# 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:** 55
**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:** [November 13, 2025, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1082 "2025-11-13T01:42:56Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Of course, that’s for certain definitions of skiing. People ski all sorts of things that really push the definition of skiing. I know people who have skied all 48 NH 4000ers. Much of that terrain is simply not skiable, but they made it from the summit to some defined end point (usually a parking lot) with their skis on their feet, and that’s all that matters. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1083 "2025-11-13T01:45:42Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > that’s for certain definitions of skiing. He had his skis on the whole time, at least. And there was a section at the top, and then that section through the ice fall that were really terrifying. ---
**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:** [November 13, 2025, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1084 "2025-11-13T03:27:24Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > If you watch the whole video, you can see he skis all the way through the icefall to the snowline just above Base Camp. Of course, that’s for certain definitions of skiing. He had his skis on the whole time, at least. Thanks. Okay I’m impressed! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1085 "2025-11-13T12:59:01Z")
Apologies that I only watched snippets, and without sound. But were the tracks he often skied near on the way down those he made on the way up? Did he really ski from the summit? It really seems odd that on this seemingly perfect day, there was not another soul in sight going up or down, nor tracks other than that one narrow set. Not doubting that he did what he says he did. Just saying that looks very odd. Lots of his descent looks like me on a moderately challenging blue. Which I can attest is murder on the legs. Quite a feat! ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1086 "2025-11-13T13:41:06Z")
Looks like they did it very early in the fall climbing window. There were only two tents at Camp 4. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1087 "2025-11-13T14:43:11Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > And there was a section at the top, I assume that was the Hillary Step. I wondered about that. That is one of, if not the only, truly technical climbing spots on the route. 40 feet of vertical climb right before the summit. You could ski that about as well as you can waterski rapids. I thought the video handwaved how he got around that. Now, maybe he went around it. Maybe the 2015 earthquake altered it enough. Skiing across the steep slope beside it might be easier than climbing it. Per Wikipedia: Heavy snowfall could enable climbers to bypass Hillary, by way of snow and ice climbing. Still, the video was not clear. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1088 "2025-11-13T17:41:18Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Looks like they did it very early in the fall climbing window. There were only two tents at Camp 4. Right, fall has much fewer climbers. Here’s a chart I posted above of summits by day of the year. You have to look closely to see the little lines in fall – a few in October, and almost none in September when Bargiel climbed. [![](https://i.imgur.com/4BRzoWX.png) ](https://i.imgur.com/4BRzoWX.png) > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I assume that was the Hillary Step. I wondered about that. The Hillary Step was actually relatively straightforward. It looks like he bypassed it (if it even still exists) on slopes where it’s difficult to hike but easier to ski. I think the Step is/was the bit in the center of the screen at 8:27. You can see climbing tracks leading up it in a couple places, while he skiied below it. The really ugly part was the Lhotse Face. Here’s more commentary from the [Outside Magazine](https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/everest/mount-everest-ski-fun/) article I mentioned earlier. > ## Balcony Descent > > **Time into the Film: 9 minutes** > **Type of Skiing: Powder Turns** > **Vibe: Woo Hoo!** > > The opening segment of the film sees Bargiel descend from the peak’s pinnacle, along the jagged summit ridge, and down past the Hilary Step. He moves pretty slowly through this section due to the dizzying exposure—he doesn’t want to careen off the North Face and down into China. Finally, after passing the Balcony, Bargiel encounters a wide-open field of deep snow. He does his best powder S-turns along this ridge, and the skiing actually looks fun! This is the only section of the entire 11,435-foot descent that looks even somewhat enjoyable. Alas, this snowfield sits at 25,000 feet so it’s doubtful that you or I will ever get to shred it. > > ## Lhotse Face > > **Time into the Film: 13 minutes** > **Type of Skiing: Controlled Butt-Slide** > **Vibe: Aaaaaghhh!** > > After a quick stop in Camp IV, Bargiel hits the dreaded Lhotse Face, one of the steepest sections of the Everest ascent. Yes, this is also the slope where Japanese skier Yuichiro Miura filmed his terrifying footage for the 1975 film _The Man Who Skied Down Everest,_ the Academy Award-winning documentary. In that epic film, Miura attempts to ski down the Lhotse Face with a parachute behind him—he slips and then careens several thousand feet over rocks and ice. Bargiel fares somewhat better, but it ain’t pretty. The day is getting late, and he’s having to make it to Camp II before it gets dark, so he must descend it in the fastest and most direct way possible. Yep, he resorts to the same skiing technique that your nine-year-old nephew used to descend his first mogul run: butt-sliding. Hey, we’ve all been there. ---
