Richard
1073511392
Posted 1084571205
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#1
You're right. And he was one tough cookie.The guy that cut the rope really had no choice. He held on for over an hour, the snow was melting under him and it was cut it or both of them go over a cliff (its not like the rope was tied to his cat or anything.)
The movie was stunning visually. The story just has to tell what those guys did, no need for Hollywood embellishment or special effects. Did I mention those kind of climbers are crazy?
NotaBlazer
1073588191
Posted 1084677330
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#2
Hah! Beat you to it!
Bought the book about The Void this morning. It's less than 250 pages and I'm half-way done, so I'll run through it by tomorrow night. Even though I have a massive amount of paperwork and "homework" to do, I'll burrow through and find time to read. What a great story.
As always, the book is mightier than the movie. For the record, it was a fantastic movie, but the book goes to another level. Read first is my suggestion.
I'm an ER Nurse going for his Masters as I type, I have seen and dealt with many horrific/difficult/amazing and challenging situations. But this is a story for the books.
I won't get technical(cuz I know how much you hate that Franz) but the issues that most climbers have with food is directly related to altitude. It's complex chemistry, but altitude is a killer. The first thing that anyone learns in medical school is that oxygen is the most important factor in anyone's health...much more important than the heart and/or blood. Take a CPR class and you'll learn that.
Also, sex does matter a bit. Women have lower amounts of hemoglobin and red blood cells in their systems when compared to men...which equates to a decreased ability to conduct oxygen through their systems...add that to the decreased oxygen levels at high altitudes and you have problems. I'm not saying that chicks are incapable, but only that they have a biological disadvantage is a fact. But God do I love women.
Finally, keep the updates coming because they are facinating. I am thoroughly enjoying the play-by-play of the crazies and their accomplishments. I'm not a Cheetos eater, but if you add Pizza flavored Combos to the mix then I am all in.
FranzKafka
1073514781
Posted 1084397641
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#3
The two riskiest sections are between base camp and camp one and, naturally, the summit climb. Just above base camp the glacier is pinched thru a slot that also drops abruptly. The ice here is in block form up to apartment bldg size and is all moving 3 or 4 feet a day. A team of Sherpas is assigned to daily police the route thru this ice-fall, resetting lines and spanning ladders across crevasses - all thru a canyon of ice blocks that can shift and roll over on your little Gortexed azz any second. Climbers hate the ice-fall, dreading the many times they have to go back and forth thru it during the acclimatization process. The ice moans and groans and booms endlessly here - they say it's really nerve-wracking to cross thru it to camp 1. Noise seems to be one of the major themes on Everest - the wind across the summit and upper reaches sounds like a 747 is resting on the mountain, and endless avalanches and rock slides and ice-shifts boom and rumble around the clock. For all the aforementioned risk, an avalanche is just something all the climbers accept as a possibility.
Now, after absorbing all that, try to understand what the sheer numbers of climbers poised to summit means. Like the glacier in the ice-fall, pinched as it squeezes thru the slot, the high number of climbers all sharing the small weather window means a similar pinch is virtually unavoidable on the path to the summit. The team leaders confab and try to devise a schedule to avoid a traffic jam, but, just like the guy in the rusty maroon Plymouth Volare who just cut you off on HW 183, there are azzholes everywhere, even on the face of Everest. Eventually, it comes down to every man for himself amongst these commercial expeditions whose very existence hinges on consistently getting people to the summit - no better advertisement than a dentist from Toronto or a postman from Melbourne waving in a photo from the summit. Near the top is a section of vertical rock about 30/40 feet high called the Hillary Step. Hillary went up this section Spiderman-style during his historic climb. These days, there are ropes fixed there so that people can shimmy up and continue the hour or so trudge up to the summit. This section is a pinch point - inexperienced exhausted climbers line up and slow everything down going up AND down the mountain. The thin weather and daylight window is dicey at best. A traffic jam at 28,000 feet of frozen four-year-olds who haven't eaten or slept much for 2 days is not a good formula for safety, if you'll allow the imagery. Don't even ASK about dehydration at this point - you don't wanna know. These people are a breed apart, and the true pros are all genuine genetic freaks of nature.
