Everest climber left to die alone

Washington Times ^ | 5/23/06

[Paddlefish]

Mark Inglis, an amputee who conquered Mount Everest on artificial legs last week, yesterday defended his party's decision to carry on to the summit despite coming across a dying climber. As his team climbed through the "death zone," the area above 26,000 feet where the body begins to shut down, they passed David Sharp, 34, a stricken British climber who later died. His body remained on the mountain.

Mr. Inglis, 47, a New Zealander, said: "At 28,000 feet it's hard to stay alive yourself. He was in a very poor condition, near death. We talked about [what to do for him] for quite a lot at the time and it was a very hard decision. "About 40 people passed him that day, and no one else helped him apart from our expedition. Our Sherpas (guides) gave him oxygen. He wasn't a member of our expedition, he was a member of another, far less professional one." Mr. Sharp was among eight persons who have died on Everest this year, including another member of his group, a Brazilian. Dewa Sherpa, a manager at Asian Trekking, the Katmandu company that outfitted Mr. Sharp before his climb, said he had not taken enough oxygen and had no Sherpa guide.

*********

The company charges $6,000 to provide services as far as base camp -- far less than the $35,000 or more cost of guided trips to the summit. Other mountaineers have criticized the commercialism of climbing the 29,035-foot peak, with guides charging huge sums to climbers with minimal experience.

[Alouette]

they are the most self absorbed bastards in the world.

And Hillary Clinton pretended that she was named after one of them!

[spunkets]

'rescues have been undertaken on Everest above 8,000 meters. Interesting story here: "

Your story clearly showsthe Russians were revivable. They were not dying, or near death as this person was. This person was there long enough to be mostly frozen and unrevivable. He was dying. The guy with no legs certainly knows what the difference between revivable and not is. So did the sherpas and the others on the team. Note! Your story says if the Russians weren't revivable, they would have been left there.

[A CA Guy]

Sounds like an ideal location for a planned parenting office to me.

[Glenn]

He survived.

That was Weathers. He had no kind words for JK during his lecture, by the way.

[Glenn]

I believe that was Bek Wethers ... Glenn would know.

Right. The miracle survivor. He gave a great lecture here in Pittsburgh. If you ever get the chance to hear his story, do it.

[Siena Dreaming]

Jon was first up to the top I believe.

Then he rested in camp while others were out there dying.

I'm convinced that's why he wrote the book...to kind of give a defense to his actions. Extra perk that he made a few million in doing so.

[schu]

Just heard back from a friend who climbed Cho Oyu as part of a guided group. He said they talked about the issue and agreed to help anyone in the group in need, even if they had to lose a chance at the summit. There was apparently nothing in writing.

He is a total peak bagger, but a good guy I have climbed with before. My guess is that he would do everything possible to get someone off the mountain. That's the type you want on your rope.

schu

[Obadiah]

Cool. Thanks for the pics.

[mdmathis6]

For some crazy reason...that scene from M. Python and the Holy Grail comes to mind where Arthur keeps hacking off limbs of the Black Knight...who still keeps fighting no matter what !

[abner]

Wow! Did you all make it? That is quite the story. Now I need to know, did you all make it?

[Mat_Helm]

I bent nothing. There was nothing wrong with what went down here. The man was free to make his own choices and he did. Furthermore, the party that went on concluded that they could not help the man.

If they could not help the man than why provide for and waste precious oxygen to him unless there was hope?

You are not accountable for me. My Freedom and my will belong to me. I don't welcome others dictating to me what I should do and I don't want, or expect their help. I do not appreciate other folks forcing their decisions on me. You are not my keeper and the Bible gives no one the authority to claim they are. Nor does the Bible give you the authority to call someone an idiot.

That view is a little extreme. Suffice to say that western culture and law and ethics are predominately based upon the Bible and the Christian Judaic principals. The opposite is China with no morals or basic love of humanity. My father witnessed this in Korea as a Marine with countless hordes of humans slaughtered by the Chinese as they place no value on human life. He climbed many peaks in the Sierras in his youth that had no names at the time and sold some of the first mountaineering gear available in California.

Suffice to say that we were not there and only those present can be the ultimate judge of their conscious. But when ever possible regardless of the circumstances or the individual, human life must always take priority over any endeavor. That is why Apollo 13's mission changed from getting to the moon to getting our men home and the moon was the ultimate assisted climb with oxygen.

Yes even idiots must be rescued. I have talked with Navy SAR teams that must helo in to places like Yosemite and rescue climbers off the face of Half Dome or El Capitan because of dumb mistakes by climbers and navy personnel risk their lives with their Helo at the limits and operating margins at altitude on hot windy days with their rotor tips inches away from disaster. Rangers risk their lives as well. They are paid to and do it and it is their job because we expect them to do it because our society still has principals even when the lawyers blur it and obscure it. Some how money always seems to obscure doing what is write. Just because you own a million dollar ship does not give you the moral right to leave me adrift in the sea if I need aid.

No, nobody can judge these men accept themselves for their actions if they were right or wrong, but I suspect that out of 40 people who passed this human being and left him to die going up and coming down again that they do not have some sleepless nights as their soul questions did they do the right thing that day? Individually they maybe could not but collectively I suspect they could have.

[streetpreacher]

Frankly, I view this as a reasonable argument for imposition of the old tort rule that once you've commenced aid...

Old? That's still legally binding and you raise a valid point. These mountain clymers may be subject to criminal prosecution.

[Paddlefish]

I asked the moderator to remove my post because it was obviously a vanity post where I look good. But to answer your question, my whole family survived (our neighbors didn't). I, unfortunately, discovered several bodies, including one of the 3 heroic firemen who died in the flood. There is much to this story, but it's not appropriate.

[streetpreacher]

Everyone who goes up there knows what's at stake. There are lots of dead bodies that will be up there for a very long time, and lots of climbers who reached the summit or returned from the summit by stepping over or around dead and/or dying climbers. Its just the way it is.

Wow, what a bunch of morons...

[Dont Mention the War]

Old? That's still legally binding and you raise a valid point. These mountain clymers may be subject to criminal prosecution.

My guess is Nepal and Tibet have little interest in wasting their time applying British/American-style law to the morons that engage in this sort of activity and screw up.

[spunkets]

"If they could not help the man than why provide for and waste precious oxygen to him unless there was hope?"

This was their attempt to help. The O was required to evaluate his condition. They did that and concluded that, there was nothing they could do. It's that simple.

" That view is a little extreme."

No it is not. It's called Freedom.

[eddie willers]

David Hahn is one of the premier climbers in the word, and yet all he could do is offer encouragement and some oxygen. The stricken man had to be able to move on his own. No other way.

And even at that they failed at the "Second Step".

(His story of rescue is on the tougher route of the North side, 180° from the the route we have so far discussed)

They both then had to be saved by a Sherpa who help Jaimie down by supplying oxygen and a mask.

BTW....here's some pictures of the "Second Step"

From a distance:

Closer look. (nobody tries to go straight up over the "Prow", but walks down and over to a fault in the feature where a Chinese expedition had place a ladder.

And how they get up and over....(I see that someone has now left a second ladder, but I don't know that story)

[streetpreacher]

Oh, Mt. Everest. Duh. Never mind.

[streetpreacher]

Sorry chap. Freedom doesn't absolve you of your responsibility to your fellow man. I don't know enough to outright judge these climbers on this particular incident but some of the general comments made on this thread sounds like libertarians on crack (which I assume most want the right to smoke as well).