Posted on 05/25/2007 8:56:24 PM PDT by rawhide
A stricken climber left to die on Everest was saved by an American guide and a sherpa who found her by accident as they returned from the summit.
The dramatic rescue of the Nepalese woman has reopened a passionate debate about mountaineering ethics, a year after the controversial death on the mountain of the British climber David Sharp.
The woman, identified only as Usha, was found on Monday morning suffering from severe altitude sickness about 550 metres beneath the 8,848m (29,028ft) summit.
She was at a similar altitude to the cave where Sharp died on May 15, 2006, after an estimated 40 climbers passed him by, most of them without making any attempt to save him. His death sparked an international controversy, with some arguing that a rescue would have cost more lives. Others, including Sir Edmund Hillary, condemned the cynicism of commercial mountaineers.
Usha, like Sharp, was apparently on the sort of barebones expedition that charges clients typically as little as £4,500 and provides them with only basic equipment.
Also like Sharp, she was too weak to move when she was found by David Hahn, a veteran American guide, and his sherpa, Phinjo Dorje, on their way down from the summit. Mr Hahn and Phinjo Dorje decided to risk their own lives by taking her with them, even though she was only semiconscious and suffering from severe cerebral oedema, or water on the brain. “I was very concerned because her oxygen had run out. She was virtually unresponsive, and in a precarious spot on the mountain, on a steep snowy slope,” Mr Hahn told The Times via satellite phone from Base Camp.
It was a huge risk given the harsh conditions in the “death zone”,...
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Lucky lady.
Bump for a courageous response.
Oh My God! 29,000 feet. I am in trouble at 9,000 feet, my heart pounds like a drum.
Bad headline. Not so much “left to die,” as “climbed beyond her ability to get down by herself before dying.” Or to be more accurate “saved from suicide-by-anoxia attempt.”
WOW! Kind of reminds me of the guy who through himself into the path of an oncoming train to save a stranger, with the odds being against either one of them coming up alive.
Reminds me of Jon Krakauer’s non-fiction book “Into Thin Air.” A bunch of apparently sane climbers go up Everest, and find themselves crippled for life, or dead. Very scary book.
It was a huge risk given the harsh conditions in the “death zone”, above 8,000 metres, where there is so little oxygen that people need all their strength to keep themselves alive, let alone someone else.
After giving Usha a steroid injection to ease her altitude sickness, they pushed and dragged her down the treacherous south side of the summit for four hours until they reached Camp IV, at 7,920 metres. They were met there by members of a team of British doctors from the Caudwell Xtreme Everest expedition and others from Mr Hahn’s International Mountain Guides group.
“The doctors were a huge help in stabilising her,” Mr Hahn said. Realising that they would have to take Usha to Camp III, at 7,300 metres, where the rest of the British team was waiting, Mr Hahn and his four colleagues wrapped her in a sleeping bag and strapped her to a sled. Accompanied by André Vercueil, one of the British team, they spent nine hours dragging and lowering her by ropes across the Lhotse Face and through the rocky Yellow Band. At one point on the face they watched in horror as another woman climber fell 1,000 metres to her death. They did not reach Camp III until about 9pm, long after nightfall – and 12 hours after they had first found Usha.
“I was pretty exhausted, because I’d put my oxygen on the patient during the rescue,” said Mr Hahn, who has climbed to the peak of Everest nine times. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t think she’d survive.”
These guys are incredible enough to be soldiers, it reminds you that humans are usually pretty special.
It was the ultimate act of self sacrifice to do something for the most selfish people on the planet.
I wonder if she was a paid climber if they would have let her die?
“....they spent nine hours dragging and lowering her by ropes across the Lhotse Face and through the rocky Yellow Band. At one point on the face they watched in horror as another woman climber fell 1,000 metres to her death.”
Crazy Irony, Very unforgiving place.
I’ve read that Everest is littered with corpses (and climber’s trash).
“It was the ultimate act of self sacrifice to do something for the most selfish people on the planet.”
It sounds like you may remember that David Sharp episode, it was the first time I had heard of the, you can’t save them crowd.
They almost had me believing that there were realities that I just didn’t know about those conditions, but I just couldn’t buy it (you have to try).
Now I learn that even among rich adventurers that some of the better human qualities exist.
“A stricken climber left to die on Everest was saved by an American guide and a sherpa...”
That almost sounds like the evil American did a good thing. How did this make it past the editor?
Cold but true. "What goes up must come down" doesn't apply when mountain climbing, especially mountains like Everest.
Did this happen or not, as a soldier I would have tried to save the woman.
She is alive and a number of people know that they rose to the challenge.
It may be cold, but my sympathy for people who think that because they have enough money they are entitled to climb Everest is pretty low. They are placing their lives on the line and it's unfair to expect others to risk their lives to save you from a situation you shouldn't have put yourself in in the first place. If they meet someone like you, they should consider themselves blessed, but it's not what they're owed.
“The only people I might hold accountable for not helping would be the guides because the safety of customers is their jobs”
“If they meet someone like you, they should consider themselves blessed, but it’s not what they’re owed.”
I’m Airborne, I always fight for the manly thing.
Which means that I decide where the right is, and fight to get there, even at the sacrifice of my own life.
This women lives. Where life exists, God lives.
Always fight for the right thing.
“I’ve read that Everest is littered with corpses (and climber’s trash).”
I think that you are correct. I know that one of the bodies is that of George Mallory, a British climber who died on Everest in 1924. An expedition discovered his body in 1999. It might be disrespectful to post the picture on this thread but, for those who are interested, here is the link for it.
http://classic.mountainzone.com/everest/99/north/digital-mallory/mallory.html
Not to be cold, but why don't you go and rescue the people who are dying on Everest?
Everyone doing this knows the risks they are intentionally taking and the possible consequences. Taking the risks and consequences away from the activity demeans it and all the people who participate in it.
That doesn't mean that rescues shouldn't be attempted, dependent on lots and lots of conditions. Those attempting the rescues are deserving of commendation the same as those who succeed in climbing the mountain. It also means that those who walk away aren't necessarily doing the wrong thing. Sometimes it is better for 1 to die rather than a dozen.
“Not to be cold, but why don’t you go and rescue the people who are dying on Everest? “
That isn’t cold, it is rediculous and it was silly for you to even type it.
I’m not a super hero that can appear where ever some one needs help, any where on the globe.
I know that cowardly, weak men are common, and that your type will always look at the risk and back down, but it just isn’t my way.
I believe that regardless of how much money and effort someone has invested in their adventure vacation, that it doesn’t excuse the man from the rules of life.
I know that I can’t change you, but I can ask you to at least give support to the brave and righteous of the world.
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