So anyway, it's risky and audacious and we should be hearing some decent journalizing soon on how different teams are doing. For those interested, I'll share 3 websites I'm checking daily for updates ...
The first is a great clearinghouse for daily dispatches from several of the expeditions. Some of the reports are from the north route, and some are even from other nearby Himalayan peaks, so it can be confusing if you don't distinguish the details as you pick and choose. But, most of the news is from the south route shown in the pic linked in Part One. EverestNews.com
This second website I really just discovered and I link it mostly as an example of the growing commercial aspect of climbing Everest. This woman is not the first self-absorbed, shamelessly self-promotive, career-minded weasel to sign up to climb Everest. But, she is sorta easy on the eyes ... AnnabelleBond.com
The last link is to a website of a guy who, in my limited opinion, might be the most baddest-azzest climber on the planet, Ed Viesturs. He's going for his 6th summiting of Everest, and he's doing it AGAIN without supplemental oxygen. Yo, dude ... oxygen good, mountain bad. Read his background, pretty interesting dude. His dispatches aren't too regular or too wordy, but it's like reading a Michael Jordan diary during the NBA Finals - it's his time and his houze and there probably ain't nobody better on the planet. He is aiding a two-year project to shoot 35MM film on Everest for an upcoming feature film about Big E by David Breashears , who might be the second-most baddest-assest climber on the planet. He's the guy that did the IMAX film on Everest during the disastrous 1996 season where Beck Weathers got famous. Check out Ed's website, this guy STROLLS up that mountain ... EdViesturs.com
Finally, for all the hype I've built and the pedestals I've propped some of these climbers onto ... no words can describe or honor the lowly Sherpas who literally pave the way for all these internationals to attempt the summit. For low pay and, duh, risky working conditions, these Sherpas tote supplies up and down the mountain ... setting up tents, stocking them with food, water, stoves, sleeping bags, supplies ... linking them with fixed lines and ladders across chasms and crevasses. The one benefit of all the commercialization of Everest is the growing adventure-vacation-based income the region is experiencing. The Sherpa may be the acme of cultural hardiness on earth. What the world considers an epic life-defining event, the Sherpa just consider a job. I've got a cat, Peppering Azzhole, maybe you've heard of him ... anyway, his kitty litter comes in 25lb bags. During the IMAX filming on Mt. Everest 10 years ago the massive IMAX camera was broken into 3 pieces weighing 25lbs apiece for portage up to the summit. The pieces were combined there and filming commenced. Imagine carrying a 25lb bag of kitty litter up to the summit of Mt. Everest. 'Cause, Jack, that's just what them Sherpa boyz did.
Jeez ... I have ENOUGH trouble just transferring the bag from the shopping cart into the backseat of my rusty maroon Plymouth Volare.
FranzKafka
1073514781
Posted 1084483203
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#4
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Originally Posted by sKen
Yeah, but K2 isn't crawling with these , is it? Thought not ...
Recommended reading would be "Epic: Stories of Survival from the World's Highest Peaks." It's a compilation of short essays, stories and excerpts from great climbers on great mountains. Jon Krakauer has an essay in there about soloing up Devil's Thumb in Alaska.
Devil's Thumb
Great story, dude's nutz. Imagine a shrimp boat dumping you off on this shore and hiking/skiing the 20/30 miles up a glacier to the Devil's Thumb in the background of the pic, only to ice-axe your way up the sheer wall of that mother. Here's a view from near the summit.
Nutz, like I said.
David Breashear's book is very good, too.
Oh, and BTW, the current news from Everest is that it's GO time and several teams are heading up to the higher camps to launch their summit bids in a day or two. Let the suffering begin ...
Richard
1073511392
Posted 1084412735
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#5
Well Franz, thanks for sharing your latest interest. From time to time I have found it pretty compelling too. Those folks give us garden variety "fanatics" a bad name.
All I can say is I think I will choose to hang out on the couch and yell at my TV during NBA games. Much safer (so long as Donnie doesn't know where I live.)
