American Christopher Kulish is the 11th climber to die on Mount Everest (so far) this season, making it a particularly fatal year. Nepal issued 381 permits this year, creating a long single line of inexperienced climbers waiting their turn to make the summit. Those tourists use up their oxygen and get in the way of each other, slowing everyone’s progress down.
Next year instead of limiting permits, Nepal will string another rope for “better management of the flow of climbers.” More
Hillary’s namesake is up there.😉
They should rename it Mt. Darwin.
Made a boo boo. George Mallory is the body up there.
Disney knows how to handle large crowds; let them manage the cue. How about Fast Pass?
climbing Everest has never been on my bucket list. Seems like too much work (especially these days). I know I will die. I do not want to force the issue.
“Speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.” Geo. Orwell
I’m happy with the fact that I climbed Mt. Fuji and no oxygen was needed…I did pack a couple bottles of whiskey which came in handy when we met up with some Air Force Nurses from Yokota AFB that were on the same mission. 🙂
This mess makes the 1996 catastrophe or Mount Everest look like a jaunty bit of climbing. There is another book in this climbing disaster. How about “Into Thinner Air” for a title?
Sir Edmond Hillary would be appalled by this nonsense.
God gave us a brain and we should try and use it to our advantage in keeping alive and healthy.
This is why. They are nudging eachother out.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/three-more-die-on-overcrowded-mount-everest-death-toll-reaches-7-2042360
These guys were fortunate to walk over all the crevice bridges that were built by the sherpers and mounaineers before them.
The mentality reminds me of what is going on now in society.
Must smell like one big locker room up there…
Chris was my freshman year roommate in college. He climbed all the 14ers in Colorado more then once…Patent attorney. Intense odd little man….nice guy though….RIP….
Seems like a real waste of time….kinda like bungee jumping.
Idle thought: How much do the Nepalese make per successful climber vs. how much they make on a fatality, what with recovery charges, corpse handling and transport? If they make more off the dead, then that would make for an interesting business plan: kill as many as possible without discouraging hordes of climbers…
How many other people can literally write the memorial service for Chris in their heads?
“Chris sought out challenges. Nothing was too far or too high for him…..”
Me in audience coughing: “except Everest”
Nepal should rename it Mt. Hillary because of the number of deaths that have happened up there.
Al, they leave the bodies where they fall. The locals can make up to 5 gran a year if they summit the mountain. It costs about 40 grand to make the climb. You pay all sorts of fees and sign several liability waivers that clearly state that you might die.
Anyway, sherpas get to bang rich western women so its not all bad.
Sir Hillary Clinton wants to be on the top of America maybe we could convince her to try for the top of Everest! Nah, you won’t need any oxygen! That’s a myth spread by Republicans!
Uncle Al: They do not bring back the bodies of the dead climbers unless they are well below the Dead Zone. There are several hundred bodies strewn along the mountain. Some of them are just pushed off the trail and others are moved out of the way, but most of them are buried under lots of frozen snow. Several of them were alive for hours while climbers passed them by without offering any aid to the dying climbers.
Boomers, bless their hearts. They don’t have Midlife Crises, they have Half Life Crises. Does anybody under 30 climb Everest?
This climbing sh** is just ridiculous anymore. In my opinion many people don’t do it to become one with nature or find a spiritual encounter anymore. They do it to have bragging rights, compete with each other and be one of the elite. I’m all for healthy competition, but this isn’t healthy and that the mountain is littered with O2 tanks and etc. is just disgusting. And prostituting the mountain is equally vile. I get that they need to make a living, but FFS, moderation. FFS.
My view of these people, and I say this not meaning to speak ill of the dead, so I’ll direct it to the living, my view of them is that I have almost as low opinion of them as I do of the alive McCandless, an arrogant asshole who convinced himself he was any better than what he thought his parents to be: single-minded rich people with no respect for the world and the people in it. Walking into the wilderness thinking you can conquer it while simultaneously pretending you respect it is a hypocritical recipe for disaster and nature will always have the last say on that score.
Having said that, God rest those lost.
There are many ways to risk one’s life that are actually beneficial to others. The pleasure of a risk in self gratification is selfishness and in this case costly financially as well in a life lost that has no apparent benefit to anyone else. If people want to engage in risky activities, their risk should result in helping others who really need help. Like the fireman who fell to his death when trying to reach a man trapped in his car.
381 people signed up to summit Mt. Everest this year? It sounds like climbing the tallest mountain in the world is not much of an exclusive club anymore.
Now, the first person to jog up Everest in sweats and Nike running shoes, and then snowboard back down to base camp – well, that person would be a certified stud.
Narcissism has its costs – this kind especially.
Seeing Mt. Everest in many high resoltion photos works for me. I have to desire that area of the world, let alone risk my life trying to climb it. I saw Mt Rushmore as a young child. Too young to remember seeing it. Now, I understand it has turned into nothing but a tourist trap. I’ll pass.