Post by mominatrix on May 28, 2013 11:21:07 GMT -5
Everest crowds: The world's highest traffic jam By Jon Kelly BBC News Magazine
Six decades after it was conquered, mountaineers complain that the summit of Mount Everest has become virtually gridlocked with climbers. How did the world's highest mountain become so congested?
In May 1953 Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay stood alone together at the very top of the world.
Nowadays, the same spot is rather less desolate.
Thanks to advances in mountaineering equipment and the indefatigable efforts of Sherpa guides, more climbers than ever are reaching the peak of Mount Everest - a landmark that was once believed to be impossible to surmount.
According to National Geographic, in 1990 18% of summit attempts were successful. By 2012 that figure stood at 56%.
But this has come at a cost. Critics say the summit has become as congested as a five-lane motorway during bank holiday weekend.
On a single day in 2012, no fewer than 234 climbers reached the peak. By contrast, as recently as 1983 the most successful ascents in a single day was eight, and a decade later that figure stood at 40.
This year some complained of waiting two-and-a-half hours in queues at bottlenecks on their way to the summit.
A striking photograph by German mountaineer Ralf Dujmovits - which showed a queue hundreds-long snaking its way up during 2012 - ignited a debate about whether the procession was ruining enjoyment of the ascent.
Westerners can pay anything from $10,000 (£6,600) to $100,000 (£66,000) for permits to climb the mountain and guides to accompany them, and a sizeable tourist industry has sprung up around the base - bringing with it complaints about litter and poor sanitation for miles around.
"There were just people everywhere," says Ayisha Jessa, 31, a keen climber from London who recently visited Everest's base camp. At the nearby village of Namachi, she says, "it's completely commercialised - everything is intended for the Western traveller".
For many serious climbers, all this has served to devalue Everest.
"It isn't a wilderness experience - it's a McDonald's experience," says Graham Hoyland, an experienced mountaineer and author of The Last Hours on Everest, an account of the ill-fated 1924 ascent by George Mallory and Andrew Irvine.
Advances in weather forecasting mean climbers time their attempts to the same few days each year, worsening the bottlenecks. A better understanding of altitude sickness has also helped more mountaineers ascend 8,848m (29,029ft) to the summit.
For their financial outlay, Westerners are given a plentiful supply of oxygen and, very often, a Nepalese mountain guide assigned specifically to ensure they get to the top.
The tour parties also ascend using fixed ropes, which help less accomplished climbers but are believed by many elite mountaineers to detract from the sport.
Thanks to all this assistance, more than 3,000 individuals have scaled the mountain since 1953.
They include Californian Jordan Romero, who in 2010 became the youngest person to climb Everest aged 13, and 80-year old Yuichiro Miura from Japan, who set the most recent record for the oldest summiteer. An 81-year-old, Nepalese Min Bahadur Sherchan, is attempting to snatch Miura's title.
"Normally, as long as they are not too ill or too weak, nearly everyone - if they have enough money and patience - can get up Everest," says Eberhard Jurgalski, who has attempted to chronicle every Everest ascent since 1953.
"Also, if the weather hasn't been good for a few weeks it becomes much more crowded on the days you can climb."
Some worry that the influx of inexperienced climbers on to such potentially hazardous terrain could have tragic consequences.
"You have people going up there who don't know how to operate the ropes or use the crampons," says Hoyland. "There's a huge disaster waiting to happen."
In 1996, eight people died within 36 hours near the summit. In 2012, some 10 lives were lost on the mountain, three of them Sherpas.
So it's not surprising that tensions have built up.
According to Hoyland, experienced climbers have grown frustrated that long queues of amateurs using fixed ropes are slowing them down.
Tempers on the mountain boiled over in April when a scuffle broke out at 7,470m (24,500ft) between two well-known European climbers, Ueli Steck and Simone Moro, and a group of Nepalese mountain guides.
While complaints are still made about litter and human waste on the mountain, a series of clean-up expeditions has improved the environmental situation, Hoyland says.
But as Nepalese authorities face calls to take further action, proposals to remedy Everest's congestion have sharply divided climbers.
