Bodies are bad enough, but the piles of poop and the everlasting yellow snow would be off-putting to people used to basic hygiene and indoor plumbing. Everest has become a toilet, and only the freezing temperatures have stopped raging epidemics of dysentery.
~VOW
If his family really believes he loved being stuck on an overcrowded mountain littered with frozen cadavers and feces more than he loved being surrounded by them, then I feel sorry for them.
According to the Nepalese Government, over a million tourists came to the country last year. So cutting the numbers allowed to summit Everest in half, doesn’t seem like it would cut that much out of the incomes of people who rely on the tourist industry.
Even less if this was done via a “must complete this mandatory training course successfully” requirement, and the training courses were run in Nepal itself.
Well, he was a lawyer…
The Onion’s take:
I’m not sure I’d go that far, but I understand the sentiment
Brian
My favorite line:
In -50[sup]o[/sup] weather. See that is what gets me. Literally, the two things I hate the most are waiting with nothing to do and being cold. Give me Castaway over Everest every time.
One thing I think gets lost in this discussion. Over 500 people have successfully summitted this year and lived to tell about it. That’s 500 people who knew the risks, but went anyway, and achieved their dream.
500! People who came back with all their toes and their noses and a great memory to cherish. 500 people no one will interview on TV. 500 people that won’t be personally judged by faceless internet people. 500 that will quietly return to their lives and families.
Not to mention the uncounted others who climbed and didn’t summit. They have memories, as well. And they now know their limitations. They tested themselves against nature and found themselves wanting. Or they learned what’s really important in life, and dying for a mountain isn’t it. But either way, they know. And that’s a good thing, too.
The pictures of a line of people on the crest kind of blow my mind. I get that people want to do this but I don’t think most people really internalize the actual danger all that well. Even the most experienced people can get caught out in this kind of situation.
I wouldn’t be too sure about the “all their toes and noses” bit - a lot of people make it back down, but it’s not unusual to leave a few digits and bits of ears and noses up there even if most of you makes it back to sea level.
Standing in line, on a precarious surface, at -50°, where you may or may not make the summit, FOR $11K EACH (or somewhat less, if the permit is per group), PLUS airfare, lodging, food, sundries…
To stand in that line, where the vista includes top of the world views in the distance and dead bodies and toilet products in the foreground…
Sorry, I don’t get it. I don’t think I ever will.
~VOW
You’re looking at too large a population. It would be a major blow to the Sherpa communities near Everest, which, prior to the popularity of climbing it, were one of the poorest populations in Nepal.
this article says “The average income in Nepal is around $700; Sherpas who climb Everest can make between $3,000 and $5,000 in a single season, more if they summit.”
Also I believe we were talking about cutting it to 1/4, not in half.
I’ve got loads of pictures of me not climbing Everest. 
It’s way more than $11k, that’s just what the government gets per climber. Most people pay a company to go with and that can add $30k to $40k.
More than that, closer to $75K.
I have a few friends who’ve climbed on Everest. One summitted, the others made it to Camp 4. It’s the most grueling thing they’ve ever done and they’re pretty solid climbers. Yes, it’s not for everyone, and yes, it’s getting to be more of a shit show every year. But to some people it’s worth it.
The one who summitted still climbs big stuff but doesn’t do 8000 meter peaks anymore. The others determined that it wasn’t for them and stopped big mountain climbing.
Lots of mountains are dangerous:
This mountain is about 500 or so miles from Everest.
And has a nuclear reactor (Well, a plutonium RTG) still buried on its slopes from another avalanche. See, https://rockandice.com/snowball/the-secret-of-nanda-devi/?cn-reloaded=1
Big mountain climbing can be really dangerous. It’s interesting to read things like Into Thin Air, and realize how many of the survivors ended up dying in other climbing accidents.
Oh, I remember that book.
I don’t see this issue as being that big of a deal, however. Unlike situations like John Allen Chau, Otto Warmbier or Joshua Boyle, nobody is being forced to do this, and it’s not causing an “international incident” either. Instead, people are freely doing dangerous things without knowing what they’re doing. I’ve been reading about cryptocurrency exchanges getting hacked, losing their money or “losing their money” and it’s the same sort of thing, just people putting their financial health in danger because they’re too excited about something to assess the risks. The climbing losses are just evolution in action.
The government of Nepal should be testing people, but it doesn’t look like it’s doing so effectively. Instead, people are “tested” by the climb tour companies and the government relies on these companies. Suggestions that the government of Nepal make the cutoff mark high and raise prices will not work unless the government does its own testing, and even then there’s always the issue of corruption.
In Into Thin Air, at least two of the companies bringing in people were basically scams. One had people climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, which does require a high level of fitness to climb, but little in the way of technical skill. People will do a lot for money, and scamming people seems to have little impact on the scammers’ reputations.
Sorry for the double post.
So I’ve been watching the video of the climbing Canadian, and there was someone there saying that climbing Mount Everest doesn’t require a lot of technical skill. Interesting differences of opinions!
That’s fairly true. Comparatively speaking.
It’s mostly hiking on steep slopes. You need to know how to use crampons and rope ascenders. The Hillary Step is the only real technical part.
Compared to, say, K2, where once you get off the glacier it’s all technical. Lots of vertical walls, ropes, technique. Only slightly exaggerated, Everest is climbing a steep roof, K2 is climbing a sheer rock face by your fingertips. At 28000 ft.