Mountains laying them out again

**JABIII** · 05-19-2019, 05:50 PM

In the last two weeks, six of the world’s tallest mountains have seen eight deaths and three climbers go missing (all of whom are presumed dead). And all of this has come before the largest summit push in Everest’s history, which is expected to begin early next week.

The deaths have occurred on Everest, Cho Oyu, Annapurna, Makalu, Kanchenjunga, and Lhotse. They’ve included one Sherpa, two people making bids without supplemental oxygen, and five Indian climbers.

Everest
An Irish climber, Seamus Sean Lawless, 39, went missing at 27,500 feet when he became separated from his group. Witnesses report that he fell near the Balcony, a key feature on the route, then disappeared. Search efforts were called off Friday, when high winds returned to the peak, though friends and family have started a GoFundMe page to help pay for continued search-and-rescue efforts.

And Indian climber Ravi Thakar died inside his tent from an altitude-related illness at the 26,000-foot South Col after summiting.

Kangchenjunga
At 28,169 feet, this mountain is known as one of the more difficult 8,000-meter peaks. This week, two Indian climbers, Biplab Baidya and Kuntal Karar, died from altitude-related issues.

Chilean Rodrigo Vivanco is presumed dead after getting separated from his group; he never arrived at camp after summiting.

Makalu
The well-known Peruvian climber, Richard Hidalgo, was found dead in his tent at 20,669 feet on Makalu. He’d spent the previous day with a Sherpa team installing a fixed line for safety. He was climbing without supplemental oxygen.

Indian climber Narayan Singh died of altitude illness at 26,900 feet.

Dipankar Ghos, 52, from Kolkata, India, is missing after he summited on Friday.

Lhotse
Bulgarian climber Ivan Yuriev Tomov was found dead in his tent after summiting Lhotse.

Cho Oyu
Phujung Bhote Sherpa died after falling into a crevasse while fixing rope near Camp 2.

Annapurna
Chinese climber Wui Kin Chin died two days after being rescued from 27,500 feet up Annapurna, considered the deadliest of the fourteen highest peaks. He'd spent three days stranded after developing an altitude-related illness.

We’ll continue to update this article throughout the spring Himalayan climbing season.

https://www.outsideonline.com/239687..._medium=social

**Calibogue** · 05-19-2019, 06:27 PM

Dayum...

**DoubleSprig** · 05-19-2019, 06:42 PM

almost everyone on earth is not cut out to conquer Everest. However every single one that tries knows the risks of "playing those games".

Sorry, don't feel pitty for them.

**Catdaddy** · 05-19-2019, 06:56 PM

Originally Posted by DoubleSprig

almost everyone on earth is not cut out to conquer Everest. However every single one that tries knows the risks of "playing those games".

Sorry, don't feel pitty for them.

When you get into your sixties, your eyes may not be as sharp,.....but you can still see clearer than when you were in your thirties.

That is one risk that is not worth the reward. Life is short enough as it is.

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**GMAC** · 05-19-2019, 07:16 PM

Folks have different priorities. Most sane people don't relish the idea of getting up at 4am, taking a 30 minute boat ride in sub freezing darkness, having your feet go numb, probably getting wet, all for the off chance of killing a bird that tastes like liver.

**Calibogue** · 05-19-2019, 07:25 PM

It was something I thought I wanted to do once upon a time many years ago.... Until I learned what it would cost!
Fuk that....

**wskinner** · 05-19-2019, 07:28 PM

Originally Posted by GMAC

Folks have different priorities. Most sane people don't relish the idea of getting up at 4am, taking a 30 minute boat ride in sub freezing darkness, having your feet go numb, probably getting wet, all for the off chance of killing a bird that tastes like liver.

The hell you say!

**Moonlight Hunter** · 05-19-2019, 07:32 PM

I researched it hard about a year ago, not to actually do it but I just went down a rabbit hole and became interested in the whole deal. Apparently, people who can't make it are essentially just left there to die. I'm talking about once you get high enough to where the oxygen level is super low and the temperature is low enough to cause frost bite in a couple minutes. There was one guy who wrote a blog about his experience, and said he walked by two guys flopping around in the snow on the way up, and they were frozen solid on his way down. He thought one might be lucid enough to scoop up and carry down, but when he went to check him, the guy started tearing off his clothes and trying to get away from him. The Sherpa grabbed the good samaritan climber before the compromised guy could rip his mask off or cause him any injury. His group lost one climber, and he almost didn't make it because another climber in his group lost his oxygen tank towards the top, so he shared oxygen with him. The climber in his group who died froze in a storm they rode out at the last camp they were at. Dead bodies liter the way up.

No thank you.

**Calibogue** · 05-19-2019, 07:38 PM

Yep....

**Highstrung** · 05-19-2019, 07:47 PM

I know three guys who have climbed to the last base camp, it's silly expensive and takes a long time. The price combined with the time and all of that just throws it off for me. I mean is there a way you could be just dropped off near the top.. maybe in a trolley with heat.

**Simple Man** · 05-19-2019, 07:48 PM

Watch Death Zone on Amazon Prime. Sherpas going up just to bring back the trash and 2 bodies.
Has a liberal slant a couple of times that you have to get through but the story is still amazing.

**Highstrung** · 05-19-2019, 07:52 PM

It's like two months and a hundred grand.. I can find cooler to put on my tombstone.

**Duck Nitz** · 05-19-2019, 08:13 PM

**beech** · 05-19-2019, 08:57 PM

Free Solo on Nat Geo will make your palms sweat.

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**JABIII** · 05-19-2019, 09:43 PM

Not if the last pair of blackducks in the universe were sitting on top of that hill...

**SCWOODROW** · 05-19-2019, 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by beech

Free Solo on Nat Geo will make your palms sweat.

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No kidding!! That thing gave me anxiety watching it no doubt!! I’m not leaving the ground in my tree climber without my harness on and this fool scales a 3,000ft rock face with just a bag of chalk!!

**ziggy** · 05-20-2019, 06:33 AM

into thin air is a really good book talking about the everest disaster in 1996...essentially there are guide companies that people hire to do all the logistics for the climb. two of these guides pushed their luck with shitty weather to take the summit and ended up losing like 8 or 10 people in one day. at the time was the worst climbing disaster in history on everest. the author noted that on the climb up, it is common to see dead bodies littering the route, almost perfectly preserved from when they fell. there must be hundreds of bodies still up there.