One expedition company has suggested installing a ladder at the Hillary Step, a rocky outcrop just before the summit, where only one person can go up or down at any one time. But purists complain this would lessen the challenge of scaling the mountain.
Another proposed solution would be to limit the number of climbers. Until 1985, the Nepalese authorities allowed only one expedition on each route to the summit at any one time, and in theory this practice could be revived.
Others suggest, candidates for a permit could be required to undergo training or at least demonstrate mountaineering experience. "If everyone going up had at least a little bit of an idea about the culture of climbing, that would make a big difference," says Hoyland.
But the notion of imposing quotas sits uneasily with many in the free-spirited world of mountaineering.
Sir Chris Bonington, who reached the summit aged 50 in 1985, says he is grateful that he was there at a time when crowds were restricted.
However, while he believes there is much that can be done to improve Everest's management, he feels uneasy with the idea of denying to others the opportunity he enjoyed.
"If you say there are only 100 or 200 people coming each year, that's a lot of people who will never be able to share the incredible personal experience of getting to the top of the mountain," Sir Chris says.
Restricting the number of visitors would also have a major impact on those who rely on tourism for their income.
"It's a mountain that people live on, and the local community is completely supported by the climbers," says Jessa.
The debate will rumble on. And as long as the memory of Hillary and Norgay's achievement persists, the crowds will keep coming.
It absolutely amazes me that there are people who will attempt (successfully!) to summit Everest without knowing BASICS like ropes and crampons. Like, I don't know those things, and I wouldn't attempt to summit a closer, smaller mountain until I learned.
It's hard for me not to see this as a money / privilege thing. Like, the attitude is you them $100K, you had damned well better have your summit experience... training and knowledge be damned.
Post by Velar Fricative on May 28, 2013 11:28:32 GMT -5
This reminds me about the fuss regarding the growth we've seen recently in the number of marathon runners. Elite climbers don't own Mount Everest any more than amateur climbers do.
And I'm also kind of skeptical about these "amateur" climbers. Are they truly people who simply have money to burn and haven't the slightest idea about basic climbing techniques? I mean, climbing Mount Everest doesn't strike me as a "Hmmm, that sounds cool, why the heck not???" activity - to even consider it, I would think everyone has some climbing background or at least serious motivation to learn before the climb.
Post by mominatrix on May 28, 2013 11:37:17 GMT -5
Yeah, my memory is telling me that there are a number of examples of experienced climbers, and guides, who have died because of this kind of garbage.
You're a less-than-elite runner, trying to run a marathon... you'll slow down the pack. Times will be off. Maybe MAYBE somebody will suffer a fall because of somebody's jackassery.
Everest... you take a wrong step, you die. You're out too late, you die. In short, dealing with people's idiocy will not only cost THEIR life, but those of others, as well.
This reminds me about the fuss regarding the growth we've seen recently in the number of marathon runners. Elite climbers don't own Mount Everest any more than amateur climbers do.
And I'm also kind of skeptical about these "amateur" climbers. Are they truly people who simply have money to burn and haven't the slightest idea about basic climbing techniques? I mean, climbing Mount Everest doesn't strike me as a "Hmmm, that sounds cool, why the heck not???" activity - to even consider it, I would think everyone has some climbing background or at least serious motivation to learn before the climb.
But they should. Because really the line between amateur and elite is probably well before Everest.
But yes, some of them just have money to burn. The article I read talked about an experienced climbing dying because of the traffic jam. A bunch of jackasses were trying to get up to the top after the "accepted" time for going in that direction. There's a point on the mountain where there's essentially just a ladder stretch across a ravine and he couldn't get across that ladder "against traffic." Really, he had the right of way because he was trying to come down at the time that traditionally people are heading down, but because of the number of people just continuing to go up, he couldn't get across the ladder. He eventually just died of pulmonary edema.
Well then, those amateurs can DIAF.
