How about living the dream of climbing 6 mountains in 1 day? Let's build that reputation for you bro.
How about living the dream of climbing 6 mountains in 1 day? Let's build that reputation for you bro.
wasatch range wrote:
nope. not a troll. i'm not sure how a yahoo email address would indicate that? i've had it since 1995. anyway, if you don't want to give me the name and help, then that's totally fine, man. in the future, don't offer then. seriously. everyone wants to post their two cents on this thread as well as seemingly any other (most of it from people who have never done anything like this- only read books), yet no one ever wants to back it up or actually answer the original question posted. i DON'T CARE if there are fixed ropes. i DON'T care if you feel offended that i'm not following your mountaineering rules, mr. "go away". i don't give a rat's behind that you're reading ed viesturs' book. all you other angst riddled middle agers, "experts", and miserable lot can continue to live in your grumpy little world. i don't need any of your negativity. i'll go live. best to you.
You are one gigantic douche.
Please, please, please STFU and go away forever.
Suffice it to say that Everest has the most steep ridges and appalling precipices that I have ever seen, and that all the talk of an easy snow slope is a myth.
My darling, this is a thrilling business altogether, I can't tell you how it possesses me, & what a prospect it is. And the beauty of it all. George Mallory
Ciro wrote:
Suffice it to say that Everest has the most steep ridges and appalling precipices that I have ever seen, and that all the talk of an easy snow slope is a myth.
My darling, this is a thrilling business altogether, I can't tell you how it possesses me, & what a prospect it is. And the beauty of it all. George Mallory
What's your point? Research the history of the first ascent of just about any noteworthy peak and there will be similar epic descriptions of the mountain and the ascent. Furthermore, gear, clothing, weather forecasting, route knowledge... have all come a long way since Mallory's time. Everest is certainly not the challenge that it once was.
I rather doubt that, had Mallory been in his climbing prime today, that he would view Everest as anything more than an amusement park for tourists. Mallory's ascent of Everest was about discovery and pushing the limits of what was possible for his day and age. Slogging up a trail while sharing a fixed line with hundreds of other climbers is not what mountaineering is about.
Hillary?
Ciro wrote:
Suffice it to say that Everest has the most steep ridges and appalling precipices that I have ever seen, and that all the talk of an easy snow slope is a myth.
My darling, this is a thrilling business altogether, I can't tell you how it possesses me, & what a prospect it is. And the beauty of it all. George Mallory
Agreed, Everest was a big deal to climb when there wasn't an attached ladder going up the second step, people didn't have proper winter gear to deal with the weather at the summit, and people were setting their own ropes, not just clipping into an existing line set by 5 Sherpas at the beginning of the climbing season.
If you want an amazing ascent of Everest (aside from the first few that were done with their own gear), check out the solo ascent by Reinhold Messner or the South Pillar ascent by Jerry Kukuczka. Those were very impressive.
a mountaineer wrote:
Everest has become a huge joke and a tourist destination in my opinion. These days people show up at Everest base camp without any prior mountaineering experience and average fitness and some of them still manage to make the summit. Of course, it's still dangerous and being extremely fit will definitely increase your chances of survival but any former D1 endurance athlete who has kept himself in shape is plenty fit enough to climb it provided proper acclimatization. Some people handle altitude better than others and not being a completely stick-thin distance runner is probably a good thing as your body will consume more calories than you can hope to eat at high elevation. Having a little muscle mass will also make it easier to carry a heavy pack.
Personally, I feel that climbing should be about a sense of adventure, discovery and self-reliance. Everest is about as far from that ethic as you can get. The mountain's a garbage heap, and you have fixed lines, a tramped down trail and share the normal route with hundreds of other climbers on a busy day. I get a lot more out of climbing technically harder but lower altitude routes myself as you can move faster, lighter, don't usually get frostbite on your extremities and can actually enjoy the experience as your brain's not numbed (and losing brain cells by the minute) from lack of oxygen. You could also spend a year (or years, if you're as thrifty as the average climber) climbing in the Alps, Andes or the Rockies for what it costs for a permit to climb Everest.
Everest is to mountaineering what the marathon is to running. It attracts a lot of people who make life checklists, work for a short period of time to achieve their goal and then move on to something else. Like running a marathon, it holds some cachet by the general public who don't know much about mountaineering.
To each his own, I guess.
