Nepal/China - 10 People in 9 Days Die on Mt. Everest as 320 pack dense trail "death zone", May 2019

[blankenship]

(CNN) Two mountaineers have died on Mount Everest after crowds of people became stuck in a queue leading to the summit of the world's highest mountain.

Indian climber Anjali Kulkarni, 55, died on her way back from climbing to the summit of Mount Evereston Wednesday. She had become stuck in the "traffic jam" above camp four, which, at 8,000 meters (26,247 feet), is the final camp before the summit.

American mountaineer Donald Lynn Cash, 55, also died Wednesday after fainting from high altitude sickness while descending from the summit.

A climber posted a picture on Instagram of the heavy human traffic on the mountain Wednesday, showing a dense trail of climbers huddling on an exposed ridge to the summit. He added that there were roughly 320 people in the queue to the top of the mountain in an area known as the "death zone."
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more:
Everest traffic jam creates lethal conditions for climbers

 

[Trudie]

Three more die on Everest amid overcrowding

Crazy! Yet they purchase permits to climb knowing the risks.

 

[Rosegold68]

thats insane!!

i think if its a case of buying a permit then it needs regulating to prevent incidents like this

 

[Trudie]

thats insane!!

i think if its a case of buying a permit then it needs regulating to prevent incidents like this

It’s like Russian Roulette w/o a gun.
Or a lottery for air?

 

[blankenship]

I think it's crazy but then I don't even like to take the stairs!

 

[Suglo]

They need to stop issuing so many permits. I can’t believe 320 people would be queueing up on the Hillary steps. That’s just crazy.

 

[Trudie]

They need to stop issuing so many permits. I can’t believe 320 people would be queueing up on the Hillary steps. That’s just crazy.

Especially knowing the risks.

 

[zecats]

All about money,I'm betting. Permits cost beaucoup $$. Some "climbers" don't even have the experience to do this and hire sherpas to basically take them up there.

 

[Suglo]

All about money,I'm betting. Permits cost beaucoup $$. Some "climbers" don't even have the experience to do this and hire sherpas to basically take them up there.

Yup. The Sherpas basically put their lives on the line to drag some of these climbers up and down the mountain. Some experienced mountaineers have been warning that something like this could happen for some time now. It’s actually a miracle that more haven't died.

 

[borndem]

They need to stop issuing so many permits. I can’t believe 320 people would be queueing up on the Hillary steps. That’s just crazy.

Yes, indeed. Twenty or thirty people stuck on or around the Hillary step is bad enuff. That's wa-a-a-a-ay up there -- no air rescue possibilities -- a medical or rescue station is impossible anywhere near there, and there is no alternative route once you get to that point. So climbers are just stuck.
Apparently the weather for climbing was worse this year than some, but it's a well-known fact that the weather is a crap-shoot, and when there is a break in the weather, everyone gets back in line and goes. Hundreds of people -- waiting for their turn to take one step toward their life's dream.

 

[borndem]

Suglo said: ↑
They need to stop issuing so many permits. I can’t believe 320 people would be queueing up on the Hillary steps. That’s just crazy.

Especially knowing the risks.

Climbers also know the risks -- or if they don't, they are surely not a good bet to even get halfway up the mountain. Weather, number of climbers, the skill of climbers, and the trek leader and guides have everything to do with this effort -- and all of those things are controllable except one.
The weather window for making the to/from trip is not large and it seems that the timing of which group starts when is no better coordinated than in many years past -- another factor that could be controlled but apparently is not -- it often is coordinated between some trek groups, but certainly is not done by all climbers, by a long shot.

Another thing is that the Everest summit "belongs" to Nepal and Tibet -- that makes for another wild card in this thing.
How bad will this situation have to get? And who, besides the money angle, will/can "control" it?

 

[Trudie]

Yup. The Sherpas basically put their lives on the line to drag some of these climbers up and down the mountain. Some experienced mountaineers have been warning that something like this could happen for some time now. It’s actually a miracle that more haven't died.

Years ago the discovery ch had a week long marathon on Sherpa life, it was fascinating. Really offered insight on how dangerous it is atop a mountain. What a way to make a living.

 

[borndem]

Indeed, Trudie, the Sherpas are expert guides and climbers -- their ancestors have lived in the area for generations, thus making their bodies more amenable to mountain life, and mountain guiding is a good-paying job. Therefore it is a source of pride for them, but it does have such risks. A hard way to make a living, no doubt about it.

 

[Trudie]

I wonder if the remains will be brought down? Often times, they are not, for various reasons.

 

[Suglo]

I wonder if the remains will be brought down? Often times, they are not, for various reasons.

Most people who have died up there are left up there. It’s very risky and hard to bring a body down. What a nightmare for their families.

 

[human]

Poor treatment of sherpas

Sherpas and the ethics of Everest

 

[human]

How much does it cost to climb Everest

How much does it cost to climb Mount Everest? | Adventure Alternative Expeditions

 

[Trudie]

All about money,I'm betting. Permits cost beaucoup $$. Some "climbers" don't even have the experience to do this and hire sherpas to basically take them up there.

Sadly the Sherpa can’t breathe for the climber.

 

[Trudie]

Most people who have died up there are left up there. It’s very risky and hard to bring a body down. What a nightmare for their families.

I think more could be brought down if someone can ante up.

 

[Trudie]

One-Third Of Everest Deaths Are Sherpa Climbers. Rescuers carry a Sherpa injured by an avalanche that flattened parts of Everest Base Camp on April 25, 2015. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal and took at least 17 lives at Everest Base Camp, including seven Sherpas. ... Most Sherpa climbers work on the mountain.

One-Third Of Everest Deaths Are Sherpa Climbers


Interesting!