Now Ye're Talking - to a Boardsie climbing to Everest Base Camp

artanevilla wrote: »

Do you think there needs to be a stricter limit on the amount of people allowed to climb Everest and to go to base camp every year?

Absolutely yes - both for those trekking up to EBC, and those going for the summit.

In the case of trekking to base camp, I've met quite a few people, to be quite honest, shouldn't be anywhere near a mountain, and it's only due to a combination of luck and the fact that they pay a barrage of guides and porters to go with them and carry their belongings, that they manage to get to EBC and back in one piece. To give an example, on my first time there, I met a guy from Uruguay who had flown into Lukla with his guide and porter, to make his way to EBC. From chatting to him, this was a man who was quite obviously going through a midlife crisis - quite overweight, have never gone for so much as a Sunday stroll before this, but decided he wanted to do something noteworthy before he turned 50. I accompanied him for the last three days, out of genuine concern for his health - he looked on the cusp of a heart attack at every given moment.

To his credit, he did get to Base Camp - and immediately collapsed. His blood oxygen level had dropped to about 88% if I recall, his pulse was off the charts, and we treated him onsite until the helicopter could get in. He was choppered off - leaving his guide behind on the mountain with instructions to carry all his stuff back down...

There are dozens of examples that come to mind along these lines - another was a group of scouts from England who had raised money to trek to EBC (EBC seems to be quite the cash cow for organisations these days if you want a free holiday). All young people, who I expect were reasonably fit. With an entourage of 25-30 porters, carrying everything from saucepans to firewood up the mountain for them. Each break, the porters would set up a fire, and prepare lunch. Then break down camp and move forward for another hour or two. At night, after carrying kilos of unnecessary gear, they'd then set up cam for the scouts. When I asked one of the scouts what was in their 60 litre rucksacks, he said 'a jacket and a camera'. The rucksacks were for show for the photos they'd be taking along the way.

I apologise if what I've said offends anybody or if it sounds elitist, but if you aren't able to carry what you need on your own back, then there's a good chance you are not prepared, or probably shouldn't be there.

Summit assents are quite obviously a different story, because you do require an obvious level of fitness or preparation. There is however, another factor that changes the playing field to a huge degree. You also need an inordinate amount of cash to summit Everest, and this now trumps experience in any way, shape or form. To a large degree, people no summiting Everest are doing so because they can afford to do so, not because they've gained the necessary experience over the years to do so. It also creates a very unhealthy climbing ecosystem on the mountain, because there is a new driving force for expedition organisers to get to the summit. Last time I took a cursory look at the figures, it costs upwards of $45,000 to get to the summit (depends on the size of the climbing party, etc), and expedition leaders now have to take into account the fact that each person behind them has paid the price of a luxury car to be there, and as such, aren't going to be too eager to turn around if told to do so. Additionally, no expedition organiser wants to be the one to turn around if other teams manage to make it to the summit - it would effectively kill their business for next year.

I once read that climbing Everest has become an outward manifestation of mental illness, and to a large degree, it's true. In short, yes, I believe that climbing should be experience based rather than based on the size of your wallet. I can't see that changing any time soon though.

Conchir wrote: »

Is climbing to the Base Camp and no further towards the summit a common thing? I had assumed anyone going to Base Camp would then be continuing on, it seems this isn't the case?

Good luck with everything, and thanks for taking the time to do this AMA!

Thank you!

Yes, as I mentioned above, EBC is the highest one can climb without paying an inordinate amount of money to the Nepalese government for a permit, so many people hike to EBC and turn around. I have been lucky enough to climb quite a bit higher - a friend of mine was based at a meteorological station a half days hike below base camp. They were placing measuring equipment on the mountain when I happened to be there, and I ended up going with them.

Pelvis wrote: »

Climbing to base camp is a fairly bog standard adventure package holiday really, very common.

I think that's probably too simple an explanation. As I mentioned above, it certainly can be, with people flying into Lukla (bypassing all the ****ty hiking) with guides and porters in tow, in order to make a straight shot up to EBC to get a selfie. And I obviously have my own feelings about that. But equally it can be a slog, to say the least, going from the bottom on your own.

Binka wrote: »

Best of luck to you! I find it all very fascinating.

Are there many people going it alone up there? Do you meet people along the way or is it total isolation?

