boring. anyway, i have a few questions:
-the Texas surgeon (Beck?) who lost his hands-was he actually so jaded with life?
-the Taiwanese climber (who lost his friend "Chen’ on the mountain-he looked pretty messed up)
-how long does the descent from summit to camp 4 normally take?
-can you sue your tour guides (if they get you stuck on the mountain after dark?
All in all, I had less of an understanding of what drives people to do this. It seems like a huge risk and a LOT of money for a small bit of gratification-do many of these people regret what they did later?
I wish walt Disney’s people could come up with an acceptable substitute for this-it is lunacy!
Have you read “Into Thin Air”. . .a gripping account of the same disaster. More human, and more dramatic, I think.
The PBS show started out somewhat riveting. It showed me in a way the book couldn’t how impossible it must be to see and communicate in those conditions. It really showed the crowdedness of the mountain, which is a recurring theme in the book.
I think that the Taiwanese guy (in the book) gets a harsher treatment, and perhaps one of the ladies. He was pretty interesting, I thought. I had never heard his point of view.
At the end, Beck rehashed that quote about character being defined by what you do when no one is watching, and then hinted that some people must have behaved selfishly. I would have liked to see a little more depth into that opinion, which you could have done without naming names.
There were some brilliant shots, but it all seemed like a weird mix of footage from then, new footage, complete reenactments, and possible stock footage.
All in all, not great. But, still good. I could have answered some of your questions after reading the book, but I can’t now.
I also recommend “The Climb” by Anatoly Boukreev. He was one of the guides on the expedition and was largely maligned by Jon Krakauer. However, just about everyone who was rescued at Camp IV was rescued by Boukreev. Anatoly perished in a climbing accident several years ago, but his account is an interesting counterpoint to Krakauer’s.
Thanks, I’m going to get the books. this Beck Weathers? is a starnge kettle of fish-a successful surgeon, he lost his hands! Agian, I just don’t get the cost/benefit equation in all of this. I’ll stick to limbing Prospect Hiil (ca. 210’) rather than Everest.
Check out High Exposure by David Breashears. As you know, he was there.
If you haven’t read it on the NOVA site already, here’s his epilogue to the book:
Because it’s there. Mountain climbing isn’t a rational thing, it just is.
I’ve been to several talks by famous climbers. They felt alive on the mountains like no place else on earth. The cost might be estrangement from home and family, severe injury and death. To them, the benefit is an intensely personal sense of awe and accomplishment unavailable in any other endeavor.
You can read Beck Weathers’ own account, which gives some insight into the mind of the man.
Weathers is a practicing pathologist, not a surgeon. He can still do pathology, but he does have assistants.
Even with modern methods and equiptment, it is one of the most difficult things a human being can accomplish. Some people want to test their limits.
I think one of the points of the Krakauer book is that somehow climbing Everest had transformed itself from something that committed climbers did to something yuppies expected to be able to buy their way into. I liked his book, but at the end of it I thought, what a bunch of assholes.
I missed it somehow, despite having 2 PBS feeds. Maybe I’ll catch it later this week somehow.
I likes me some PBS.
I thought the creepiest part of the program was the Taiwanese guy talking about the sound his hands made after they froze, and he was clapping them together to try and keep some circulation going, I guess.
Clack Clack. I kept thinking it must have sounded like balls hitting each other on a pool table.
Thank you for that link. Into Thin Air is one book I’ll probably read over and over again, and the image of Rob Hall sitting on Mount Everest talking to his wife for the last time is one I may never forget.
I can understand wanting to test one’s limits and see what one’s capable of. On the other hand, reading Into Thin Air was just one more thing convincing me that I’ll leave mountain climbing to someone else.
That’s one book I’m really glad I read, and one book that I will never *ever * read again. And I usually reread books multiple times.
Into Thin Air and The Climb should be read in pairs. Krakauer’s book is good, but it’s just one account of the affair and Boukreev’s book gives another perspective, one that adds a lot to your understanding.
Yes, Everest has become a playground and it’s pretty hard to compare it with any other mountain climbing experience. I’d never go there because it’s beyond my abilities and I have no desire for high altitude mountaineering. But the same feelings can be generated on smaller peaks with limited (but still real) risks.
There’s alot of good info on the Frontline website, including extended interviews where climbers describe their motivations, personal experiences, and how they’ve reacted to the experience afterwards.
I was particularly interested in what Sandy Hill had to say. This is the first time she’s spoken publicly about her experience because of how the press villified her as New York rich girl debutante. In my recollection, she didn’t come off well in Krakauer’s book, for example. She was short-roped during part of the descent.
In the Krak. book, he basically said she was strapped to a sherpa by a short rope, and towed up the mountain. She was basically baggage.
Oh, I agree. I understand it, but I would never, ever go into the death zone. To me personally, it’s not worth it.
That said, there are a few “smaller” mountains that really appeal to me: the Grand Teton, Kilimanjaro, and possibly if I have a lot of spare time and money on my hands one day, Aconcagua.
Hmm…I hope they show this again. I was an avid fan of the Everest show they were showing I think a few seasons back on TLC or Discover. I’m also gonna check for some of these books in the library as well.
I find it so interesting to watch these people test their limits and see what happens, and thinking…you have a lot more guts than I do to do this type of really cool stuff!