I just find it so hard to believe that people with no mountain climbing experience wouldn't even try to climb, you know, an easier mountain to climb near home. But admittedly I know nothing about Everest traffic beyond this one article posted, which does make it sound like there's some elitism going on there. And honestly, if someone with no climbing experience wants to climb Everest and dies...then I'm not sure I could muster any sympathy for them because that's just stupid. But if the traffic is truly dangerous like what you mentioned above, then something needs to be done.
Post by meshaliuknits on May 28, 2013 12:49:14 GMT -5
Being an inexperienced climber on Everest strikes me as a poor decision. Makes me think of the episode of the Simpsons where the Sherpa's pull Homer up the mountain while he sleeps.
Of course, I have no desire to climb a rock wall, much less a mountain.
Also, is it okay to judge a 13-year-old's parents for letting him climb Everest?
Meh. You have to start somewhere. I don't understand why it matters. His father was with him. He wasn't taking a trip with his Boy Scout troop.
As for the traffic issue, yeah, it is causing problems, both from the perspective of the elite climbers, safety, the surrounding communities, and the impact on the environment.
I do no understand the appeal of climbing summits like Everest, K2, El Capitan, etc. I don't get it in the same way I don't get running 26.2 miles. Why? To say you did it? All right. That's cool, but it's not my challenge.
On the other hand, I would love to thru hike the AT and the Pacific Coast Trail. Those endeavors probably get me the side-eye from others, so yeah. Hiking and camping are my outdoor sports. And for others it's climbing impossible heights. Whatevs.
I'm obsessed with Everest. There has been a lot of discussion about the tourism climbing in the last few years. But it's generally accepted that Everest isn't a technically challenging climb. That doesn't mean that anyone off the street can do it (I sure as hell couldn't), but yes, there are people who make this their first mountain. For some of the expedition companies, you pay the money - they let you go.
There was a Canadian last year who died on Everest (after summiting). She trained by running around her sea level neighborhood with a heavy backpack. And she was told by her expedition that that would be good preparation.
Defintiely read Into Thin Air, but for more insight about what it has been like for the past few years, watch Everest: Beyond the Limit. Season one and two especially, but there are moments where the climbers are waiting literally hours for someone to climb a ladder in front of them. It's on Netflix Streaming.
Some other great climbing stuff: Touching the Void (not about Everest, may also be on Netflix), High Crimes, Touching my father's soul, Storm Over Everest, No Way Down (about K2).
There was a Canadian last year who died on Everest (after summiting). She trained by running around her sea level neighborhood with a heavy backpack. And she was told by her expedition that that would be good preparation.
Had she not ever been into the mountains/elevation?
Velar, you definitely need to read "Into Thin Air." Jon Krakauer. Amazing read!
And then The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev - the other side of Krakauer's extraordinarily biased story.
I read an analysis once about Nepal trying to cap the number of climbers (to enhance safety for all), and what happened was that more people applied for permits to climb from the Tibetan side. It did help with the congestion on the Hillary Step in particular, but it also cost Nepalese businesses a lot of clients. So, it's not easy to see how to enforce a safe limit on climbers. I definitely agree that people need to know basic mountaineering skills before paying to put others' lives at risk (not just the other climbers, but also the Sherpas and guides), but such a test could lead to the same issue with more climbers going from the Tibetan side if Nepal tried to implement it (or vice versa).
Most real mountaineers I know are no longer interested in Everest because it has become such a tourist destination. Very sad.
I don't think the situation of everyone wanting to run a marathon is anywhere near the same scale of a problem as unprepared mountaineers on Everest.
Some other great climbing stuff: Touching the Void (not about Everest, may also be on Netflix), High Crimes, Touching my father's soul, Storm Over Everest, No Way Down (about K2).
Touching the Void was first a book and is the best mountaineering book I've ever read - the movie is good but doesn't do it justice. Highly recommended.
I just find it so hard to believe that people with no mountain climbing experience wouldn't even try to climb, you know, an easier mountain to climb near home. But admittedly I know nothing about Everest traffic beyond this one article posted, which does make it sound like there's some elitism going on there. And honestly, if someone with no climbing experience wants to climb Everest and dies...then I'm not sure I could muster any sympathy for them because that's just stupid. But if the traffic is truly dangerous like what you mentioned above, then something needs to be done.