**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:** [November 13, 2025, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1089 "2025-11-13T18:13:24Z")
Wow! Incredible and amazing accomplishment! I just now watched it; I had not seen it before, so my previous questions and comments were ‘blind’, not having viewed it until now. Thanks for this @N9IWP . I took these notes as I watched it. Maybe the time stamps will be helpful. They will help me when I go back to watch parts of it again. My notes follow, to the end of my post — The notes say it took him longer than expected to negotiate the Hillary Step, and the South Summit. t = 10:17 — he fell t = 12:20 — at Camp IV; he’s still above the death zone t = 13:04 — paused, laying down, coughing fits; this looks like the South Col t = 13:27 — gets back up, resumes t = 14:25 — it’s darker now; headlamp is on t = 14:41 — the film caption says he’s reached Camp II, spending the night, going to negotiate the Khumbu Icefall in the day when it is stable — interesting; because in everything I’ve read about it (Krakauer, Braeshears, Coburn, Gammelgaard, Weathers, etc), the icefall is decidedly _ **un** _stable in the daylight when the sunlight hits it; but from what I remember in my reading that might be more towards the afternoon, and this is usually in the month of May, not late September when Bargiel skied down If memory serves, the monsoon season is in the summer months …? That snow would fill in many of the seracs and crevasses. t = 14:53 — it’s morning, he’s at Camp II, it’s 0700 hours, he resumes t = 18:48 — broader drone overview of the icefall, large seracs and lots of snow; it looks like many of the typical crevasses seen in the May summitting season are covered with snow but still this looks very treacherous; soon after we see numerous crevasses There was a note that said Bargiel’s brother, Bartek, flew a drone and guided him through the icefall. That was crucial guidance for him. t = 22:45 — film caption mentions his brother and the drone, and a safety supervisor Jan Gąsienica-Roj guiding Bargiel through the icefall t = 23:01 — Bargiel radio comm with his brother, Bartek, that the route they had spotted had collapsed and was no longer there Yes, these images of the icefall are drastically different from the pictures and films I’ve seen of it, typically during May; there is much more snow covering the massive seracs and deep crevasses usually found in the earlier climbing season each year t = 23:30 — more radio comm; their planned route through the icefall is gone t = 24:33 — Bargiel nearly falls between crevasses; he’s at the edges of exposed seracs t = 25:11 — Bargiel is at a big wall / cliff / ledge t = 25:25 and the following 10-15 seconds — it’s amazing how footage from the drone disguises how steep some parts of the icefall descent is, but from the helmet cam it is extremely steep t = 29:05 — Bargiel arrives at and surveys a massive, steep ice and snow ledge; he begins to negotiate his way down it; he’s basically glissading down it on his butt and his skis; very treacherous going t = 29:54 — he’s now past that steep ice and snow ledge t = 30:19 — his descent is complete; an amazing feat! It has taken him 1hr 45mins to descend from Camp II, through the icefall, to the end of the snow It’s time for a celebratory beer! t = 30:45 — he’s now hiking down on foot, to EBC t = 30:49 — receives an orange Buddhist blessing scarf (interestingly, just last week I observed Tibetan Buddhist monks create and then dissolve a sand mandala, and I received a green Buddhist blessing scarf from them; it was my first time to watch such a ceremony; I posted that here ➜ [Sand Mandala last week in San Francisco - #2 by pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sand-mandala-last-week-in-san-francisco/1024603/2) ■ ) t = 31:00 — why is he drinking a Red Bull? This should be a beer! (rhetorical question) It certainly helps tremendously to have sponsors! SMH — wow, such a fantastic feat! And, it’s interesting to see the South Col and Southeast Ridge route in the September season. I usually see imagery from in the May season. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1090 "2025-11-13T21:48:00Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > the icefall is decidedly _ **un** _stable in the daylight when the sunlight hits it; but from what I remember in my reading that might be more towards the afternoon, and this is usually in the month of May, not late September when Bargiel skied down What i interpreted them saying is that it’s most stable early in the morning, before warming up. So he was going to attempt it then. I mean, maybe it’s even more stable an hour before dawn, but I’m sure there’s value in him being able to see, too. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1091 "2025-11-14T05:09:47Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > For his previous descent of K2 he used an advanced version of an Alpine Touring boot from Salomon. I suspect he used something similar for Everest. AT boots are designed for hiking and mountaineering, so it makes sense for this. Thanks, I looked at the AT boots on the Salomon website and they look more like hiking boots than ordinary ski boots. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2025, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1092 "2025-11-14T11:00:39Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > but I’m sure there’s value in him being able to see, too. I would’ve been more impressed if he’d done it blindfolded. ---
