[nuancey]

I wonder if these trekkers who take these dangerous climbs have to sign some waiver that if one falls into distress, no one is obligated to help. More than one "good Samaritan" has been sued before by their aided victim or victim's family.

[schu]

I would expect they do, I have a friend who just returned from Cho Oyu, I ask him.

That said, I would not climb/trek with someone who wanted to sign a waiver or otherwise state that he was not obligated to help me/nor I him.

Much of the fun of these kinds of activities is the camaraderie (sp). It is kind of hard to be friends with someone who is not looking out for you, especially at that extreme level.

schu