It's a status thing. What seems to be happening is you'll get someone who is kind of like me. Athletic, has done some serious athletic events - a marathon, maybe an iron man. You know, not exactly your average Joe. But they lack any kind of perspective or something or they have a ton of money and free time and think, "Well, I swam the English Channel, I bet I can climb Mount Everest." So these people will "train" by (no shit) running up the stairs at their office buildings, doing hours-long stair climber workouts at the gym... And that's the kind of stuff that will be fine if you're climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, but these people don't want to start with Kilimanjaro. They want the bragging rights, the big time. So they go from 2 hours on a stair climber to fucking Everest. And either they die, or they kill someone. Or worse, they don't have any negative consequences (even if they don't get to the top) and it re-enforces the idea that this is okay to do.
This is exactly what I was going to say. It's the whole thing of being able to say you did XYZ impressive thing. "I ran a marathon! I did a triathlon! I climbed Mount Everest!" These things are no longer the intense pinnacles of athletic careers - marathons are no longer something that serious runners do, climbing Mount Everest is no longer something that hard-core mountaineers do to top off their climbing careers. Now they've fallen victim to the "I can do it too!' culture where everyone is special and everybody is capable of anything they want to do if they just really, really want to! It's something to check off your list and to brag about rather than doing it because it's something that you've dreamed about and worked for years to achieve.
I read something about this, I think on this board, maybe six months ago? Maybe it was in SI. I can't remember. Anyway, it infuriated me. I don't even know what to say about it other than this is just the logical continuation of the 6 hour marathon bullshit. These people have no business climbing any mountain, much less Everest. A lot of them can probably barely climb the stairs in their house.
Yes, I remember that article. It was horrifying, how many people are dying because of the total lack of regulation in the number of climbers allowed.
Some other great climbing stuff: Touching the Void (not about Everest, may also be on Netflix), High Crimes, Touching my father's soul, Storm Over Everest, No Way Down (about K2).
Touching the Void was first a book and is the best mountaineering book I've ever read - the movie is good but doesn't do it justice. Highly recommended.
Completely agree with reading Touching the Void before watching the documentary. Absolutely gripping story. Also agree about reading The Climb by Boukreev.
I have a hard time believing that there are people who attempt Everest with no mountaineering experience. Not saying it isn't done, but just can't understand how anyone would think that was a good idea. DH climbed Rainier a few years ago and even for that there was some serious training in the months leading up to it. As well as a short class on crossing crevasses, roped travel, and self arrest with an ice ax.
Also, years ago we climbed Mt. Shasta. In the town's "what do do while you're in Shasta" pamphlet it said "Climb Mt. Shasta". It isn't a technical climb but it also isn't a walk in the park that people should do without any planning. Yet we saw one guy up there in a cotton shirt and golf cleats, asking if we could spare some water. He probably read the pamphlet and thought "Cool! Why not!".
I do no understand the appeal of climbing summits like Everest, K2, El Capitan, etc. I don't get it in the same way I don't get running 26.2 miles. Why? To say you did it? All right. That's cool, but it's not my challenge.
I get wanting to do something just to see if you can. That's how I got on this jam making kick. But I don't get not doing any prep work prior to giving it a go, particularly for something physically grueling that could result in your death.
Post by foundmylazybum on May 28, 2013 18:30:02 GMT -5
I don't think everything should be accessible to everyone.
I'm sure that comes off as elitist but oh fucking well.
I feel like part of the society we live in now has depreciated the value of expertise. Everest is the tallest damn mountain on earth. What's wrong with keeping the value of climbing it for those who have gained enough expertise and knowledge to know how to climb it, how to handle issues, how to prepare etc.
You know what? Running a marathon IS hard. It's not the first race people should do. When you have knowledge, experience and expertise in the sport--you do better at a marathon.
A lot of people think they can just buy the expertise, and they just want to "taste" an experience.
