Would you climb Everest ?

57Deluxe

only if there was a gift shop at the top

guitars4you

57Deluxe said:

only if there was a gift shop at the top

it would be hell of a walk to work everyday for the staff to run it - and many days I dare say no customers - positive would be they would not need fridges to keep cans of beer chilled

Cirrus

When I was a kid I read a book called "Savage Arena" by Joe Tasker,  a mountain climber who delivered his manuscript to the publishers then went off and died climbing Everest's north-east ridge.

As a ten year old I found it pretty haunting but also got caught up in the romance of it all, so at the back of my mind I've always thought something like that would be amazing. However, I've never been particularly physical and I doubt I'll ever be in a position where I would feel like anything other than a total liability on such a trip. The other thing about those high altitudes is that no matter how much you spend and how much you train, you might get there and find that your body immediately "nope"s the fuck out of there and just ceases to function, in which case your only salvation is getting back down. No one can survive for long in the death zone for those last 4,000 feet, but imagine if you got to the top of the North Col at ~23,000 feet and just physically couldn't go further through no fault of your own.

I'm starting to get into hill walking more, and I guess if I got physically fit enough I'd enjoy actual climbing, but definitely in safer conditions. I'd love to *see* mount Everest though, and I'd love to walk in Nepal.

Winny_Pooh

The only point would be for ego or to prove something to yourself, both of which are pointless ultimately as there is no accomplishment in such a climb anymore. I'd personally do Kilimanjaro, it's more beautiful with some unearthly landscape around it, rather than an ice peak in the middle of ice peaks. 

Emp_Fab

If it were possible to be cable-car'd up there in a heated car with a minibar and snacks, I'd love to see the view.  I also fancy seeing the big cravasses and scenery on the way up, but the instant it becomes uncomfortable or dangerous, I'd bail - which pretty much means all of it !

I don't understand the mentality of people who want to summit it... why do they do it ?  Surely it has to be more than just ego - to 'beat' nature ?  "Because it's there" isn't an answer.

I do find the sheer hostility of the place fascinating though - but not fascinating enough to risk $60,000 and my life to experience.

fretmeister

I'd love to see the view from the top.

But I'm shit scared of heights. Anything over standing on a chair!

guitarfishbay

No chance.

stimpsonslostson

boogieman said:

Mrs B and I did an organised tour of India and Nepal a couple of years back. One of the other people on the trip was a Danish girl. She was super fit and tough as nails (I saw her punch an Indian guy who was hassling her and she laid him out). She was going on to base camp at Everest at the end of our trip. We kept in touch with her via Facebook afterwards and found out she only lasted a couple of days, even there. Apparently the effort needed to do anything at altitude is absolutely punishing, god knows what it's like higher up. As someone else has said, sod that for a game of soldiers. 

This. I hiked up to Mckinders- the final camp before the summit of Mt Kenya. It's nowhere near as high (3,200m) as Everest (8km?) but I got horrific altitude sickness. 
no chance I'd fancy doing Everest. 

RaymondLin

No.

Sure it an experience, it's a challenge and its a bucket list and bragging rights but weighting it up against living for another 40, 50 years vs bragging rights.  I choose living.

I have looked out of the window from 30,000ft, it's nice, even nicer holding a cup of tea, eating a pudding in the warmth.

strumjoughlamps

ive heard 4G is crap up there, so for that reason I am out  

CloudNine

Wow, pretty expensive... How about a whip round to send siraxeman up there, to check for curvature?

guitargeek62

I'm heading to the base camp next year, but won't be climbing to the peak.

Emp_Fab

Really ?  What are you doing at base camp ??  I'd love to go.

HAL9000

Not for me. I found it hard enough climbing the hotel stairs in Switzerland last year and that was only 3000m.

Everest might not be technically difficult, but once you're much over 5000m your body is using oxygen at a faster rate than you can breathe it in so, even if you know how to deal with it,  it will be punishing.

Wasn't it George Mallory who climbed Everest 'because it was there'? Well, the way I see it my TV set and armchair are 'there' so I should be able to think of an evening's slobbing as comparable.

Flink_Poyd

I'm watching Everest Rescue on the Discovery Channel, looks easy sat here on the sofa with a bowl of cereal. 

lasermonkey

Absolutely not.
There's far more beautiful places to visit, ones that can be reached without trashing the place in the process.

axisus

Sounds like a great thing to do, but all the people who have gone up over the years have dumped tons of rubbish all along the route and also at the top. It looks like a right sh*t heap, not a place of beauty at all. Apparently it is also marred by tons of human excrement. lovely.

Cirrus

guitargeek62 said:

I'm heading to the base camp next year, but won't be climbing to the peak.

I, too, want to know more.

duotone

No, 

Im not one of those Facebook/instagram people, so if I did do it, it's not something I would advertise. If I wanted to do it, it would be for me, but it just doesn't interest me.

Sambostar

duotone said:

No, 

Im not one of those Facebook/instagram people, so if I did do it, it's not something I would advertise. If I wanted to do it, it would be for me, but it just doesn't interest me.

You can't get a wifi signal at 29 thousand feet.  I think I'd rather stick my penis in a blender.