# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/161 "2018-05-22T02:59:51Z")
I suggest you watch [The Race That Eats Its Young](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2400291/). ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/162 "2018-05-22T03:30:53Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > There has been one fatality during the 24 Hours in the last 20 years. This is practically ancient history, but for what it’s worth, no one ever died [watching somebody climb Mount Everest.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_Le_Mans_disaster) ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/163 "2018-05-22T04:18:42Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Interesting. I hope he survived. Did he summit in May 1996? Was he on Hall’s party? Or Fischer’s? Or another? Sorry I missed this last question last year. He was with Fischer’s party…Tim Madsen. Yes, he survived! Just saw him a couple months ago. I didn’t know him back then, as he and my cousin had not yet started dating. I think they met a few years after that. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/164 "2018-05-22T14:55:23Z")
[Two more sherpa guides have died on Everest](https://www.yahoo.com/news/sherpa-guide-dies-head-injuries-everest-082931697.html). This year’s death toll now stands at 5. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/165 "2018-05-22T15:43:18Z")
[This article](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/18/sports/everest-deaths.html) from the NYT is fascinating. But be warned it is graphic. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/166 "2018-05-22T16:10:39Z")
If you die on Everest, you normally stay on Everest. Too dangerous to remove the bodies. Also the remains on the trail up serve as a warning to those climbing, just how dangerous it is. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/167 "2018-05-22T18:09:55Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > [This article](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/18/sports/everest-deaths.html) from the NYT is fascinating. But be warned it is graphic. You’re right, it was. Thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/168 "2018-05-22T18:44:48Z")
When I look at the number of fatalities on Everest it strikes me just how similar the numbers are to that most notorious race - Isle of Man TT. Also worth considering is that the bike riders are not the average street motorcycle riders, these are drawn from experienced ranks of racing men. Look at the following > **[List of Isle of Man TT Mountain Course fatalities](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Snaefell_Mountain_Course_fatalities)** > > This list is of fatal accidents on the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course used for the Isle of Man TT races, Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT races. The TT Course was first used as an automobile road-racing circuit for the 1908 Tourist Trophy event for racing automobiles, then known as the Four Inch Course. For the 1911 Isle of Man TT race motor-cycle races, the event was moved from the St John's Short Course to the Four Inch Course by the UK Auto-Cycle Club, and became known as the Isle of Man T Vi... Add in the deaths of non-competitors, spectators and marshalls and you get a total that is not at all far from Everest death roll. The situation is likely even worse, because regular bike riders get a chance to rip around on ‘Mad Sunday’ and those fatalities are not included on the list of deaths from the racing and race practice. > **[Surviving "Mad Sunday," and the deadliest race in the world](https://www.yahoo.com/news/bp/surviving--mad-sunday---the-isle-of-man-tt-s-most-dangerous-day-174208040.html?guccounter=1)** > > I’ve never been swarmed by thousands of angry bees, but I guess this must be what it’s like. A brief glance in my rear-view mirror tells a scary tale. They’re everywhere. I look at the speedometer. It reads 130 mph – on a treacherous mountain pass,... Each and every year similar questions are posed to those raised in relation to Mount Everest, and the responses seem to be very similar. Seems to me there is no answer to such risk taking, its just the way some folk happen to be. If you have ever observed racing at trackside, its quite an experience, but to watch the racing on the Isle of Man on largely unprotected open roads is just something else, the fatalities take place literally right in front of you - the sheer violence of what takes place is astounding, and you can pretty much watch it for free, and even take part on Mad Sunday. Perhaps it is this closeness to the action that maybe keeps the complete novice from even considering doing it, and maybe the remoteness of Everest means that the true dangers are not fully appreciated - you can’t sit at the side of the road watching the climbers risking their necks trying to get to the summit. Just for fun, try joining current lap record holder John McGuinness for a lap [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/KFJSVtsckyI/maxresdefault.jpg "THE MORECAMBE MISSILE!! John McGuinness - TT 2015 - On Bike Lap - Senior Race - Lap 1") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFJSVtsckyI) ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/169 "2018-05-26T15:20:34Z")
