Mountaineering/Alpinism

[Devildoc]

If you're interested, and haven't already seen it, check out 14 Peaks on Netflix. It follows a group of Nepali sherpas led by one named Nirmal "Nims" Purja as they set out to summit the world's 14 tallest peaks in just 7 months. If you take nothing else from the film, it's that sherpas, particularly Nepali sherpas, are the true studs of the mountain.

Here's a pretty good synopsis:
14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible movie review (2021) | Roger Ebert

I read an article about how and why sherpas are uniquely suited for that role in that environment. It was all about the physiology. It was fascinating. If I can find it I will share. Thanks for that tip, I will definitely check that show out.

I also know two guys, local, who did an OCR at the base camp. While not summiting, doing an OCR at 16K+ feet is pretty outrageous to me, too.

 

[Blizzard]

Reviving this to reiterate why the entire Everest "mystique", for lack of a better word, has lost all appeal to me:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1793609189207814346

We continue to see pics like this year after year. It's just stupid.

 

[Box]

That looks like people standing in line at Walmart waiting to pay for their hand sanitizer and shit tickets - NO THANKS

 

[Gunz]

Sherpas die for the rich tourists. And the tourists who die and leave their cadavers and their garbage on the mountainside get no sympathy from me. You buy the ticket, you take the ride.

I actually feel sorry for that poor fucking mountain.

 

[Box]

The irony of the entire scam is that something that is supposed to be SO pure - so pristine - so majestic - and so absolutely representative of the true ability of nature to take care of herself - is turned into a circus attraction by those who care the loudest about being so invested in saving the planet...
...as they literally shit all over the top of the world.

Yet the garbage - the bodies - the death - the residue of destroyed families around the world - is just kicked aside and trampled by the rest of those who care the loudest - so that they can post a selfie when they summit.

Is the garbage packed out?
Are the dead given a dignified burial?
Nope. Fuck'em.

Yet, the line to the top is seemingly endless - tangible - visible - overloaded by those with "privilege" scarring up one of natures greatest landscapes for a mother fucking selfie.
Trampling the dead - leaving them behind - only to return home and encourage those damn poors to go out and protest the current thing to show that they care.

I sure hope that asteroid gets here soon

 

[Devildoc]

The irony of the entire scam is that something that is supposed to be SO pure - so pristine - so majestic - and so absolutely representative of the true ability of nature to take care of herself - is turned into a circus attraction by those who care the loudest about being so invested in saving the planet...
...as they literally shit all over the top of the world.

Yet the garbage - the bodies - the death - the residue of destroyed families around the world - is just kicked aside and trampled by the rest of those who care the loudest - so that they can post a selfie when they summit.

Is the garbage packed out?
Are the dead given a dignified burial?
Nope. Fuck'em.

Yet, the line to the top is seemingly endless - tangible - visible - overloaded by those with "privilege" scarring up one of natures greatest landscapes for a mother fucking selfie.
Trampling the dead - leaving them behind - only to return home and encourage those damn poors to go out and protest the current thing to show that they care.

I sure hope that asteroid gets here soon

Natural take care of itself, and Everest will be there far beyond people, and will survive whatever people can do to it.

There are a lot of sketchy companies that organize trips, but the legit ones, pack in/pack out. I don't have any issue with people who want to undergo the Everest experience, but maybe what Nepal needs to do when issuing permits is to keep it to a very small number of companies, which will keep the overall number of people down.

 

[SpongeBob*24]

Submitting Everest in the 60s was as rare as Landing on the moon. Now everyone summits, where's the moon shuttle?

 

[Devildoc]

Submitting Everest in the 60s was as rare as Landing on the moon. Now everyone summits, where's the moon shuttle?

It still ain't easy, and the reputable companies will pull someone if they can't hack it.

 

[SpongeBob*24]

Altitude, weather, and terrain make Everest a very hard technical climb for even advanced folks, so I didn't mean to make it seem easy. I was just trying to say summitting has become alot more frequent then the first 40 years. Over 350 people made it to the top in one day in 2019, in perspective it took 39 years [1953 - 1992] before 350 people total has accomplished this feat. It goes to show you all the work the Sherpas do throughout the season plus technology has changed the game.

Now in terms of easy, Cho Oyu is reportedly a cake walk...

 

[Gunz]

…I sure hope that asteroid gets here soon

I’m selling tickets. Climb the asteroid. 10 grand a pop. Pay in advance.

 

[Spooky]

Altitude, weather, and terrain make Everest a very hard technical climb for even advanced folks, so I didn't mean to make it seem easy. I was just trying to say summitting has become alot more frequent then the first 40 years. Over 350 people made it to the top in one day in 2019, in perspective it took 39 years [1953 - 1992] before 350 people total has accomplished this feat. It goes to show you all the work the Sherpas do throughout the season plus technology has changed the game.

Now in terms of easy, Cho Oyu is reportedly a cake walk...

It’s definitely more feasible for the average person, which is good and bad. Safety is better sure, but it’s being commercialized to an unhealthy amount.

 

[AWP]

The average cost per person to climb Everest is around $65k with some breaking the 100k mark.

maybe what Nepal needs to do when issuing permits is to keep it to a very small number of companies, which will keep the overall number of people down.

Which is unlikely given how much money that mountain brings into the country.

 

[Topkick]

how much money that mountain brings into the country.

A great point. I never gave that a thought until you mentioned it.

 

[SpongeBob*24]

In reference to Everest, i found this fun to sort thru and learned a few things:

The Easiest Mount Everest Route: What Climbers Should Prepare For

The long lines still blow my mind.

 

[BloodStripe]

In reference to Everest, i found this fun to sort thru and learned a few things:

The Easiest Mount Everest Route: What Climbers Should Prepare For

The long lines still blow my mind.

Everest has lost its allure. My wife and I started training for it back in the mid 2000’s but after doing more research decided it wasn’t for us due to the commercialization at that time. Since then it’s only gotten worse.

I think it’s awesome that tallest unclimbed mountain was summited a few weeks ago.

One of World's Tallest Unclimbed Mountains Is Climbed - Gripped Magazine

 

[Kraut783]

Sherpas die for the rich tourists. And the tourists who die and leave their cadavers and their garbage on the mountainside get no sympathy from me. You buy the ticket, you take the ride.

I actually feel sorry for that poor fucking mountain.

Looks like they are trying to clean up....did not know how expensive it would be....

Everest: Bodies of fallen mountain climbers finally recovered from 'death zone'

 

[Blizzard]

I wasn't looking for additional examples as to why Everest has lost it's allure, but here it is...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1858642787991740610

That said, for those interested, if you're not familiar with the story, check out Göran Kropp's adventure.

In 1996, the "Crazy Swede" got on his bike in Sweden, rode 8,000 miles to the Everest base camp in Nepal, where he climbed Everest solo, unassisted (no Shepas) and no oxygen, drank a can of beer, then rode his bike back home.

So, what did you today?