I think this is a misunderstanding of why most people climb Everest, or do other extremely challenging things. It’s not about bragging to others; it’s about challenging yourself. I’m sure some of the people climbing are doing it to show off (see Sandy Hill Pittman for example), but I really doubt that’s even a significant minority.
So why not challenge yourself on a less famous peak? Because some of that sense of accomplishment comes from doing something well-known, and doing it with other like-minded individuals. Why do so many people want to run the Boston Marathon? There are both easier and more challenging marathons depending on what you’re looking for, so why subject yourself to the crowds, expense, and general shit-show? We’re social creatures.
I might have chosen my words poorly regarding motivations, but my general point stands: Everest is too big of a deal to sustain, and too big of a deal to shut down.
Yeah, I’ll definitely agree with you that it’s too big to shut down. But I also think it doesn’t need to be. Put a few more controls around it like scheduling summit attempts, packing out garbage, and continuing to limit permits. Climbers know what they’re getting into with risks and crowds. As long as the Sherpas and other porters are being treated fairly*, let people climb.
If you’re interested in learning more about the situation on Everest now, and how much has changed since Into Thin Air, I highly recommend the book Everest, Inc. by Will Cockrell. The most fascinating thing is that the guiding industry is now run almost entirely by local people rather than Westerners.
As for Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air is one of my favorite books, but from the first time I read it, I felt how heavily it weighed on him. I remember worrying about whether he might harm himself. I’m glad that he has gone on to such a successful writing career, but I think the Everest experience and its aftermath has scarred him for life.
Into Thin Air is one of my favorites. Over the years I’ve read it 6x. In it, at the beginning, Krakauer questioned himself on if he should write it so soon after the disaster or if he should wait for the raw emotions to dissipate. He decided not to wait but recognized the risks in doing so, and because he lambasted some of the others on the two main expeditions, namely Anatoli Boukreev, but also some others like Sandy Hill Pittman, he alienated himself from them. It’s ironic that he says he regrets writing it, because while he was a somewhat successful author before that book, it’s that book that catapulted him into the limelight. And that fame helped to sell some of his previous books. Fame has its cost, and you have to take the bad with the good.
Krakauer also said, “I wish it (his book) had stopped selling a half-million copies ago. I just want it all to go away.”
He also said, “I was convinced when I wrote the book that all my friends who were guides were going to hate me because I had certainly destroyed guiding on Everest forever. Nobody would now want to climb Everest with a guide. Well, of course, it had the opposite effect. It was the best advertising the guides ever had. That bothered me, and also, I added to all this crowding. This guilt just doesn’t go away.”
He admits that his presence affected the dynamics and the decision-making made on the mountain. But that’s nothing new. He said that when Into Thin Air was first published, he said it in his book.
When he says he didn’t belong on Everest, “There were people on Everest in '96 who didn’t belong there, including me, …” he’s more likely saying it because he was a reporting journalist and not so much about his climbing skills, which he criticized others for their lack thereof. Krakauer had done a lot of technical climbing, both in ice and not. So he had plenty of skill and experience. What his experience did not have, then in Apr and May 1996, was experience climbing at extreme altitudes. But with regard to being the reporting journalist on the mountain, that was primarily the fault of Rob Hall who welcomed him onto his expedition. Just like Scott Fischer welcomed Sandy Hill Pittman on his expedition. Both expedition leaders wanted the publicity to help future business.
I met Krakauer a few times, he was friends with our CEO and had an office in our building. My impression of him based on just a few interactions was that he was quiet and self-reflective. I can see him making those quotes.
The friend who originally forwarded it to me said something like, “She says you have to ‘negotiate boulders and, basically, hike rocky stream beds’ on the trail? Yup, sounds like a typical trail in the Whites.”
Aren’t these types of people primarily motivated by the third condition – bragging rights? If their motivation is primarily risk and danger, there are a lot of cheaper and more convenient options.
Not necessarily. A lot of people set personal goals (climbing Everest, running a marathon/ultra, biking across the US) and are internally motivated. I’ve known many of them, and bragging about their accomplishment isn’t high on their list. Certainly some are looking for bragging rights, but there are lots of things to brag about that are MUCH easier than climbing Everest.
Well, yes, but the elevation issues can make plain old walking a challenge. Unfortunately, I was the one in our group of four who was affected by the altitude, and I was sick the whole time we were above about 12k’. I was literally crawling at the summit.
ETA: from that Birmingham lady’s LTE: “The boulders should be reduced to proper steps and the last section should have hand holds for safety.” She claims she and her family have a lot of backpacking/hiking experience. Where do they hike that there are stairs and handrails???
At least one person RAN from Badwater, Death Valley (elev. -282ft) to the summit of Whitney (14,195ft). 135 miles. Took him 34 hours. (The title of the link below refers to a different event, read past it.)
I disagree, they are motivated to impress people. They’re too chill to brag usually. Let the feat do the speaking, see the awe in other’s faces, hear respect in their questions.
And, if I’m right, and that IS what they seek, being instead asked about garbage, bodies, and base camp having hookers and blow is not going to sound like respect or awe. People know it’s all affixed ladders, and guidelines these days.
Maybe they’re not bragging because they know they’re not going to get those questions gushing with admiration or awe.
As someone who has done some extremely physical pursuits, I’ll say that isn’t true. While I haven’t done Everest, since I’m proving that I don’t brag about them, you’ll just have to guess what Herculean feats I have done!
I’d forgotten that. I knew that the original route, the Badwater 146, did go to the summit but it looks like the USFS made that too difficult to get permits. That route only lasted 2 years before they shortened it.