[Lam Babu Sherpa](http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/mount-everest-cryptocurrency-stunt-turns-deadly/news-story/599315dc13e43135219caf5cd705bd78) died this year on Everest participating in a publicity stunt for a cryptocoin hunt. I guess the idea now is for other bitcoin enthusiasts to climb Mount Everest to try to find the hidden cache. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2018, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/170 "2018-05-28T05:13:38Z")
I recall reading a memoir of Lemans by one of the drivers. Driving in the rain, at night, basically blind - screaming down the nearly 4 mile long Muslanne Straight at something like 170 mph and seeing a glimpse of red ahead and immediately you are on top of a car traveling 60 mph slower. Damn. So he backed off to 150 or something. It wasn’t any better so he shrugged and went back to full chat. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/171 "2018-05-28T15:46:57Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > I suggest you watch [The Race That Eats Its Young](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2400291/). I love that movie! ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/172 "2019-05-16T19:42:39Z")
[2nd death on Everest this year.](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2019/0516/1049930-trinity-professor-missing-on-everest/&ved=2ahUKEwiVsu2H5qDiAhUqvlkKHQbjCiYQqOcBMAB6BAgIEAQ&usg=AOvVaw2VcBKPgxEJSd5mAj2xJwP7) The [first](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://wtvr.com/2019/04/25/chris-daly-obit/&ved=2ahUKEwiCiLLi5qDiAhWm1VkKHZv0BRgQFjAAegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw08feHPgFqauGRQUKN73GjH) was a man who grew up not far from my birthplace in Richmond. The last year without a death on Mount Everest was 1977. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/173 "2019-05-17T15:47:23Z")
And now an Indian climber [Ravi Thakar](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/indian-climber-dies-at-camp-iv-on-everest-another-army-team-member-on-mt-makalu/&ved=2ahUKEwj96N_T86LiAhWi2FkKHQssCWAQ0PADMAJ6BAgEEA4&usg=AOvVaw0yLkBPVxETJt39LN1WzScC) has died in his tent at Camp 4. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/174 "2019-05-17T16:10:26Z")
This [video about Shriya Shah](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QEcHBFs-qME&t=215s) from Canada shows the issue pretty starkly, I think. On one hand she was clearly unqualified to go to Everest, but on the other hand she was an adult, determined, and she demonstrated a grit few would have shown to reach her goal. So should she have been allowed to try? 10 others climbers died on Mount Everest in 2012 along with Shriya Shah. But probably most every year several seemingly unqualified climbers make it to the top and back safely. I don’t know what the answer is. I guess there is none. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/175 "2019-05-17T16:32:00Z")
Sherpa Kami Rita has summited 23 times: > **[Sherpa breaks his own record for number of Mt. Everest ascents](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sherpa-kami-rita-mount-everest-record-climbing-worlds-highest-mountain-23-times/)** > > Kami Rita has scaled the world's highest peak 23 times since first reaching the summit in 1994 Brian ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/176 "2019-05-17T21:44:38Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > This [video about Shriya Shah](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QEcHBFs-qME&t=215s) from Canada shows the issue pretty starkly, I think. On one hand she was clearly unqualified to go to Everest, but on the other hand she was an adult, determined, and she demonstrated a grit few would have shown to reach her goal. > > So should she have been allowed to try? > > 10 others climbers died on Mount Everest in 2012 along with Shriya Shah. But probably most every year several seemingly unqualified climbers make it to the top and back safely. I don’t know what the answer is. I guess there is none. To be honest, I’m divided about this. I’m a big advocate of informed adults being able to take risks. And no one gets to Everest base camp by accident, much less up the mountain itself. You can’t say Ms. Shah wasn’t warned - from the sound of it she was repeatedly warned in very, very blunt terms of “If you do this you will die and maybe/probably take others with you”. She