I hope you don't get too fired up and head for the Himalayas.You should be forewarned that if you do and take that long step out of your tent like the Japanese guy... I'm pretty sure ain't nobody gonna take that cat of your's .
keven
1073540588
Posted 1084419545
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#6
Enjoyable as always Franz. Don't hesitate to write about any of your interests.
I also have been fascinated by Everest climbers. I think I have seen about a half dozen documentaries[probably most of them] on National Geographic and the like. Glad you threw in the strewn bodies laying along the way. Something that most don't realize. Amazingly serial I would have to imagine. One of the things I also find interesting is the time they spend at the summit. Some have a little too much enjoyment at the top of the world and they lose track of time and darkness and fate catches up to them. I think I also heard that for every 10 people that summits, 1 dies trying. Not sure about that though.
Not that I am any kind of mountain climber myself, I am petrified of height over about 10 feet. I hide my eyes when they show scary heights on TV. I did drive up a very tall and famous mountain in New Mexico when I was about 5 though, so I know how those 4 year olds felt on top of a mountain.
BTW, something I heard the other day slightly off topic was that Hillary Clinton a few years ago said she was named after Sir Edmund Hillary. It was later discovered that he climbed Everest about 5 years after she was born. That naughty girl making up stories like that.
http://maverickblog.blogspot.com/
sKen
1075841703
Posted 1084473950
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#7
To give an idea of what the odds are to get up big E, I'll relay what our Rangers told us when I summitted twice in Colorado: Only 3% (conservative estimate) of the population of the world will manually summitt a peak over 10,000 ft. The folks attempting Everest are the top .005% of those peakers.
In my profession it is a regular occurrance to take teen-agers, strap them to hiking/camping supplies, and take 3-5 days summitting a peak. We call it camp! I've had a wonderful experience attempting to get 15 passenger rental vans up to a trail head via an off-road trail that was in a bottleneck between the side of a high valley wall on the right and the sheer drop to the valley below on the immediate left. That memory is what will make be buy a Hummer someday; the suspension for a van is designed to bounce off large rocks and bouncing was not what a driver wanted to experience in that scenario!
kev, there is a road you should know about in CO. It goes to the top of Mt Evans and is advertised as the highest official road in the US (continental?). Evans peaks at 14,264 (14th highest in CO) so the road is about 14,200 when it cul de sacs. I believe it is officially Hwy 5 just West of Denver; I did not go up it, though I did drive down a goodly portion of Pikes Peak when my dad suffered oxygen deficiency, got tired, and thought it would be a good idea for his 21 year old son with a lead foot to drive down the mountain... I'm glad the road to Pikes was closed at the top, because we could smell the brakes a long time before we actually got to the bottom. On a side note this means Pikes is NOT the tallest mountain in CO, that honor belongs to Elbert at 14,443. Elbert is considered a VERY easy climb. It looks like a big hill. However Mt Massive (No 2 @ 14,421) is a much more difficult climb. It is made even more difficult now that it is the center of a designated Wilderness Area: can't take parties larger than 12-15 into it.
This brings us back to Everest. While the tallest, it is not considered the most difficult. When I last looked, that designation was on K-2 (locally called Chogori and I think second highest in the world) which is a "few hundred feet shorter" and this post from a National Geographic Forum on Everest seems to agree with the recollection:
10/18/2002 11:40 AM
Are people really this confused? I read one post (among other 'intelligent' offerings such as it's only a hiking trail) where the message was that climbing Everest is only about "ego and greed". Fortunately, I've had the opportunity to stand on Everest and though I didn't get to the top, I have the same thoughts as others who have stood on it. When you look up up at the peak, any arrogance or feelings of "a hike" go out the window. When it is thrown in front of you, you get nervous and thoughts of danger cloud your mind. It's no game. I will agree that technically, Everest is fairly moderate and with an experienced guide, a novice can reach the summit. However, true climbers know that a mountain like K2 would kill most of these 'adventurers'. Even with an expert guide team, if your not an expert climber, you will die. Guaranteed. Forget about Everest and check out K2. It's much more interesting in my opinion.