What MAKES the experience is developing the skill set along the way. We've really sacrificed--or manipulated the journey to get the prize..and that's too bad. It's come at a number of different costs.
There was a Canadian last year who died on Everest (after summiting). She trained by running around her sea level neighborhood with a heavy backpack. And she was told by her expedition that that would be good preparation.
Had she not ever been into the mountains/elevation?
I have a hard time believing that there are people who attempt Everest with no mountaineering experience. Not saying it isn't done, but just can't understand how anyone would think that was a good idea. DH climbed Rainier a few years ago and even for that there was some serious training in the months leading up to it. As well as a short class on crossing crevasses, roped travel, and self arrest with an ice ax.
I know, it is mind boggling to try to think about why someone would just be like "I'm gonna get off the couch and climb Everest this spring!" But it happens.
Off the top of my head there's Shriya shah-korfine, the previously mentioned woman who trained by running with a weighted pack, and who thought her expedition would teach her everything when she got there.
I would also add Betsy huelskamp but I know there's some controversy about how she was represented afterward. But I will say that someone who doesn't know how to use her basic gear shouldn't be there.
Post by pantsparty on May 28, 2013 23:45:02 GMT -5
You should read Into Thin Air. It's a fascinating book. Yes, there are a lot of inexperienced people climbing Everest. Apparently it's not a technically difficult climb; some of the hardest part is getting used to lack of oxygen and also making sure you have a set turn-around time on the day you attempt the summit. The expedition companies providing supplies, employing sherpas, etc., definitely lighten the load.
ETA: I think people climbing Everest and running marathons are crazy. Get a real hobby! Like watching TV.
As for the loss of "expertise" in society, I'd argue that things aren't as out of reach as people once thought. With some preparation, the average guy CAN run a marathon or climb a [non-technical] mountain. You can learn how to do lots of stuff that is a job for an "expert". It takes longer, can have more problems, but the fact is that things aren't out of reach as people once accepted! I think that's a great thing for society in general, personally. Having bee keepers and urban farmers will serve us well then the apocalypse comes.
I would argue that it's actually a terrible thing that so many people are, for example, climbing Mount Everest solely for bragging rights. In fact, people are dying because of it.
I think it's great for people to take up hobbies and activities that interest them and work to become good at them. But it's the "I don't need to know anything about it, I can just do it! I can do anything I want!" mindset that really bothers me. That's what leads people to take on an incredibly dangerous task with the most minimal of preparation. It literally kills.
I do no understand the appeal of climbing summits like Everest, K2, El Capitan, etc. I don't get it in the same way I don't get running 26.2 miles. Why? To say you did it? All right. That's cool, but it's not my challenge.
I get wanting to do something just to see if you can. That's how I got on this jam making kick. But I don't get not doing any prep work prior to giving it a go, particularly for something physically grueling that could result in your death.
Yeah, that's how I get involved in things like hanging an antique chandelier, not plunging to my death while impersonating a popsicle.
As for the loss of "expertise" in society, I'd argue that things aren't as out of reach as people once thought. With some preparation, the average guy CAN run a marathon or climb a [non-technical] mountain. You can learn how to do lots of stuff that is a job for an "expert". It takes longer, can have more problems, but the fact is that things aren't out of reach as people once accepted! I think that's a great thing for society in general, personally. Having bee keepers and urban farmers will serve us well then the apocalypse comes.
Um. The very fact that it takes longer and has more problems means that people are NOT the "experts" they think they are.
Of course a lot of things aren't out of reach--but to do them PROPERLY actually IS still out of reach as once thought. There in lies the problem: You've got a lot of people out there who have as SBP explained an inflated view of themselves and their abilities combined with a general lack of respect for preparation and practice...and what you get is a half-assed job.
Thus, the loss of expertise. I'm not even really sure what you are arguing here.
I get wanting to do something just to see if you can. That's how I got on this jam making kick. But I don't get not doing any prep work prior to giving it a go, particularly for something physically grueling that could result in your death.
Yeah, that's how I get involved in things like hanging an antique chandelier, not plunging to my death while impersonating a popsicle.