went ahead anyway. Which brings up the other side of this equation - unskilled sub-par climbers really do put other people at risk, people who are _already_ to risk just by being on a mountain that high up with so little oxygen. Too many people on the mountain just adds to the risks inherent in climbing Everest. No one gets to Everest by accident, but just about anyone in the First World and probably most of the Second _can_ get there if they are determined and willing to work for it. More and more unqualified climbers every year. Either we accept an annual death toll if we maintain the status quo regarding lack of qualifications and, essentially, unlimited climbing permits or someone starts to put a filter in base camp to limit the climb to those fit enough and qualified to have a decent chance to not only summit but survive the trip back down. Which latter I don’t think will happen because Nepal needs the money and it will piss off too many (relatively) wealthy westerners used to having their way as “consumers” - they paid for a ticket to the top, dammit! That’s assuming climate change doesn’t turn climbing Everest into something impossible. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/177 "2019-05-17T23:21:41Z")
I think the Nepalese fee is currently around $11,000. Suppose the fee were $50,000. Would that result in substantially fewer climbers or not? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/178 "2019-05-17T23:45:23Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > I think the Nepalese fee is currently around $11,000. Suppose the fee were $50,000. Would that result in substantially fewer climbers or not? I think the Nepalese probably charge as much as they think they can. A higher fee may bring in less income if it dissuades enough folks. Then there is the local economy, which is dependent on the large number of climbers and support staff. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/179 "2019-05-18T01:45:26Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > [2nd death on Everest this year.](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2019/0516/1049930-trinity-professor-missing-on-everest/&ved=2ahUKEwiVsu2H5qDiAhUqvlkKHQbjCiYQqOcBMAB6BAgIEAQ&usg=AOvVaw2VcBKPgxEJSd5mAj2xJwP7) > > The [first](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://wtvr.com/2019/04/25/chris-daly-obit/&ved=2ahUKEwiCiLLi5qDiAhWm1VkKHZv0BRgQFjAAegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw08feHPgFqauGRQUKN73GjH) was a man who grew up not far from my birthplace in Richmond. > > The last year without a death on Mount Everest was 1977. Are you this obsessed with other dangerous mountains, or just Everest? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2019, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/180 "2019-05-18T05:22:51Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Are you this obsessed with other dangerous mountains, or just Everest? I think fascinated is a better word. Everest is different than most of other dangerous mountains. Amateurs are probably not going to try their hand at K2, Manaslu or Annapurna. What happens on Mount Everest every year is unique and the desire to climb it is both wildly absurd and deeply understandable. I think anyone who has ever climbed a mountain can identify with the idea of Everest. The money and health needed to climb it are beyond most of us to ever consider the prospect. But seeing the pictures, reading the stories, and immersing in mystique of Everest is appealing to many. It sure is to me. Then there is the simplicity of the idea. The tallest mountain. Getting to the top requires determination and will. Quit when the odds turn against you, or push on? Taking a step and then another and then another when any “reasonable” person would turn around. Knowing you could easily die but still not giving up. What is inside these seemingly average people that gets them to make this climb and to continue as the struggle gets harder and the air gets thinner? Where did the strength come from and do we have it? Do I have anything in me that strong? Then there is the whole difference of cultures. The poverty of the people contrasted with the wealth of the climbers. The amazing ability of some of the Sherpas and the ethical questions regarding exploitation versus economic benefit. There is the circus atmosphere where people try to be the first vegan or the oldest or youngest or whatever to climb the mountain. There are people who want to glide off the top, or snowboard off the summit, or plant treasures for others to find. There is the chance that the climber who passes the dead body as landmark may become a dead body landmark themselves. Everest is fascinating and maybe even worthy of obsession because so much of what it is to be human is on display there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397.md?page=10)