NG Everest Forum
Dwyane Wade 2006: They lost because Dirk was not the leader they needed him to be...
Dwyane Wade 2011: Did you hear that? Apparently not so fake choking sound
FranzKafka
1073514781
Posted 1084557356
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#8
Latest update - there are like 40-80 climbers at camp 4 on the south route - and as of about noon fri Tex time many of them are just beginning the push to the summit. They'll climb all night looking to summit before noon Everest time then get back to camp 4 by dark.
I guess they are around 10-12 hours ahead of DFW time - they'll summit in the morning our time, maybe noon. I think they've scheduled about 40/50 climbers a day over the next 2/3 days in trying to avoid a deadly traffic jam.
I found two more good Everest links -
This first one is VERY up to date - maybe even hourly reports since there are people nearing the summit. Check out the short video there entitled 'just to get by' for a taste of the experience from the north route - hip hop from the tip top {gang symbol}. Looks like a sharp site - MountEverest.net
This 2nd link is to a website by a guy who has attempted to summit twice and fallen short due to weather and health. He comments on the reports trying to give some insight from a veteran's perspective. Sorta interesting, some good links there - LINK
sKen got me surfing for K2 sites and info and history. This was a pretty good site for K2 history. Scroll to the bottom for some other climbing stories to choose from - K2 history
Here's another K2 site. It looks like the climbing season on K2 is later on, in the summer. K2climb.net
K2 is a toughie. Another toughie is Annapurna. I found a pretty cool site covering an Ed Viesturs expedition there - good photos and journals. Pretty slick website - Annapurna2002
Richard
1073511392
Posted 1084567515
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#9
If you are into the climbing scene, go see Into the Void if you want to get a sense of the difficulties faced. I saw it last weekend.
That film should do for mountains what Jaws did for beaches. While the film just proves most of those guys have to be nuts to do what they do voluntarily, they are some seriously tough folks mentally.
FranzKafka
1073514781
Posted 1084569019
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#10
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Originally Posted by Richard
I think it's called Touching the Void. I'm jealous, been dying to see that. I've been meaning to find the book. I think I saw Joe Simpson, the guy left for dead, on Letterman one night. He was very humble and didn't blame his partner a bit for cutting him loose. Said it really saved his life, since he had no hope of living thru the predicament he ended up in, hanging from that rope. I want to see the IMAX movie about Everest, too.
I feel both altitudinally and cinematically neglected all at the same time. Damn you, Hollywood.
sKen
1075841703
Posted 1084573766
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#11
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Originally Posted by
FranzKafka
I think I saw Joe Simpson, the guy left for dead, on Letterman one night. He was very humble and didn't blame his partner a bit for cutting him loose. Said it really saved his life, since he had no hope of living thru the predicament he ended up in, hanging from that rope. I want to see the IMAX movie about Everest, too.
I feel both altitudinally and cinematically neglected all at the same time. Damn you, Hollywood.
I saw that as well on Letterman. What are happening dudes like us watching the late night tele, when there's life to be lived, and risked, in all manners of risque behavior at our beckon call? Anyway, one of the outcomes of the publicity that followed Simpson's adventure was that the guy that saved his life (and onetime friend) are no longer on speaking terms. His partner took a lot of heat for cutting him loose...
If it gets past a simple billet, it's beyond my skills. Besides the mere sight of my physique would send most climbers into hysterics. I'm not a bad looking 230; but 230 is 230 when someone is trying to hold it up with a rope... Dwyane Wade 2006: They lost because Dirk was not the leader they needed him to be...
Dwyane Wade 2011: Did you hear that? Apparently not so fake choking sound
NotaBlazer
1073588191
Posted 1084649178
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#12
Touching the Void is a must see. An amazing mock-documentary.
You guys might have caught this story, but speaking of tough mothers.
FranzKafka
1073514781
Posted 1084651301
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#13
Quote:
Originally Posted by
NotaBlazer Touching the Void is a must see. An amazing mock-documentary.
You guys might have caught this story, but speaking of
tough mothers.
Unfortunately, the local Blockbusters doesn't stock Void, but they do appear to have the IMAX movie about Everest. Gonna go see if I can find the Void book after the Rangers game. I remember the story about that guy who cut on himself.
