Everest-Books??

redspider

Apologies for not getting back sooner on this topic and to your replies.

Evil Phil wrote:

I don't know what the *bodycount* is like a lot of climbers I don't tend to dwell on it. The public have a morbid fascination but that's to be expected as I doubt stories of some dude counting steps is going to excite.

I think that many climbers have an interest in the problem of deaths due to safety reasons for themselves. This is not 'gore' watching, as if it were, the public would be encouraging climbers to take as many risks as possible.

BostonB wrote:

Why not ban people from driving, (especially males) because people get killed in cars.

Most sane countries do prevent u-16 yr olds or similar ages from driving because we think they cant do it safely. We dont ban driving, and I am not calling for a ban on mountain climbing. But there are limits to risks in all areas.

There is no necessity to climb everest especially as the peak is littered with dead bodies. Surely the time has come to give those unfortunate dead climbers the respect they deserve, as well as return the mountain to respect. I think the 'rectifying' of the peak is a much more worthwhile cause than someone getting to the peak for 30 mins.

Would you give your life and that of your team members to move them?

No, people do not need to give their lives. It may be a long process, but every team that is now making peak attempts is a wasted effort that could be spent bringing back down a human body.

From what I've read they don't like and fear dead bodies and so won't touch them. I don't see what tourism has to do with it. There have been initiatives to bring down the debris of previous camps, oxygen etc. However this is not from the height where the bodies are.

I can understand that for religious and other reasons they may not want to bring down dead bodies.

In terms of tourism, Everest and the mountain ranges are a big income earner for Nepal in terms of dollar spend. The Nepalese government and the local authorities would not want the Everest-dollars to be stopped or reduced in anyway, if there was a call to 'close' the mountain and clean it up. Surely you can see that?

Overall, I'm for moutain climbing and taking risks. One dead person is an accident, two is more than a coincidence, but the vast nmbers on Everest at this stage is more than mere accidents, they are now probabilistic, Everest is more than a black spot for death, alas.

I'll get back to other points later,

Redspider

BostonB

Everest a Black spot? Vast numbers? Other sports and activities have higher death rates than climbing, and other mountains have higher death rates than Everest. Bodies are often not recovered in other sports, and on other mountains. Yes its a dangerous sport but you need to put it into perspective.

Covenline

cavedave wrote:

Humans are danger addicted curious monkeys who do these stupid things that make no logical sense. Once you start telling people that risk is unacceptable you end up with an infantile sterile moribound society.

I love this quote, hit the nail on the head there pal

Evil Phil

I've just started reading Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination. It explores both the history of mountaineering and why people climb, so far its been a good read and I can recommend it.

BostonB

Evil Phil wrote:

I've just started reading Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination. It explores both the history of mountaineering and why people climb, so far its been a good read and I can recommend it.

Thanks for that.