This is 100% true, unfortunately. It's something people do to brag and boost their egos. It's definitely not something people do for the challenge, adventure, or pleasure. The comparison to completing a marathon is spot on, only Mt. Everest costs a lot more money. The guy I talked to who had done it said most of the people who show up to do it nowadays don't even have any real climbing experience and that it's been turned into a big tourist attraction designed to get as many people to the top as possible as it's a major income source for the locals. Seeing the mountains of course would be cool, but you don't have to summit to do that. Adventure-wise, simply climbing some mountains in Colorado would be more challenging and adventurous. I really don't like to shoot down people dreams or goals, but personally, I despise this sort of thing. It's like the people who "travel" in that they fly in somewhere, stay at a big western style hotel, see the Pyramids, then fly off somewhere else. It's just not how it was meant to be done and is kind of a joke when compared to real traveling, or real climbing in this case. But yes, to each their own. I don't get satisfaction from being part of a giant crowd of tourists all doing the same thing and checking something off a list, but obviously a lot of people do.
I'm on your side, but having climbed most of the harder / bigger mountains in Colorado, I definitely don't think any of them are nearly as challenging as Everest nor as adventurous (depending on your definition of adventurous--you could definitely be alone on a route in CO, or with just a buddy, so in that sense you might be on more of an adventure, since Everest is a line to the top when the weather allows climbing).
Everest is a joke in comparison to the real high-altitude climbs around the world, but not in comparison to climbing what are, in comparison, mosquito-bite peaks in the American Rockies. There are some mountains in the Canadian Rockies that would be more challenging. But there are very few mountains in CO that even require a rope. None of the 14ers do. I guess doing something like climbing the Diamond on Longs Peak might be "more challenging" but it's comparing apples to oranges because the challenge there is more rock climbing than mountain climbing.
I should also say that I thought I would like to do it some day myself until I actually looked into it, talked to people who had done it, and read about the actual experience (rather than just fantasizing about the romanticized idea of it everyone has). I still plan to spend time in the Himalayas and probably even visit the Everest base camp, but I have absolutely no desire to be a part of the disneyland "adventure" of making my way to the top. There are phenomenal mountains all over the world. No need to limit yourself to one, especially when that one is a tourist attraction more than anything.
wasatch range wrote:
NBskis- I was up Olympus only Sunday, and have timpanogos planned for Saturday, depending on snow conditions. please see email address above to get in touch.
be careful on timp. still lots of snow, if it gets warm on the new snow stuff will be sliding everywhere. timp better left for skis for now. great run in the summer though, that trail is runnable the entire way.
The hardest part of Everest may be dealing with the other climbers & managing your own behavior. I'm not sure how often it still happens, but I bet it's interesting to see how climbers respond when the guide tells them to turn around after they paid $40 to $65k to reach the top. Plus I bet it gets interesting when you get a bunch of very wealthy, stubborn, & strong willed people together & camp for nights in bare minimum accommodations.
And how does one respond if near the summit you see a climber too weak to stand? With all the poorly trained climbers on Everest, there is a chance of seeing this. Do you risk your life & try to help them or worry about yourself & continue to the summit while leaving them to die? Is it even possible to get someone down with that terrain & altitude?
David Sharp anyone?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sharp_
(mountaineer)
Hey Wasatch, just wanted to say forget the haters and best of luck. I wish I could be in your position right now.I love this photo of Messner from his solo climb. One of the most impressive athletics feats ever.http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0611/feature1/images/gallery.1.2.jpgIn his book about that climb, he's such an ass to his girlfriend, and she clearly saves his life at the end. No doubt he is a legend, I guess that attitude just comes with the territory.
v6 wrote:
Agreed, Everest was a big deal to climb when there wasn't an attached ladder going up the second step, people didn't have proper winter gear to deal with the weather at the summit, and people were setting their own ropes, not just clipping into an existing line set by 5 Sherpas at the beginning of the climbing season.
If you want an amazing ascent of Everest (aside from the first few that were done with their own gear), check out the solo ascent by Reinhold Messner or the South Pillar ascent by Jerry Kukuczka. Those were very impressive.
The Sherpa's like a happy ending massage before hauling your gear up the mountain.
I wanted to get your thoughts on the tragedy the other day w/13 sherpas dying in an avalanche.
Does that deter you at all?
Just curious.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/killed-missing-mount-everest-avalanche-article-1.1760721
What should deter isn't the fear of being killed in an avalanche oneself but a moral disgust at a system that has the Sherpas doing work in unsafe conditions in April so the paying tourists can have a safe walk up in May.
