Abandoned on Everest

[the Talking Can]

http://godheadv.blogspot.com/2010/04...n-everest.html

Fascinating blog post on what goes on in Everest's "dead zone" along with some unbelievable pictures.

NSFW warning...not because they're all graphic, but there are pictures of dead, frozen bodies.

You have to be crazy...

This morning, however, Green Boots had company. Sitting no more than two feet to the left of the corpse was a man who at first glance appeared to be dead. His gloved hands were on his knees, his hood and hat cast his face in shadow. The only feature visible was the man's severely frostbitten nose, already a greenish black hue. On closer inspection, the vapor from the man's breath could be seen rising.

What happened next entered the folklore of the highest mountain on earth. Every man interviewed gives a different story. What is certain is that every single one of the 40-odd climbers attempting the summit that day left the man in the cave, whose name was David Sharp, to freeze, either by choice, by ignorance, or by misjudging him as a corpse they already expected to see in that infamous cave....

[the Talking Can]

Originally Posted by Donger

I don't know. I've never been in that situation, but I'm pretty sure that I would have to try to get her down.

read the comments to the post....a long argument on that very point...

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Silock

If you enjoyed this story, watch:

Touching the Void

and Everest: Beyond the Limit (Seasons 1 and 2)

Great mountaineering/Everest documentaries.

Everest Beyond the Limit is pretty good.


I don't like the guy from Cali. He is an egotistical douchewad.

[the Talking Can]

Originally Posted by -King-

So this guy was trying to jerk off huh?

dude is wearing socks


did someone steal his boots?

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by the Talking Can

dude is wearing socks


did someone steal his boots?

I bet that's why he died. He probably forgot to bring boots.

[DMAC]

Originally Posted by the Talking Can

dude is wearing socks


did someone steal his boots?

There is some good gear on those mannequins.

Ebay....

[the Talking Can]

this note is from the comments:

Juan ‘Juanito’ Oiarzabal holds the world record in 8000ers summits (21 in total) and has experienced many rescues on very high altitude. He told ExplorersWeb about Everest, “That mountain turned into a circus years ago, and it's getting worse – I don’t have the slightest interest in going back there, ever. Moreover, I actually try to avoid reading on what’s going on there – I simply don’t care anymore.” And about David Sharp, “It’s a classic [on Everest] - someone is in trouble, and people pass by, not even taking a quick look at him.”

[JBucc]

Originally Posted by Donger

Boy, this is cold...

In 2007, Ian Woodall, a British climber, returned to Everest to bury the bodies of three climbers he passed on his way to the summit. One of the climbers, a woman named Francys Arsentiev, was still alive when Woodall reached her during his initial ascent. Her first words to him were "don't leave me behind." The grim reality, though, is that Woodall could not have done anything for her without jeopardizing his own life or the lives of his team members. He was forced to leave her to perish alone.

Well he did try to help her:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia article on Francys Arsentiev

On the morning of the 24th, two South African climbers, Ian Woodall and Cathy O'Dowd, and several more Uzbeks encountered Francys while on their way to the summit. She was found where she had been left the evening before. Sergei's ice axe and rope were identified nearby, but he was nowhere to be found. The South Africans called off their own attempt to reach the summit and tried to help her for more than an hour, but because of her poor condition, the perilous location and freezing weather, they were forced to abandon her and descend to camp.[3] She expired as they found her, lying on her side, still clipped onto the guide rope.

[Jenson71]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I bet that's why he died. He probably forgot to bring boots.

True story: I went to the Boundary Waters for a week, and I left my second pair of shoes in the car, so I went an entire week without getting my feet wet. That's never been done before in the Boundary Waters.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by the Talking Can

freezing to death is my worst way to imagine dying....i can barely even read descriptions of it....

Those people aren't freezing to death so much as they are dying from a lack of oxygen.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by notorious

Everest Beyond the Limit is pretty good.


I don't like the guy from Cali. He is an egotistical douchewad.

Come on . . . Dane's a nice guy!

[MIAdragon]

Originally Posted by Donger

I don't know. I've never been in that situation, but I'm pretty sure that I would have to try to get her down.

Why cause more death trying to delay the inevitable. It sucks but what can you do.

[MIAdragon]

Id LOVE to attempt Everest.

[the Talking Can]

Originally Posted by Silock

Those people aren't freezing to death so much as they are dying from a lack of oxygen.

that's true


it's the idea of losing sensation in your limbs that creeps me out

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Silock

Those people aren't freezing to death so much as they are dying from a lack of oxygen.

Imagine getting light headed and euphoric, then passing out.


Dead




There are much worse ways to go.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by MIAdragon

Why cause more death trying to delay the inevitable. It sucks but what can you do.

Like I said, try to get her down.