Anyone ever climb Everest?

Congratulations, you're a good example of the type of moron who dies on Everest...Lol, lists his PRs as if they have something to do with Everest.I have swam a sub 30sec 50m freestyle so I'm going to become a painter now.Idiots.

Cincy Runner wrote:

My best running days are behind me and I am looking for greater challenges. I have never done any climbing, but consider myself a pretty good endurance athlete. I have run 2:33, 1:11, 31:12, and 15:09. I also finished a half iron man. I want to climb Everest, but don't even know how to start. Has anyone ever climbed it or considered it that can give me some advice?

The lameness of Everest is exaggerated.

No, it's not the hardest mountain to climb. Yes, people who are not super mountaineers can pay to get a lot of help getting them up there. But still:

- It's really hard and kind of a big deal to do it.

- Less than 1/3 of those who attempt to summit are successful.

- About 2% of those who attempt to summit die up there. Imagine if a thousand people dropped dead during the New York Marathon every year.

- It's not just out-of-shape noobs and those trying to rescue them who fail or die, but experienced mountaineers who know what they're doing.

It's not the greatest athletic achievement ever, but it's not nothing either.

frogs wrote:

...simply lied to all your friends that you'd climbed everest, when really you were just hiding out in a comfort suites in Cheboygan for two weeks.

This cracked me up, because I've actually been in the Comfort Suites in Cheboygan.

Upwards of 200 have been killed climbing Everest, something between 500 and 1000 on mountains over 8000 meters. The summit approaches to Everest are well populated with frozen bodies. I wouldn't do it unless I had a passionate love of climbing.

Cincy Runner wrote:

I was really curious if there is some sort of helicopter service or likewise which could take me to the summit, stay for an hour or so before adverse side effects set in, snap a few pictures and head back down.

Without acclimitization, the altitude would affect you immediately. You would likely have only a couple of minutes, if that, before you passed out.

sadly, helicopters cannot fly that high.

they get into a decreased partial pressure of oxygen and there is no resistance for the blades.

about 17k is the safe limit

sorry

There has been one helicopter landing one Everest summit. It was a very special chopper, build for high altitude, with all excess weight striped off, a single pilot.

Whoever asked about Kili, you cannot show up and go up unsupported. National Park regulation mandates guides and all. I met a guy who wanted to go solo, ended up with an entourage of 8. We (12 years ago) and a friend (this year) climbed it with

http://goodearthtours.com/Mount_Kilimanjaro/index.html

and we were all very happy with them, at a fraction of the cost of big US companies like RMI. Kili is a great mountain to get a first exposure to high altitude, but the trek up has little baring on Everest type adventures. Not only is there essentially no snow on Kili, but you are up and done in a 8 days. Not the same as sitting in your tent weeks on, with diarrhea and feeling all the bad altitude issues. High altitude does funny things to you, makes you less smart than you've ever been since age 2, your stomach is all over your body, your head hurts, you are coughing so hard that your ribs might break. Yet you keep marching on for another 14 hours.

For Everest and another 8000 (Cho Oyu) if you don't want to spend a load of money, I can recommend Dan Mazur's outfit (summitclimb.com). They won't be luxurious, but will take good care of you.

For learning skills, I would recommend not RMI, but american alpine institute. While RMI (the Nike of US climbing) lately is getting better at it, but in climbing circles they are a bit infamous for kettle herding their climbers up Rainier instead of trying to develop self reliant climbers.

I did not post the helicopter comment. I'm not that stupid.

I hope to wear my wife's panties to the summit and cream myself on the way down.

Cincy Runner wrote:

how much actual climbing is there? Or is it just a very long walk up hill dealing with lack of oxygen, cold, and avalanches?

Mostly the latter. Hiking up a trail of steps with an ascender on a fixed rope.

The Sherpas carry everything up for you.

The % of failures is mostly due to weather - same for Denali.

If you want to experience high altitude, do Long's Peak (near Denver), or Aconcagua (it's fairly cheap to go there).

If you want to "scale a cliff", you can do that for a lot less $$, and it can be a good challenge.

Like the other person posted, you might find a better endurance challenge in mountain running or ultramarathons.

Mountains are cool. Very scenic, fun, nature playgrounds. They are to be respected. Weird and dangerous s*** goes down at high alts. You'll definitely be challenged. Just like after running a PR, getting to the summit is a nice feeling.

