The only problem with your analogy is that the only risk to them was the risk of not making the summit.
They were in the Death zone, but they were on the way up. They spent a lot of time passing the dying man on the way up, and then on the way down.
You should rewrite your analogy, you don't abandon your vacation scheduled swim to save a dying man. That would fit this situation better.
see #52
Wrong. Descending a mountain is much more dangerous than climbing it. And complicating a descent with 250 pounds of dead (or dying) weight makes an already dangerous job, one that's killed scores on Everest, exponentially trickier.
I agree.
People from all over the world travel there to join that "special" club of people who have made it to the summit. It's all about the individual and his supposed conquering of the mountain.
Hog swill! It's the height of self-involvement. I'm not surprised at all that the climbers who paid 35K had an attitude about one of the pikers who paid 6K. I'm also not surprised they left him.
This amputee-climber reminds me of the story from the New Testament about the guy who was let out owing a big amount of money, but then turned around and started choking someone who owed him much less, demanding to be paid.
This amputee-climber is that person. Who saved him? This guy is despicable.
Were they even trained on how to lower a 200 pound frozen body THREE MILES down a 30 degree ice slope?
Just because you have recieved training to climb the mountain does not mean you know how to perform a mountain rescue.
And just because they had BARELY enough supplies and equipment to make the climb themselves, you assume they had all the proper equipment, rations and supplies to evac a dying man off the mountian?
Keep in mind they have only 24 hours to get in and out of the death zone themselves.
OK. Getting a dying man off Everest is like trying to save a drowning man by dragging him across 10 miles shark infested ocean waters after going 48 hours without sleep and swimming for 75 miles without a break.
The rest of the post is pretty interesting if you haven't read it.
That was my impression. That they were on their way up and COULDN'T BE BOTHERED!!
Selfish SOB's!!!!
I woulda tried to get him down. I might have failed, maybe I would die myself, but I WOULD HAVE TRIED!!