With violent storms and unpredictable avalanches, there’s no doubt that Mount Everest is dangerous for all who attempt to climb it. Various factors play into determining how great of a risk the journey to the summit is, including experience and amount of time on Everest. In recent years, the experience level of the climbers has dropped severely. Due to an increasing number of inexperienced climbers crowding Mount Everest’s slope, endangering themselves and fellow climbers, the governments of Tibet and Nepal, as well as private guiding businesses, should distribute permits to only those who meet specific health and experience qualifications.
Mount Everest contains many dangers, making the climb extremely hazardous even for the most experienced
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Lowering the number of people allowed onto the mountain at any given point makes the trip to the summit and back shorter. Less time on the mountain reduces the risk for injuries resulting in exposure to cold or high altitude, as well as decreasing the chance of being caught in a deadly storm or avalanche. Less lives will be at risk at once, as well (Adams). This also would result in less death if a disaster occurred. By only allowing a limited number of permits to be distributed, the risks on Everest would decrease significantly. To limit the number given out each climbing season, permits should be distributed on the basis of previous experience and physical condition, rather than whether or not a person has the money to afford one. One suggestion to decide who is allowed onto the mountain is to ask applicants to provide fitness details and list the mountains they have previously climbed to ensure that they are qualified to be on the mountain (Connolly). This would prevent climbers in less than peak condition, as well as less experienced climbers, from endangering themselves and others. A writer for National Geographic brought up the idea that “The expedition company could set up a mandatory policy by which it guides the client on at least one or two less demanding peaks to assess the client's qualifications and competence,” (National Geographic Adventure). The two ideas go hand in hand, with asking for a record of previous experience and then assessing clients before allowing them to make the climb Everest. This would weed out those who are not serious about climbing necessary to make it to the summit and back down to base safely. Another idea involves a newly developed test. Hopeful climbers could be tested using high altitude tests to ensure that they qualify for the climb based on their reactions to higher altitudes.
Everest in 1996. This became the deadliest expedition to ever climb with 15 people losing their lives. Krakauer explains his intrinsic motivations to accept this challenge and many of the mistakes that helped lead to the disasters of that day. He includes himself, and explicitly blames himself for at least one person's death. The experience affects him profoundly, and in addition to telling the story, the book focuses on how Krakauer is forever changed as a result of what happened. All of the clients have difficulty adjusting to the altitude, tiring easily, losing weight and moving slowly. The climbers' experience in mountain climbing and at high altitudes varies some of them are quite qualified, others very inexperienced and highly reliant on the
Climbing Mount Everest is a horrific and thrilling experience that 290 people have died attempting to complete. In the novel “Into Thin Air” written by Jon Krakauer, Krakauer goes through his own journey of climbing Mount Everest and how commercialized the climbing of Everest had really become. In his journey he explains how climbers have paid as much as $65,000 to join a guided group that would lead them to the summit. The author bluntly states that some of the novices were not qualified to climb Mount Everest. With this amateurity it only made the journey twice as much difficult and dangerous. Unfortunately, a terrible blizzard struck Mount Everest within minutes of them reaching the top. For all of the climbers on the mountain, the blizzard turned what was to be a successful climb for all concerned into a nightmare. Because of poor planning, several of the climbers found themselves in a desperate situation that they had no
On May 10th, 1996, a mountaineering expedition turned into a disaster when an unexpected storm hit Mount Everest and eventually took twelve people’s lives along with it. While some events are agreed on the disaster, what actually happened that night and the events leading up to it are heavily debated. This debate can be seen in the books Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev where they disagree on crucial details leading up to the climb. Although Anatoli was the better climber, Jon Krakauer’s account is more credible due to his knowledge on the subject, great character, and determination to show the most honest account of the story possible.
The cost for a guide to bring someone up the mountain can be upwards to $70,000. People wanted to go regardless of their health and condition and guides would just do their job and just lead people up without knowing if they are weak or not ready for the climb.”Why did veteran Himalayan guides keep moving upward, ushering a gaggle of relatively inexperienced amateurs […] into an apparent death trap?”(Krakauer 8). This quote is an example of how the guides treat the people climbing up the mountain with the. They disregard the condition and state the people are and just keeping leading them up asking or knowing if they are weak and not ready for the climb up. Not only is this part of guide’s fault for people becoming injured or dead it is also the person’s fault for not thinking about themselves and the state and condition they are in to try to climb up the mountain.”It can't be stressed enough, moreover, that Hall, Fischer, and the rest of us were forced to make such critical decisions while severely impaired with hypoxia”(Krakauer 285). Jon Krakauer is responsible for some of the deaths of people mentioned in the book because of the decisions he made. Krakauer himself said he had guilt for not fully helping the people with hypoxia. The timing and decisions he made for descending back down also did play a role in how he caused some people to die instead of helping
Have you ever wanted to prove to everyone that you are a hard worker that is willing to give up everything to go on an adventure? If this is you than Everest is the perfect place for you. A great deal of Everest’s dangers are expressed in his book which should either inspire you to try this journey or sway you away from the treacherous mountain. In the story, “ Into Thin Air,” by Jon Krakauer a true story is told of a dangerous voyage up and down Everest. The climb up was arduous and long according to Jon, but the climbers sacrificed everything to get to the top, which most of the climbers achieved. However, emotions shifted when a storm swooped in and killed many of the climbers that were stuck on the summit, around 12-19 in total. The devices
Climbing Mt. Everest is an accomplishment that only a limited number of people can say they have accomplished. Despite statistics that illustrate most fail or die trying, numerous people are drawn to the mountain each year and truly believe they can be among that elite group. In the spring of 1996, Jon Krakauer, a journalist for the adventure magazine Outside and a passionate climber himself, was offered the opportunity to climb Mt. Everest. The original offer was to join an Adventure Consultants team led by Rob Hall, a respected and well known guide, climb to base camp and then write a story on the commercialism that had penetrated this incredibly risky but addicting sport. Without much hesitation Krakauer accepted the offer but not to just go to base camp; he wanted the top. The expedition started out as predicted but an unexpected storm the day of the summit push turned this expedition into the most devastating expedition of all time. Krakauer was changed for life; an article on the commercialism surrounding the mountain would no longer suffice. Into Th...
