4 dead on Everest in two days, 10 for the season

[Bigtime]

Not Everest, but 4 Japanese climbers were killed by an avalanche on Mt. McKinley (Denali) on Saturday. This one line in the article definitely freaked me out:

As the crew of five inched down the tallest peak in North America early Thursday morning, a wave of snow 80 stories tall crashed over them, snapping the rope that kept the group connected and burying four of the climbers, said John Leonard, Denali National Park’s chief mountaineering ranger.

An 80 storey tall avalanche? 80 freaking storeys? That is just insane. That's a wall of snow that is 22 floors taller than the Bow building.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/n...0,379391.story

[Northendzone]

according to the article the slopes of mckinley are steep - hard to imagine that the wall of snow was 800 feet high on a sttep slope.

i think this description is somewhat akin to hearing an annoucer say a guy unleashed a 100 mph slap-shot in an NHL game when on a few guys can do it under perfect conditions at the all star game.

[GP_Matt]

I think it reads as the wall was 80 stories tall but lying down on the mountain. I would personally consider that to be 80 stories long rather than tall.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

according to the article the slopes of mckinley are steep - hard to imagine that the wall of snow was 800 feet high on a sttep slope.

i think this description is somewhat akin to hearing an annoucer say a guy unleashed a 100 mph slap-shot in an NHL game when on a few guys can do it under perfect conditions at the all star game.

Its 50 degrees Ice / Moderate Snow for the West Buttress Route





So it wouldn't be that steep ... which would make 80 stories tall like Inception

RIP to those 4 Japanese climbers.... West Buttress is the most popular route on Denali/McKinely and arguably the most popular mod-snow/Ice climb in North America.

[chemgear]

They re-aired the Fifth Estate piece on the Everest deaths this week. Hell of a way to go.

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/episodes/201...the-death-zone

[T@T]

Originally Posted by trublmaker

Airs to thin for a helo

Not true, I think the record for helicoptor flight is somewhere around 40,000 ft and I believe there was also a medical rescue on top of everest already.


Edit. found a link
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ad...r_everest.html

[worth]

I'm planning to hike to Everest Base Camp in 2014 when I am in Nepal. I'll try to post some of my thoughts for you guys.

[troutman]

Mount Everest climbers: Death toll rises to five


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016...rises-to-five/

[Flash Walken]

Phanuthier posts in this thread hitting me in the feels. I miss that guy.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Phanuthier posts in this thread hitting me in the feels. I miss that guy.

I had forgotten, damn you Flash Walken, damn you

[greyshep]

Not sure where he went, but this thread also reminded me of Cowperson. He was always a great read. Hopefully he is doing well still.

[Raekwon]

Originally Posted by greyshep

Not sure where he went, but this thread also reminded me of Cowperson. He was always a great read. Hopefully he is doing well still.

I actually didn't know either but http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...83#post5677383

He passed away earlier this year.

[greyshep]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

I actually didn't know either but http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...83#post5677383

He passed away earlier this year.

Yes I was aware of that unfortunate news. I guess my post may have been unclear but I was wondering about the poster Cowperson.

[nik-]

edit: posted

[AltaGuy]

I think they should outlaw bottled oxygen on Everest (and the other 8000ers). Would weed out the people who shouldn't be up there, and many people would turn back earlier if their bodies were not acclimatizing.

It's true that a lot of very good mountaineers would never be able to summit, but I think that is ok. I think Reinhold agrees with me, so that's my appeal to authority.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by AltaGuy

I think they should outlaw bottled oxygen on Everest (and the other 8000ers). Would weed out the people who shouldn't be up there, and many people would turn back earlier if their bodies were not acclimatizing.

It's true that a lot of very good mountaineers would never be able to summit, but I think that is ok. I think Reinhold agrees with me, so that's my appeal to authority.

Or just increase the number of deaths because oxygen deprivation leads to poor decisions, not good ones.

[AltaGuy]

I doubt it - so many people would not be able to hack it past base camp without oxygen.

[Buff]

Trevor Stuart, a Real Estate Agent from Lethbridge, made it to the top of Mount Everest last week. He was on a mission to raise money for domestic violence.

http://trevorstuart.ywcalethbridge.org/


http://lethbridgenewsnow.com/article...womens-shelter

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by TheGrimm

I just think it's effin funny how we all consider it a huge deal while the sherpas call it a job and do it all the time.

It's not funny. They have undergone thousands of years of evolution and picked up genetic survival traits have adapted their population to thrive at high altitudes where as most people from around the world lack those beneficial genes.

Among many other adaptions, they are genetically adapted to that environment to prevent polycythemia (a process in which the body produces too many red blood cells in response to oxygen deprivation), as well as other health abnormalities such as swelling of the lungs and brain (edema) and hypertension of the lung vessels leading to eventual respiratory failure.

Even at elevations of 14,000 feet above sea level or higher, where the atmosphere contains much less oxygen than at sea level, most Tibetans do not overproduce red blood cells and do not develop lung or brain complications.

[AltaGuy]

I don't think there is a more deadly job in the world than being a sherpa on Everest. For a few thousand dollars, those guys ferry tents and supplies, fix ropes and ladders for two months between base camp and camps 1 and 2.

That is where the Icefall is, which is the most deadly part of Everest - and these guys go up and down through it several times a day for months. Just crazy.