Posted on 05/23/2006 8:42:02 AM PDT by 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.
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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.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
LOL. "I dunno. That kind of humor is so broad."
Remind me never to go hiking with you. 8~)
That isn't how I remember the dialogue, though I'll defer to what you say as you say you've seen it recently. Is it available on DVD?
Everyone who passed is guilty of murder.
I also agree with you about thrill seekers. It's juvenile, the stuff of boys.
To those who seem to need it I suggest: go fight in a war. Then if you still need thrills, go back. It's easy to find adventure if you're not just a overgrown teenager.
Having said that, one of my dear friends served three tours in Vietnam and he's STILL climbing mountains. Last time we talked in the fall of 2005, he was in the Alps, climbing.
So, I'll assume some are like him.
Judging by the explanation of the amputee, it sounds like they are "nucking futs" as well as being self absorbed.
Camping?
If I'm going to get dietary guidance from Moses, I'm losing shrimp and bacon in the deal. It's one of the real tangible benefits of being a Christian!
Amen!
Only south of the equator. 8~)
The old line "you pays your money and you takes your chances" holds true.
I'm really sorry for thinking this way, but all I could think of when I read this statement was that would make for an interesting headstone for your grave.
What happened to "judge not, so you shall not be judged likewise?"
I think it's fine to say they should have stopped. But they didn't kill him. He probably would have died any way.
There are some here, including me, who feel there is a duty to stop and be with him, even if he's just fading away. He killed himself, with a lifetime of arrogant decisions that led him there.
Because of Katrina, I'm staying away from restaurant or store shrimp, crawfish, and gulf fishes this season. Even catfish, since they are farmed in the lowlands.
My family has plenty of fisherman who have caught fish at least 150 miles inland, so I know those fish are safe for consumption. We had a fish fry on Mother's day at the farm, after church.
PADDLEFISH: I'm really sorry for thinking this way, but all I could think of when I read this statement was that would make for an interesting headstone for your grave.
Logistically, we should have made that decision before he's buried.
You better bring the potato salad and leave the main course to us. 8~)
Once I'm dead, they can use my organs and feed the rest to the dogs, as far as I'm concerned. I'm pretty sure I'll be some place else by then.
They were on the way UP, not down.
So the story goes, Louis Keseburg(sp?) a member of the traveling party partook of one of the Donner's 'lights', claimed they were 'delicious.' Then, when he finally made it to California or wherever they were bound, he opened up a restaurant.
Don't know if chronicle was accurate, but it sure was an interesting read.
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