I have read so much (with utter disgust) about the people that climb Everest recently. In one such story, no less than five people were standing next to a prone woman who would die if she didn't get down from the altitude. They all stood there for awhile, decided that they didn't have the strength to help her down, and then they all pushed on for the summit. This is the norm, not the exception.
On the Houston expedition on K2 in 1953, when a man was dying, all thoughts of the summit vanished. The only thing on the team members minds was how they were going to save his life. This is a typical mindset on K2, and almost unheard of anymore on Everest. On Everest, all that most everybody thinks of is summitting, while on K2 what weighs the heaviest on climbers minds is getting down alive.
The more that I read about Paul Schoening, the more I realize that the world has lost a bit of greatness in his passing.
"On the Houston expedition on K2 in 1953, when a man was dying, all thoughts of the summit vanished. The only thing on the team members minds was how they were going to save his life. This is a typical mindset on K2, and almost unheard of anymore on Everest."
IMHO, this is more a commentary on the selfishness of people today rather than the differences in the mounains.
Make that Pete Schoening, not Paul Schoening. Good grief. I can't believe that I did that.
Schoening was such a stud...He has a long Mountaineering history, the whole family were talented climbers.
Just want to echo what Nittany Lion said. A good lot of the people who are on Everest aren't qualified to be there. To summit Everest has become a purchaseable ''trophy'' for rich folks who don't have any business on that mountain, who can't carry their own weight (without tons of assistance from guides) and certainly are in no position to assist other climbers.