Would you climb Everest ?

blueskunk

I'd love to hang around the base camps at the bottom and find a Sherpa who like to get proper high but as far as climbing up, nah.  

Lots of respect for those who do though.  

blueskunk

TempleBall

Snap

Yes. Most definitely I would. I'd jump at the chance. Earlier in the post, someone mentioned about the effort required at altitude. I've done some of the big ones in Europe, and its surprising how much harder it gets as you get higher. Over 10,000 feet you really start to feel it, its weird. I imagine at 20,000 feet it would be very hard, even with oxygen.

Its just so weird: you know you are fit but the height really saps you - even walking at speed made me gasp a bit.

Snowdon, that'll do then.

jellyroll

I'll stick to the wilderness of Primrose Hill

crunchman

Snap said:

Its just so weird: you know you are fit but the height really saps you - even walking at speed made me gasp a bit.

On Kilimanjaro the guides kept telling us Pole Pole.  Pole (pronounced polay) is the Swahili for slow.  If you go too fast then you get into oxygen debt but you can't get enough oxygen to recover.  The last bit to the summit isn't that steep but you go really slowly.  From memory it took about an hour and a half to do less than 2km.

Snap

crunchman said:

Snap said:

Its just so weird: you know you are fit but the height really saps you - even walking at speed made me gasp a bit.

On Kilimanjaro the guides kept telling us Pole Pole.  Pole (pronounced polay) is the Swahili for slow.  If you go too fast then you get into oxygen debt but you can't get enough oxygen to recover.  The last bit to the summit isn't that steep but you go really slowly.  From memory it took about an hour and a half to do less than 2km.

I bet that was brilliant, I would love to achieve something like this. I bet the feeling at the top was immense!

crunchman

Snap said:

crunchman said:

Snap said:

Its just so weird: you know you are fit but the height really saps you - even walking at speed made me gasp a bit.

On Kilimanjaro the guides kept telling us Pole Pole.  Pole (pronounced polay) is the Swahili for slow.  If you go too fast then you get into oxygen debt but you can't get enough oxygen to recover.  The last bit to the summit isn't that steep but you go really slowly.  From memory it took about an hour and a half to do less than 2km.

I bet that was brilliant, I would love to achieve something like this. I bet the feeling at the top was immense!

It was a great feeling, but it was really tough physically.  When we got down though it was "never again".  Nearly 4 years on though I wouldn't mind doing it again.  I'd need to get fit though.  I've got very unfit (by my standards at least) and put on a stone and half since I got back.

It was the first time I'd been to Africa as well which was a good experience.  I've got friends who work with poor kids in Dar-Es-Salaam.  Getting to see what they do was very eye-opening.

Teetonetal

Garthy said:

Teetonetal said:

I'd rather climb Annapurna or the Matterhorn, but yes I'd love to climb Everest. Been fascinated by mountains all my life and for a couple of years I was seriously researching a climb of Annapurna, just physically never thought I'd be able to do it. Financially pretty damned sure I couldn't. Also decided being dragged up by a guide is not what it's about.

Then I read the climb by Anatoli Boukreev. Put me off.

Is The Climb any good?

there is a book about the 2008 K2 serac collapse that is very good and rather tragic too.

@garthy

For any one interested in the 1996 everest disaster it makes for a fascinating and essential read. Bourkreev was painted as villain in chief in into thin air. The climb addresses that and puts the blame firmly at the feet of a badly organised tour plus bad luck. 

Tragic that he then died only a few years later. 

I went to a talk once by the first brit to climb all the 8000m peaks (forgot his name) almost every story or photo was prefaced with ....died in...

Teetonetal

@Limehouse_Blues the argument is that if you climb without oxygen you are in more control and your body more conditioned.  

If you climb with oxygen you are fucked if that supply run's out. 

This is one of the contentious points about 1996. They screwed up the oxygen tank drop. Yet bourkreev was criticised for not climbing with oxygen... yet he maintained that because he didn't have any he was more able to help in the s&r.. 

Garthy

Teetonetal said:

Garthy said:

Teetonetal said:

I'd rather climb Annapurna or the Matterhorn, but yes I'd love to climb Everest. Been fascinated by mountains all my life and for a couple of years I was seriously researching a climb of Annapurna, just physically never thought I'd be able to do it. Financially pretty damned sure I couldn't. Also decided being dragged up by a guide is not what it's about.

Then I read the climb by Anatoli Boukreev. Put me off.

Is The Climb any good?

there is a book about the 2008 K2 serac collapse that is very good and rather tragic too.

@garthy

For any one interested in the 1996 everest disaster it makes for a fascinating and essential read. Bourkreev was painted as villain in chief in into thin air. The climb addresses that and puts the blame firmly at the feet of a badly organised tour plus bad luck. 

Tragic that he then died only a few years later. 

I went to a talk once by the first brit to climb all the 8000m peaks (forgot his name) almost every story or photo was prefaced with ....died in...

Into Thin Air is a fantastic read, until you read accounts and books that show it's mostly extremely biased with glaring omissions, though it seems he was spot on with the leader of the South African team. Does the Bourkreev book include the 'after party' Sandy Hill Pitman threw in Katmandu to celebrate her summit? One could argue that she herself was one of the architects of the disaster.

Gassage

Just re highest (altitude not mental state!) gig- Glenn Tillbrook on Everest Base Camp for charity.

Limehouse_Blues

I just got back from the Alps where I climbed some of the Monte Rosa summits with a guy from my climbing club who has climbed Everest from the north as well as Gasherbrum II. He targeted Everest to realise a childhood dream. He'd done a bit of mountaineering in his youth but then had a 25 year hiatus after a recurring leg injury.

A few years ago he got back into the mountains and progressively increased the altitude over a few seasons. His training regime sounded brutal but to be honest the scariest thing he described about climbing 8000ers was traveling through tribal areas in Pakistan to reach Gasherbrum II. Armed guards all the way and frequent hostile glances from bystanders, some wielding firearms themselves.

Anyway, he's the first regular person (ie not a guide) I've met who's climbed Everest. Struck me as very focused and dedicated.

ESBlonde

I struggle with stamina and so the deep sustained effort would be unwise, that and the fact that I'm podgy and approaching 60.
I enjoyed climbing trees, lots of trees when I was younger, and given the opportunity a bit of time on the rocks is fun, but Everest is a bit touristy and far too much time/effort.