Individuals take pride in the positive traits derived from the sport. Krakauer expands,“During my thirty-four-year tenure as a climber, I’d found that the most rewarding aspects of mountaineering derive from the sport’s emphasis on self-reliance, on making critical decisions and dealing with the consequences, on personal responsibility” (176). Despite the danger, success in mountain climbing results in a number of disciplined qualities. Regarding the aforementioned psychological effects of risky behavior, adventure can be invigorating as it is rewarding. Bass recounts, “There has to be a spirit of adventure to it, too, and an element of uncertainty and risk. Then when I persevere and prevail, when I overcome and make it, I come back down to the lowlands, back to the bankers and the regulatory officials, and by golly I’m recharged and ready to take them all on” (Bass et al 2). Climbing is an escape from the normalcy of endless routine. Mountain scaling adds an addictive element to perilous activities. Krakauer
These experienced climbers have the worst job of all, with an astonishing “annual fatality rate of 4,035 per 100,000 full-time” over these past ten years(Morrow 2). Apart from having to guide tourist climbers many times during the season, they have to carrying necessary equipment for them making the trip even more hazardous. For example, they drag across the ice large “loads of fuel, food, ropes, oxygen and tents for clients”(Morrow 3}. That’s not all, the Everest climbing company and the Nepalese government make a fortune each year with their tourist attraction, and give Sherpa a pity amount of their earnings; and these climbers put themselves at risk each time. To prove it, “Hardly any this money is received by the Sherpa themselves”, even though their lives are in danger; if anything happened to a Sherpa they will leave “their family in economic crisis”(Morrow 3). The Sherpas have little to no life insurance benefits, they can be killed and their families would barely be taken care of. This can seen when an avalanche cost the lives of 13, and in response to a strike it “would only provide a pittance of 40,000 rupees, or $US410”(Morrow 1). Moreover since tourists are the ones paying and Sherpas, they are better suited and occupied while
The illnesses on Everest may not have all been evident in my life, but I have experienced a form of a high altitude illness. It occured when I was at a family reunion in Utah. Most would never think that they will be the victim of an illness caused by travel, but at last it can happen to anyone. Despite my high altitude sicknesses, regardless of what could happen, I still want to travel. The reason for my wanted travels are the experience new cultures around the world. This could be related to the characters “need” to go to Everest, “the pull of the mountain,” as some would say.
Climbing makes for a difficult expedition, you need to give up the wrappers when you was ascending. You need to give up the heavy things, you need to give up your wrappers, and you need to give yourselves. Sometimes we need to give up our lives to climb the mount Everest. According to snow storm, the energy, the oxygen and the people who desired prove themselves the spring’s 96s expedition to mountain Everest was destined to be the most tragic.
Ever since people knew it was possible to reach the summits of Mount Everest about 4,000 people have attempted to climb it and a one in four ratio of people have died from doing so. “Once Everest was determined to be the highest summit on earth, it was only a matter of time before people decided that Everest needed to be climbed” (Krakauer 13). The very first person to reach the summits of Mount Everest was in 1953 also ever since then about seven percent out of every 4,000
The magnificent Mt. Everest; a scenic natural location that has been a place famous for mountaineering for years. However, people have been debating whether or not Mt.Everest should be closed down temporarily for safety precautions or if the dangers should be supported. I am an opponent towards mountaineering because of the dangers involving both the people and nature involved.
Everest is an unbelievable mountain that has taken the lives of a number of the greatest climbers in history. It was my job to ensure that clients make it up that treacherous mountain safely. My name is Rob Hall. I was the main guide and cofounder of a climbing company called Adventure Consultants. My friend, Gary Ball, and I used to be professional climbers. Together we succeeded in climbing to the highest summit on each of the seven continents in seven months. This was our greatest achievement. After this, we decided to start our own company guiding clients up large mountains. In May 1992, we successfully led six clients to the summit of Everest. Unfortunately, Gary died of cerebral edema in October 1993 during an attempt on the world’s sixth-tallest mountain. He died in my arms and the next day I buried him in a crevasse. Despite the pain that his death had caused me, I continued guiding for our company and eventually led thirty-nine climbers to the summit of Everest.
In an informational article, by Guy Moreau, titled Why Everest?, Moreau writes, “In recent years, this problem has been made worse by the large number of climbers who want to conquer Everest.” The article also says that, “The climbing season only lasts for about two months…Climbers need to leave the final camp by late morning. Then, there can be so many of them in the death zone that there are traffic jams. Some days, up to 200 people set off.” Since there are delays, people have to stay longer, and they “…can suffer exposure and use their precious supplies of oxygen.” Many people end up dying since they all thought they could climb the
Mount Everest, the world’s highest point at 29,035 feet, is a special trophy among high altitude mountaineers. Standing atop the world’s highest point a hypoxic climber clad in a fluorescent down suit is above everything else on the planet, for a moment that individual can reach farther into the sky than any other. Arms raised in a victorious salute, a climber feels like they have conquered something that few others ever have, and justifiably so. The summit is usually the final fruition of months, sometimes years of planning, weeks of travel and acclimatization, and days of endless plodding at a feeble, learning-to-walk pace.