Don't start with Everest. There are plenty of awesome tall mountains closer to home that will truly challenge you and be far less expensive or commercialized. Be careful. Do it right and learn survival skills, so that you don't perish. People get lost a die in 8,000 ft peaks near Lake Tahoe, let alone on 20,000 ft ones. Work your way up and make sure you enjoy being out in the cold.

Once you get up to a certain level, take a look at some of the 6k meter peaks in South America. Truly stunning and awe-inspiring , and the latin cultures are fun.

I met a guy who climbed it. He was overweight.

Read "into thin air" by Krakauer. Everest isn't really a legitimate accomplishment. Anyone with exposable income and moderate(doesn't even have to be great) health can do it.

Try something like K2. Or even some of the Denali ascents in the winter are suppossed to be pretty tough(and no sherpas there to help you)

I can run a 37:30 10k. I know the difference between molars and the teeth that are not molars. Can I be a dentist? How much real school or sciencey stuff is there?

Read Into Thin Air first.

Banana Fit wrote:

Experienced climbers will probably tell you there are much more interesting / worthwhile climbs out there than Everest. But Everest is the one that gets all the recognition from laymen. No surprise that there's a long wait list to get up. It's sort of like your coworkers around the watercooler being more impressed with a 4 hour marathon than a 15:00 5k because Anyone can run 5k.

_________

Yes, and now even the half marathon is getting to be the choice of the day. all thanks to cross fit junkies. See, they have an immediate goal of running a 5k. then an ultimate goal of a half marathon. they run the races for fitness. No hard pace. They carry on conversations and even smile and wave as they run or...jog.

Here, we see that the half marathon is the fastest growing race in our country. This is why.

Bring Back the 880 wrote:

calling a trowel a trowel wrote:

Over 3,500 people have successfully summited the 29,029 ft. Himalayan mountain peak Everest. Only 1,300 or so men have covered a timed mile in under four minutes.

Not a fair comparision. The mile is the most revered of all Olympic running events. Summiting Everest isn't even in the Winter X-Games!

First of all--- There has never been a one mile run at the OGs.

Second there have been a number of Olympic medals awarded for Alpinism at three Olympiads- 1924 (winter),1932 and 1936 (summer for both).

---

Alpinism - gold medal for mountaineering

An Olympic Alpinism Prize was first awarded in 1924. There was no actual competition, medals were awarded for the most notable alpinism feat accomplished during the prevous four years. The medal in 1924 was awarded during the closing ceremony of the first Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix. Subsequent prizes in 1932 and 1936 were awarded at the Summer Olympics.

Winners

◦ 1924: awarded to the participants of the 1922 Mount Everest expedition led by General Bruce for outstanding feats on the unsuccessful attempt. The prize included posthumous medals for seven Sherpas who died in an avalanche.

◦1932: German brothers Franz and Tony Schmidt received the Olympic Alpine Prize for their "first ascent of the North Face of the Matterhorn".

◦ 1936: the prize was awarded to Gunter and Mrs. Dyrenfurth from Switzerland for their Himalayan exploration.

In September 1946, the IOC agreed to drop the Alpinism Prize. However, Reinhold Messner and Jerzy Kukuczka were awarded Silver Medals at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games for successfully summiting each of the 14 8,000-metre peaks.

TheNavidsonRecord wrote:

Anyone with exposable income

What do you do, put the money outside? Or is it like a sex crime?

Cincy Runner wrote:

I'm not that stupid.

You shouldn't underestimate yourself, you're plenty stupid.

TheNavidsonRecord wrote:

I met a guy who climbed it. He was overweight.

Read "into thin air" by Krakauer. Everest isn't really a legitimate accomplishment. Anyone with exposable income and moderate(doesn't even have to be great) health can do it.

Try something like K2. Or even some of the Denali ascents in the winter are suppossed to be pretty tough(and no sherpas there to help you)

Are you insane? The OP has no climbing experience. First of all, no one is going to climb K2 with a rookie (no offense to the OP). K2 is probably the most dangerous mountain on earth. Denali with no experience is death wish even if he could find someone to go with him. He came here looking for good advice and this venue was a bad choice. When runners have a bad day, they drop out of a race. When climbers have a bad day, they end up dead. Anyone who thinks Everest is a joke or no big deal here has never done any serious climbing. It is a big risk. I think it is stupid if you have a wife or kids so you should do it before you have too much to lose. It is by far the most dangerous thing that most people up there ever attempt in their lives.