Latest from Everest - a bunch of people summited last night around midnight. They all appear to have made it back safely to camp 4 where fresh sherpas wait with tea, food, and oxygen bottles. The climbers coming up the north route seem to have not quite pushed for the summit yet. I've made two bad mistakes so far in all my verbage - they didn't summit at noon DFW time but midnight last night - doh - more will probably summit tonight at midnight our time. And - the 'death zone' is above 25K ft not 20k ft - that's why they put camp 3 just below 25k - last chance to rest and eat before entering the death zone. That MountEverest.net has some awewome videos of the route and camps, and a good description under the link 'route' of the south route. Great stuff.
I remembered a coupla more problems facing the climbers - at high altitude the sun BAKES you - no atmosphere to filter them UVs. Also, just about every climber gets sick from the food. [mmmmm, Yak ... again?] They also get massive headaches from the acclimatization process and a hacking cough from airborne contagions. [medical jargon - can I dance or can I dance?] The cough gets bad enough that several climbers a year suffer intense pain from their chest cartilage separating from their ribcage from all the hacking - and they still climb to the top.
Also, sex don't matter, chicks dig the long haul. That Annabelle Bond woman I was ragging on a few days ago summited last night. I'm sure we'll read all about her ordeal at her me me me website.
For once, I ask, where were the Yeti to whisk her away and devour her blond azz?
Now ... where did I lay those Cheetos ...
FranzKafka
1073514781
Posted 1084749821
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#14
The 3rd wave is headed up Everest's south side hoping to summit around midnight tonight DFW time. 68 have summitted over the last two days, including this guy , who, after getting to the top, clipped on a snowboard and beat everybody back down to base camp. One climber evidently had some trouble on high. Unfortunately, his rescue ruined some other climbers' summit bids:
Quote:
Alejandro and Luis summitted at aprox 11 a.m. However Luis ran out of oxygen descending the South summit. The people from Discovery Channel gave him one bottle. A little below Tom and Andres were climbing but Tom was in bad shape.
According to the people from Discovery Channel (Héctor and Andrew), he was falling over and over, had a broken crampon and was delirious. So they tried to convince him to accept some oxygen and descend.
It was not easy to convince him. Andrés helped. Finally they gave him some diamox and dexametasone and connected him to the oxygen and are helping him descend to camp 4.
Héctor and Andres assessed the situation and Andres decided to quit climbing and instead descend. I think this must have been a very hard decision but a correct one since now there is a rescue operation going on. Tom couldn't be in better hands than with Andrew Lock and Hector Ponce de León. So the situation is dramatic but controlled. Alejandro and Luis are also descending. I wish I had better news than these, but I am also glad they are not worse, thanks to the help of the Discovery Channel Team.
I think Ed Viesturs and the IMAX boyz are heading up tonight. They've spent the last two days hanging from the side of Everest filming the mountain and climbers for a future movie version of Into Thin Air. Ed's site finally has a coupla updates.
Scanning all the latest dispatches, I get the feeling that lots and lots of people are on their way up tonight. There are even a coupla teams on the north side who have finally set out for the summit. The weather seems to be holding steady so far. I read where the modern fatality rate on Everest is 4.4% - most of the nearby Himalayan mountains are much deadlier to climb - 2 or 3 times moreso. Still lotsa people trying to get to the top, but no body count so far. I feel so Nascar - only interested in the crash and not the race. Unfortunately it's almost inevitable somebody's gonna die trying.
Richard
1073511392
Posted 1084802089
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#15
I know this a bit wet blanket, but, the way this "operation" is run now days, with pre-stocked camps all along the way, oxygen, on site medication, competing film crews and satellite communications and sherpas doing most of the hard work... kind makes me wonder why they don't just install a gondola and let the rest of us tourist say we've been there too.
I notice no one else has climbed that mountain in South America that almost killed those two guys in "Touching the Void." The climbers doing it for real are crazy, but impressive. Maybe the ecotourist climbers doing Everest could run down there and really prove what a challenge they have conquered. Hehe.