# Mt. Everest Claims 5 New Victims **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 21, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611 "2012-05-21T15:39:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/81 "2012-05-24T14:07:40Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > [SCP-1529,](http://scp-wiki.net/scp-1529) written by yours truly. Excelent. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/82 "2012-05-24T15:27:19Z")
All the accounts I’m seeing report 4 dead. Not the total of 7 that the OP was claiming, the initial 5 in the opening post and the 2 added later. I assume 4 is the accurate number? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/83 "2012-05-24T17:22:22Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I just had a great idea-replace “Space Mont” at Disneyworld with a new , virtual reality “Climb Mt. Everest”-complete with frozen corpses, abandoned junk, etc. I have to admit, **ralph** , it’s as good as any idea you’ve ever had. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/84 "2012-05-24T18:18:20Z")
For anyone of you interested in Everest, there was a show called Everest: Beyond the limit That went for 3 seasons. Each season follows a group expedition from base camp to the 2 week acclimation to the summit attempt. It’s given me all I need to know about what it takes make a summit attempt and satisfied all desire to actually go – having seen it through the eyes of those yahoos. I found it pretty riveting. May be worth a watch. ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/85 "2012-05-25T01:14:41Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > All the accounts I’m seeing report 4 dead. Not the total of 7 that the OP was claiming, the initial 5 in the opening post and the 2 added later. > > I assume 4 is the accurate number? “According to Wikipedia”, six fatalities on 19-20 May: > **[List of deaths on eight-thousanders | Mount Everest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deaths_on_eight-thousanders#Mount_Everest)** > > Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain at 8,848.86 metres (29,031.7 ft) above sea level, has been host to numerous tragedies. Deaths have occurred on the mountain every year since 1978, excluding 2020, when permits were not issued due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The most notable deadly events on Everest were the 1922 British Mount Everest expedition, 1970 Everest disaster, 1974 Everest disaster, 1996 Everest disaster, 2014 Mount Everest avalanche, and 2015 Mount Everest avalanches and the 2023 Mou... ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/86 "2012-05-25T01:29:00Z")
> [@KellyCriterion](#): > > “According to Wikipedia”, six fatalities on 19-20 May: > > [List of deaths on eight-thousanders - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deaths_on_eight-thousanders#Mount_Everest) And 10 so far this year! :eek: Of course, not all were summitting. But still… ☹ ---
**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:** [May 25, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/87 "2012-05-25T13:37:37Z")
Not this guy, though: [http://news.yahoo.com/everest-climber-skips-summit-rescues-friend-094833720.html](http://news.yahoo.com/everest-climber-skips-summit-rescues-friend-094833720.html) ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/88 "2012-05-25T13:58:49Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Not this guy, though: [http://news.yahoo.com/everest-climber-skips-summit-rescues-friend-094833720.html](http://news.yahoo.com/everest-climber-skips-summit-rescues-friend-094833720.html) I heard (no cite) that the American guy wanted to bring his bicycle to the summit! Does this make any sense. Lucky for him, his Israeli friend rescued him. Frankly, the desire to climb Everest is just so last year! ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/89 "2012-05-25T14:15:31Z")
Great article on the worlds most dangerous climbs. Everest is not #1. Annapurna in Nepal has a fatality rate of 41%. [http://gearjunkie.com/worlds-10-most-dangerous-mountains](http://gearjunkie.com/worlds-10-most-dangerous-mountains) > **[The 11 Hardest, Most Dangerous Mountains To Climb in the World](https://matadornetwork.com/read/11-most-dangerous-mountains-in-the-world-for-climbers/)** > > Annapurna, Mt Denali, Everest, K2, Kangchenjung, Vinson Massif and the Matterhorn are some of the most dangerous and deadliest mountains in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/90 "2012-05-25T14:24:48Z")
Hundreds of climbers jam the ascent through the Death Zone on Everest: [http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7409544n](http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7409544n) They look like 49ers climbing Chilkoot Pass into the Yukon during the gold rush. Two hundred are scheduled to make the final ascent today. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/91 "2012-05-25T14:48:11Z")
> [@brewha](#): > > For anyone of you interested in Everest, there was a show called > > Everest: Beyond the limit > > That went for 3 seasons. Each season follows a group expedition from base camp to the 2 week acclimation to the summit attempt. It’s given me all I need to know about what it takes make a summit attempt and satisfied all desire to actually go – having seen it through the eyes of those yahoos. > > I found it pretty riveting. May be worth a watch. I caught some of those episodes awhile back too. It was interesting to see the “smart” people as well as the “dumb” people and how they thought, planed and reacted. You could almost tell the “this guy will probably be okay if he doesn’t get unlucky” from the “I hope this guy IS lucky because thats all thats gonna keep his ass alive”. Like you said…worth watching if Everest interests you. Gawd, hundreds making a run for the Peak!? Can you imagine if the shit hit the fan with that many people up there? It would make that “into thin air” fiasco years ago look pleasant by comparision. