Posted on 07/22/2024 11:10:59 PM PDT by CFW
These tourist trips need to be shut down.
Yeah, the climbing of Mt. Everest should be reserved exclusively for people who yearn to do it "because it's there."
Seriously: If we were to ban every dangerous activity that crazy thrill-seekers engage in... the gene pool would be a lot cloudier.
Regards,
How ironic that the sherpa's name is "Mr Sherpa." I mean: What are the odds?
On a related note: "Sedlacek" is Czech for "unlucky mountaineer."
Regards,
I don’t know what it is that makes people take on these extremely risky attempts, but it must be something innate in us as every year people keep trying it despite knowing the risks. And Mallory’s ‘because it’s there’ is not an sufficient answer.
Sherpa is a common surname within the Sherpa community. For whatever reason…
The sherpas who guide the climbers up the mountain are from several generations of a family named “Sherpa”. That is where they got their name. Just a bit of trivia I learned years ago.
freemarket.
Can we really ban people from dangerous activities because they might die? What is the red line on that? Motorcycles? Diving? Parachuting?
Sorta like lots of people have surnames like "Miller," Shoemaker," or "Baker," right?
Consider my mind duly blown!
Regards,
For ordinary people, that death may come in the form of a fentanyl overdose.
For wealthy people, it may come in the form of Mount Everest.
I disagree Alex.
“The end result of protecting people from their own stupidity is to live in a world full of fools’’.
Sorry — that’s BORE themselves to death. LOL.
If you carefully re-read my post #2 (the part after "Seriously"), you might realize that you actually agree.
Regards,
The spirit of challenge is built into humanity. Are you pretending the wisdom to decide when a risk is unacceptable? Hell, a lot of people die on freeways too!!!
I take personal risks in what I do, and they're often of deadly potential. I have to balance what I might learn and accomplish against the risk of a fatal mistake upon occasion. NOBODY really knows when death is going to bite. You can bet that virtually every one of those you decry and died in the attempt had life insurance policies for their families.
There are much worse ways to go. What you think is for only ego is usually far more complex than that. As a teen, I dreamed of climbing an 8,000m peak. I read the accounts of Annapurna, K2, and Everest's West Ridge. There were a good many instances in which I had to climb to get to where I wanted to go, solo, with the absolute assurance I wouldn't be found alive if I made a mistake. What intrigued me about the Himalaya was the challenge, the discipline and commitment involved, not to mention the beauty of those enormous peaks. Having climbed a good many in the High Sierra, they're always bigger than they look. And I always came away with a unique experience that has enriched my whole life. Ego? How dare you?
The climbing industry in the Himalaya has funded many a Sherpa family that might otherwise have endured death in hopeless poverty. To work with those magnificent people is a privilege for which the fittest among us happily pay dearly for an experience both will cherish. Try broadening the perspective just a little, please?
Live and let die.
Same reason someone would go in a tiny submersible just to see the titanic
People should have the freedom to follow their own path in life... I’m sure all these climbers were doing just that. They died doing something that meant the world to them, something they loved. Who are we to tell them they’re wrong?
I’ve always dreamed of being the first human to dance naked on top of Mount Everest. 🍺🙃
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” - Yogi Berra
It’s probably already been done.
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