# Install power cables, and climb everest with an air compression suit **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 23, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/install-power-cables-and-climb-everest-with-an-air-compression-suit/725978 "2015-07-23T18:48:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/install-power-cables-and-climb-everest-with-an-air-compression-suit/725978/1 "2015-07-23T18:48:32Z")
Just a thought - reading about the terrible problems that happen because of brain swelling and other deadly causes made me wonder how you could cheat to make climbing everest safe. If there were power cables and winch points - so you wouldn’t really have to climb - and you were wearing a suit that compressed the outside air back to 1 atmosphere, or at least the pressure of air at 10k feet, you’d be good to go, correct? There would have to be power cables every few hundred feet, and the power system would use sealed nodes that contain special batteries that can operate at low temperatures. Essentially, if there’s a break in the cable, you’ll still have power as long as you have a connection to a node. The suit would have both an external air heat exchanger (to cool it if it gets too hot) and electric heaters to keep you a nice toasty warm temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/install-power-cables-and-climb-everest-with-an-air-compression-suit/725978/2 "2015-07-23T20:03:54Z")
Are you asking if being hauled up to the top of Everest in a pressure suit would prevent altitude sickness issues or if it’s practical? Yes on the first, no on the second. Note that many if not most of the climbers already take oxygen bottles with them (and as noted in the other thread, those discarded O2 tanks are a big garbage problem on Everest). ETA - what would the point of that approach be? Every time I fly Southwest I go higher than Everest but I don’t tell people about my awesome trip up into the Death Zone. If you want to see what it’s like in safety and comfort look at the photos and video taken by others from the summit. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/install-power-cables-and-climb-everest-with-an-air-compression-suit/725978/3 "2015-07-23T20:15:03Z")
There’s not a path or trail up Everest. You have to climb it with handholds and all that other mountain climbing stuff. Put on a bulky pressure suit and it makes climbing that much more difficult. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/install-power-cables-and-climb-everest-with-an-air-compression-suit/725978/4 "2015-07-23T21:02:09Z")
How difficult would it be to anchor a pulley to somewhere near the summit? Take up a spool of silk fibre, then use the pulleys to gradually take up stronger and stronger fibres until eventually you’re hauling the air and power hose. You’d probably have to do it in stages. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/install-power-cables-and-climb-everest-with-an-air-compression-suit/725978/5 "2015-07-23T21:20:19Z")
Why not just install an escalator?! :rolleyes: Besides the utter impracticalities of it, climbing Everest is supposed to be _mountain climbing! Not a carnival ride. There already exists a cottage industry of experienced mountaineers who, for $30,000 or so, will ‘lead’ complete dilettantes to the summit. Which can (and often does) include nothing less than them literally carrying them there and back!_ A large percentage of the deaths have been due to this, and the answer is **not** to make it more encouraging for the inexperienced to try. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/install-power-cables-and-climb-everest-with-an-air-compression-suit/725978/6 "2015-07-23T23:17:09Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Why not just install an escalator?! :rolleyes: > > Besides the utter impracticalities of it, climbing Everest is supposed to be _mountain climbing! Not a carnival ride. There already exists a cottage industry of experienced mountaineers who, for $30,000 or so, will ‘lead’ complete dilettantes to the summit. Which can (and often does) include nothing less than them literally carrying them there and back!_ > > A large percentage of the deaths have been due to this, and the answer is **not** to make it more encouraging for the inexperienced to try. (Bold added.) Well, then they can certainly carry all those corpses back down too! Problem solved! Okay, I’ll give you that they should only be expected to bring down one at a time. Or install that kinda-sorta-zip-line with the helium-filled body bags. No problem lugging all the telephone poles up the hill to place every 0.1 miles along the way. With modern technology, you could just use 3-D printing _in-situ_ to put them there. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/install-power-cables-and-climb-everest-with-an-air-compression-suit/725978/7 "2015-07-23T23:38:21Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > climbing Everest is supposed to be \*mountain climbing! \*Not a carnival ride. I would so sign up for Everest: the carnival ride! Other ideas: Everest: The Carnival Ride: The Musical Everest: The Corpse Pile Toboggan Slide…of DEATH! in IMAX 4-D Cinerama. Brought to you by Red Bull. Red Bull gives you wiiiiiiings! I could go on, but i have patents to pend on all of the above… ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/install-power-cables-and-climb-everest-with-an-air-compression-suit/725978/8 "2015-07-23T23:55:26Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Why not just install an escalator?! :rolleyes: > > Besides the utter impracticalities of it, climbing Everest is supposed to be \*mountain climbing! \*Not a carnival ride. Climbing Everest in a space suit would be a whole new kind of difficult. Not a carnival ride. Not that I’m in favour of climbing Everest. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/install-power-cables-and-climb-everest-with-an-air-compression-suit/725978/9 "2015-07-24T06:32:17Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Why not just install an escalator?! :rolleyes: For that matter, modern helicopters can reach the top of Mt. Everest. So if you’re going to ‘cheat’, why not just ride a helicopter up there, take some pictures, and ride back down again?