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/92 "2012-05-25T16:00:25Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Great article on the worlds most dangerous climbs. Everest is not #1. Annapurna in Nepal has a fatality rate of 41%. > > [The World's 10 Most Dangerous Mountains](http://gearjunkie.com/worlds-10-most-dangerous-mountains) > [Hardest Mountains to Climb in the World](http://matadornetwork.com/trips/11-most-dangerous-mountains-in-the-world-for-climbers/) One weird quote from one of your links: > [@](#): > > #9. DENALI, Alaska (20,320 ft.) > The mountain is prone to earthquakes. And the combination of high altitude and extreme latitude also means altitude sickness kicks in much faster. **(At the equator, a peak this size would have about half as much oxygen at the summit than at sea level; because of the latitude, the percentage on Denali is far lower.)** [Emphasis added] I’d never heard of this phenomena before. Why would latitude have anything to do with pO2 levels at a given altitude? Did the article writers pull this out of thin air, or is there something to it? ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/93 "2012-05-25T16:09:19Z")
Or, I could just google a little harder for [the answer](http://www.cohp.org/ak/notes/pressure_altitude_simplified_II.html): > [@](#): > > The air pressure atop Mount McKinley is lower than is found at the same elevation on other high mountains in temperate latitudes. > > The lower pressure is caused almost exclusively by the lower temperatures encountered at higher latitudes. > > The lower pressure is not caused by the Earth’s rotation “whipping outwards” the equatorial atmosphere. Here’s a Journal of Applied Physiology [article](http://jap.physiology.org/content/81/4/1850.full) on the same subject, showing model atmospheres for different latitudes and seasons. Huh, learn something new everyday. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/94 "2012-05-25T19:25:31Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Frankly, the climbing pass should be much, much more expensive. Make it $100k (and that’s just the pass to climb paid to the government) and I guarantee you that rich idiots will continue to pay it. Responding to this, and to similar posts: I’ve got no problem with the Nepali government soaking rich foreigners. The Nepali people are rat-poor, and money that goes to the government can help Nepalis in areas that are not touristy, and do not receive many tourism dollars (or yen, or euros). But I don’t think that raising the price for a climb permit will do much to help. It’s already expensive to climb the mountain, from the cost of the flight to the hiring of Sherpas, and that’s not deterring many people. But more importantly, I don’t think that the size of potential climbers’ pocketbooks is a good way to sort out the actual skilled and talented climbers from the rich idiots. Indeed, charging more to climb the mountain might actually cause more deaths as the only people who can afford to climb are rich idiots, while the experienced people who can actually climb well with less risk are priced out. I’m not certain that increasing the price tag is a good way to address the real problem: idiots. ---
**Author:** ![This\_Just\_In\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@This\_Just\_In\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/This_Just_In_2)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/95 "2012-05-25T20:31:43Z")
[Now a Canadian family is the government to help pay for the body retrieval expenses.](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/05/25/everest-climber-body468.html) From that article: "Shah-Klorfine had already spent more than $100,000 and mortgaged her home in order to finance the expedition. Her family is now trying to raise funds to cover the cost of bringing her body to Camp 2. “We want somebody to help us in the foreign affairs department to bring the body from Kathmandu to Toronto,”" It sounds like this person was on the financial edge of being able to go in the first place. A higher fee would have saved her life. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/96 "2012-05-25T20:35:05Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > Indeed, charging more to climb the mountain might actually cause more deaths as the only people who can afford to climb are rich idiots. Sounds like a win-win to me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/97 "2012-05-25T20:53:22Z")
> [@This\_Just\_In\_2](#): > > [Now a Canadian family is the government to help pay for the body retrieval expenses.](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/05/25/everest-climber-body468.html) > > From that article: > "Shah-Klorfine had already spent more than $100,000 and mortgaged her home in order to finance the expedition. Her family is now trying to raise funds to cover the cost of bringing her body to Camp 2. > > “We want somebody to help us in the foreign affairs department to bring the body from Kathmandu to Toronto,”" > > It sounds like this person was on the financial edge of being able to go in the first place. A higher fee would have saved her life. Should of bought trip insurance.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/98 "2012-05-25T21:07:43Z")
Interesting how her family tried to appeal the Canadian governments sense of patriotism by saying that her sole purpose of the climb was to unfurl the Maple Leaf on top of Everest. I doubt if that was her sole purpose. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/99 "2012-05-25T21:22:35Z")
Again, so bizarre…if some rich guy spend 6 months in Haiti, helping poor people, nobody would notice. But he/she blows $100,000 on climbing a mountain, and everybody applauds-weird. I wonder if a major disaster (say 30+ people dying0 might be enough to stop this nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611/100 "2012-05-25T21:58:04Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > Should of bought trip insurance.😃 Well, the family could always dress her up as skunk and put her on ebay as a “stone cold furby”. That should net some cold hard cash. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mt-everest-claims-5-new-victims/622611.md?page=6)