# Everest: Just Don't Do It **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 22, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397 "2016-05-22T21:31:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 28
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/541 "2023-05-23T22:35:49Z")
This place sounds like the Japanese equivalent of Mount Washington, which has extreme climate conditions despite not being that high, about 7,000 feet. How do you casually tell people you climbed Everest/Chomolungma, anyway? Most people would probably hear that you did and think, “Yeah, right.” ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/542 "2023-05-23T22:54:20Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > How do you casually tell people you climbed Everest/Chomolungma, anyway? It comes up organically in the conversation when they get around to asking why you have no nose and three fingers. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/543 "2023-05-24T00:05:51Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > [Stuff The British Stole with Marc Fennell - ABC listen](https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/stuff-the-british-stole) [The Absurdity of the British Empire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x73PkUvArJY). ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/544 "2023-05-24T02:39:29Z")
I love that clip! ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/545 "2023-05-24T04:27:06Z")
Occasionally on the hike up Half Dome in Yosemite, people die. But that’s usually if they’re stupid and don’t stick to the cables. The cables get crowded and jammed with people, and sometimes an idiot tries to bypass that congestion. But if you slip, it’s a steep dome and once gravity has a hold of you, you’re not going to stop rolling. I have an intense fear of heights but learned in the service that if you listen to and follow the instructions carefully, you’ll be safe, and you don’t have to focus your eyes on how high you are. Just focus on the immediate task at hand. Half Dome is very safe if you do it right. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/546 "2023-05-24T05:06:49Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > You could also try the narrows and face flash flooding. I had a terrifying drive in a canyon during a flash flood. Got out alive, thank God. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/547 "2023-05-24T05:49:03Z")
That must’ve been brutal. Glad you escaped. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/548 "2023-05-24T05:51:14Z")
The seat was wet, and it wasn’t from the flood…. When torrents of water started coming down the canyon walls I thought “welp, that’s it then.” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/549 "2023-05-24T10:36:51Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > \*I know it will never happen but I’d honestly like to see it stop being called Everest and be called SagarMatha or some other local name. So tired of white people claiming all our shit. “Ever-rest” seems like an appropriate name for a mountain covered in corpses. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/550 "2023-05-24T11:24:16Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > She also attempted Denali but got altitude sickness at 18K feet and turned back. Wow - and she then thought attempting 29,000 feet was a good idea? I thought altitude sickness was one of those things that some people are more prone to than others, and if you’re prone, you might not be able to train yourself out of it? When I first learned that you can get debilitating, life-long altitude sickness effects just from relatively ‘easy’ climbs like Kilimanjaro, that was enough to put me off ever risking it. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > How do you casually tell people you climbed Everest/Chomolungma, anyway? It’s like being a vegan or owning a Tesla - it WILL come up in conversation 🙂. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/551 "2023-05-24T11:46:19Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > > > How do you casually tell people you climbed Everest/Chomolungma, anyway? > > It comes up organically in the conversation when they get around to asking why you have no nose and three fingers. Thanks for the laugh this morning, I needed it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/552 "2023-05-24T12:15:28Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > When we were vacationing in the Southwest, we pulled into a turnout in Zion that turned out to be the trailhead for Angel’s Landing. I briefly considered hiking the trail until I saw the sign that said “You may die here.” Angel’s Landing is amazing, and still ranks as my favorite hike ever many years later. Don’t step back while trying to take a photo and don’t go in questionable weather, and you’ll be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/553 "2023-05-24T12:19:44Z")
With the new lottery/timed-entry system a lot of the congestion has been removed. That makes for a safer hike for sure. But you need to plan your trip in advance or hope for a day before ticket. I’d still try to go at dawn before the first shuttle arrives. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/554 "2023-05-24T12:44:30Z")
Excellent PBS/NOVA documentary: [The Death Zone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QlIMONBzV0&t=4s) made the year after the 1986 Disaster. Definitely worth checking out if you haven’t seen it. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/555 "2023-05-24T14:34:21Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > Angel’s Landing is amazing, and still ranks as my favorite hike ever many years later. Don’t step back while trying to take a photo and don’t go in questionable weather, and you’ll be fine. That’s one small step for a better picture… and one giant leap for posterity. - Not Neil Armstrong ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/556 "2023-05-24T17:28:03Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > Wow - and she then thought attempting 29,000 feet was a good idea? I thought altitude sickness was one of those things that some people are more prone to than others, and if you’re prone, you might not be able to train yourself out of it? When I first learned that you can get debilitating, life-long altitude sickness effects just from relatively ‘easy’ climbs like Kilimanjaro, that was enough to put me off ever risking it. Yeah, I hiked Mt. Whitney, and I got altitude effects at only 13-14k feet. I’ve done it once and have no desire to do something like that again. Of course, I’m old now and have osteoarthritis in my knees, so it’s not happening anyway. But I’ve heard the same thing – some people are more susceptible, and it can recur if it’s happened to you before. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/557 "2023-05-24T22:04:35Z")
I was reading a Medpage Today story about Jonathan Sugarman, a family medicine physician much-published in the field of public health, who died in a climb on Everest May 1st. The story shows a photo of him where he looks to be in his mid-thirties. Turns out he was a lot older than that and had suffered what sounds like serious health issues on a prior ascent. “Sugarman was reportedly an avid mountaineer, who rediscovered the sport later in life after a long hiatus, according to a profile on [uphillathlete.com](http://uphillathlete.com). In the profile, Sugarman is described as a 68-year-old, retired physician who had climbed to Camp 3 on Mount Everest in 2022. It also noted that Sugarman had developed high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) during a 2016 climb to Camp 1.” Personally, I plan to rest on my mountaineering laurels, having successfully summitted [Mount Agamenticus](https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/mount-agamenticus/) in Maine.\* \*692 feet. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/558 "2023-05-24T23:04:16Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Personally, I plan to rest on my mountaineering laurels, having successfully summitted [Mount Agamenticus](https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/mount-agamenticus/) in Maine. Ah, but did you skin up and ski down the old ski area trails? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2023, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/559 "2023-05-24T23:59:36Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Jonathan Sugarman, a family medicine physician much-published in the field of public health, who died in a climb on Everest May 1st Dying on Everest, shooting the wrong lion in Africa, torturing teenagers near a Slovakian hostel… it’s always an American doctor or dentist. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/560 "2023-05-25T02:28:32Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Imagine waiting at the end of that line for your turn of however many minutes you’re allotted up there, while you freeze, your toes slowly shrivel and blacken and altitude sickness and snow blindness make further inroads on what’s left of your health. Wow, that’s just an embarrassing picture. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397.md?page=29)