That's interesting. I really don't know anything about mountain climbing, so I'm sure you're right. I was just comparing the events of 1953 to the more recent one that you mentioned. I didn't know that there was a difference in behaviors in people climbing Everest and people climbing K2.
It really is interesting. I am not a mountain climber, I'm more of a winter hiker that likes to play in the snow and ice. I have read numerous accounts of climbers on K2 recently. It is an extremely difficult and highly technical climb. Because of that, you don't get people that are paying somebody to take them to the summit. Nobody can. Either you have the technical ability and physical strength, or you don't.
I think that may be the difference. People climb K2 to prove something to themselves, whereas people climb Everest to prove something to somebody else. Greatness isn't just in making the summit, it isn't even in coming down alive, it is how you behave while you're up there. I read an article about Alex Lowe (deceased) and how he went to climb Denali and never had the opportunity to attempt the summit. He spent his entire time on the mountain rescuing people that had gotten into trouble. He did it because that is what a human being does.
Schoening was climbing as a member of an expidition, hence part of an internationally recognized team undertaking a record setting challenge. The people on Everest today are largely tourist on an exotic tour. For one thing, their skill and ability, may only be marginal at best; for another, they have paid a large amount of money for the pleasure of making it to the summit. They are pampered amatures, while Schoening was a professional and a selected team member; and, the difference shows.