Also, do you mind me being cheeky and asking what age bracket you fall into. Just curious from a fitness perspective.

I'd say that the majority fly into Lukla and go from there. The majority will also have at least a guide, if not a porter to carry their bags. Going from Jiri is a much quieter experience, and you do get a handful of people going from there on their own or with a guide. I've always hiked during the rainy season in the past, and I've made it from Jiri to Lukla without meeting another foreigner. It's hiking season right now, so I expect I'll meet a few people along the way.

As to my age, I'm 37, so hopefully I'm not going to keel over just yet.

Thebe wrote: »

On my bucket list for sure, looking forward to all your posts.

Thank you!

Purple Mountain wrote: »

Are there any risks of fatality from falling before base camp?
How many overnight stops will you have en route and are these in buildings that people inhabit all year round?

There are always risks. But to be fair, the risks are pretty low. Lower down, you're hiking through overgrown areas, and during rainy season, there are serious risks of mudslides along the way - I've seen entire chunks of path taken out before my eyes, and disappear down into the valley below. From Namche Bazaar up to EBC, you're hiking along the Khumbu Glacier, However, the first time I went up, the bridge was washed out by floodwater (rainy season rains swell the rivers to unbelievable proportions), and I had to hike up the wrong side of the glacier and cross it further up. That was quite dodgy - I wasn't in any way equipped for ice, and the crevasses are quite deep. I'm not particularly keen on getting spat out of a glacier at the bottom of the valley in 50 years or so.

Altitude is probably the biggest risk though, and it's something that gets completely ignored because if you can get a guide to bring you up, then hey, it's okay, right? People do quite frequently suffer from altitude sickness and its physiological effects, but again, guides feel obligated to get you there because you have paid them to do so.

iguot wrote: »

Is this your second AMA here?

It might be. Is this your second account here?

Taltos wrote: »

Hi. Wow...
You mentioned altitude sickness. Is this something you've experienced or witnessed?
Any steps you can take to limit your risk of this occurring?

Also what other mountains or training have you done to prep for this?
Having scaled some of the "mountains" in Ireland the scale escapes me but I have a feeling they'd be a stroll in the park for someone doing what you're planning.

Sorry - I missed this question earlier.

Thankfully I haven't had serious personal experience of altitude sickness - genetics does play a part, and having a big set of lungs certainly helps, as it gets more oxygen into your system. I've been aware though at altude of the extra effort it takes to do simple things, and how quickly you can become out of breath if you exert yourself. I've been brought down by dehydration in the past though, and that was an experience, to say the least.

I've certainly experienced it firsthand in other people though. As I mentioned earlier, there was an older guy who I consider lucky to have gotten down in one piece, and last time I was there I met a Japanese guy and his guide, who both suffered severely from the altitude. It was the guide's first time guiding anyone there (again, another problem with the trek mentality is that it's a lucrative but unregulated profession, so many young men try their hand at it). I couldn't convince either to turn around, and by the time we got to EBC, the guide was bedridden, and the Japanese guy showed very similar symptoms to being drunk. Both were choppered down.

As to reducing the risk of it occurring, the simplest approach is to acclimatise. Part of the reason I joke in from Jiri is that I start off at 1,700m, and clime 1,000m each day before dropping down again at night, and I do this consistently until I reach Lukla, at 2,860m. At that stage my body has had a week to adjust both to the strenuousness of the hike, and the altitude (your body produces more red blood cells to carry more oxygen to compensate), but this takes time. It genuinely baffles me that people will jump on a plane in Kathmandu (1,400m), get out in Lukla 45 minutes later and head off, and then complain that their head hurts at the end of the day.

There are medications to counteract altitude sickness. Diamox is the one I know of - I believe it increases the acidity of the blood, which in turn, increases ventilation. Apparently a dose of viagra also helps, as it dilates the blood vessels in your body, allowing the blood to more easily get to where it wants to go. That being said, I can't imagine heading up the mountain, waving to the sherpas with a bulge in my pants pointing the way to Everest.

Prep... I haven't done a whole lot of hiking or mountaineering recently, as where I live right now doesn't really facilitate this. I've hiked in the mountains pretty much all my life, and I've done a lot of hiking and climbing in the past (Ireland, Scotland, Alps, Caucasus mountains to name a few), and I completed my first marathon in January (by completed I mean staggered across the finish line), so fingers crossed and all that.