**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:** [November 14, 2025, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1093 "2025-11-14T14:32:26Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > I would’ve been more impressed if he’d done it blindfolded. And in boxer shorts. ---
**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:** [November 14, 2025, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1094 "2025-11-14T15:47:00Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > I would’ve been more impressed if he’d done it blindfolded. He probably had some tunnel vision from the lack of oxygen, so there’s that. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2026, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1095 "2026-02-28T22:12:42Z")
I watched the New Zealand documentary about Edmund Hillary and his 1953 summitting expedition, Beyond the Edge (2013). Pretty good. ➜ [Beyond the Edge (2013) - IMDb](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2468638) 🔲 ➜ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond\_the\_Edge\_(2013\_film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_Edge%5C_(2013_film)) 🔲 ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1096 "2026-04-03T02:44:27Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > One other factor in the fatality rate is that more people means more resources for rescue. And it turns out there is even substantial fraud involving helicopter rescues: > _The CIB investigation identifies two primary methods for manufacturing an “emergency.” The first involves tourists who simply don’t want to walk back. After completing a demanding trek – an Everest Base Camp trek, for instance, can take up to two weeks on foot – guides offer an alternative: pretend to be sick, and a helicopter will come. The guide handles the rest. The second method is more troubling. At altitudes above 3,000 meters, mild symptoms of altitude sickness are common. Blood oxygen saturation can drop, hands and feet tingle, headaches develop. In most cases, rest, hydration or a gradual descent is all that is needed. But guides and hotel staff, according to the CIB investigation, have been trained to terrify trekkers at precisely this moment. They tell them they are at risk of dying, that only immediate evacuation will save them. In some cases, investigators found that Diamox (Acetazolamide) tablets, used to prevent altitude sickness, were administered alongside excessive water intake to induce the very symptoms that would justify a rescue call._ > **[Mount Everest Climbers 'Poisoned' By Guides In Insurance Fraud Scheme - Slashdot](https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/04/02/2113218/mount-everest-climbers-poisoned-by-guides-in-insurance-fraud-scheme)** > > schwit1 shares a report from the Kathmandu Post: In Nepal, helicopter rescue on high altitude is, by any measure, a genuine lifesaving operation. At high altitude, where oxygen thins and weather changes without warning, the ability to airlift a... ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1097 "2026-04-03T14:39:24Z")
I saw that, it’s a crazy story. From a longer article in The Independent: > Some unknowing trekkers were allegedly made temporarily unwell due to their meals being spiked with baking soda, uncooked chicken or even rat droppings. Note that this isn’t actual Everest climbers, though. For the most part, people actually attempting to summit are going through reputable companies who aren’t playing these games. The scams are being run on tourists who are doing treks to Base Camp, the Annapurna Circuit, or similar > **[Everest guides accused of poisoning foreign climbers to force fake rescues](https://www.the-independent.com/travel/news-and-advice/everest-climbers-sherpas-fake-rescue-scam-poisoning-b2950597.html)** > > Investigators say more than 4,700 climbers affected by the scandal between 2022 and 2025 ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1098 "2026-04-03T16:03:31Z")
I saw that and had to double check the date to make sure it wasn’t April 1st. Still it’s another reason to stay far away from Everest, even base camp. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1099 "2026-04-24T18:20:02Z")
This year’s climbing season may have hit a snag, due to an unusually large and unstable block of ice, the Icefall Doctors (the native prep team) have been unable to secure the route through the Icefall that lies between Base Camp and Camp 1. > **[Ice block stalls hundreds of Everest climbers at base camp](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/24/ice-block-mount-everest-base-camp-nepal)** > > Officials assessing route after serac between base camp and camp one deemed unstable and too risky for climbers Most climbers cross that route multiple times during the acclimation period, which involves a lot of back and forth between the various camps. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1100 "2026-05-09T01:10:49Z")
They got a route open: > But for more than two weeks, a [massive and unstable block of ice](https://apnews.com/article/nepal-mount-everest-serac-avalanche-02761f1e43351ae614a193ed2a144494), or serac, stalled them from moving further up the peak. “Icefall doctors” — the elite guides deployed by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, or SPCC, to lay the yearly climbing route by setting ropes and securing aluminum ladders over crevasses — usually finish the task by mid-April. But not this year. The team opened the Icefall route only on April 29 but also issued a warning: **“The serac has multiple cracks and may collapse at any time. SPCC strongly urges all expedition operators and climbers to exercise extreme caution.”** > **[Mount Everest season opens late, with climbers undeterred by huge ice block...](https://apnews.com/article/mount-everest-nepal-mountaineering-serac-4bcf63447b31cdb9b965c815f5bcaf83)** > > Hundreds of climbers are attempting to scale Mount Everest despite high costs and an unstable ice block on the key trail. > **[Everest: Two Injured in Khumbu Icefall Avalanche » Explorersweb](https://explorersweb.com/everest-two-injured-in-khumbu-icefall-avalanche/)** > > A large serac broke off, and a chunk of ice collapsed onto the path, striking members of the passing group and party burying two people. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/1101 "2026-05-09T01:29:57Z")
What is the point of summiting Everest now that it’s essentially an unholy mashup of a guided tour/assembly line? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397.md?page=54) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397.md?page=56)