May 25, 2012
Why are people dying on Everest?
Like many of you I've been transfixed by the recent news funneling in, piecemeal, from Everest: Four climbers are dead over the weekend with the Lhotse/Everest season death tolls reaching a staggering 10 and potentially 11 individuals. More than anything, I am left with one simple question. Why? Why are people still dying on Everest.
Common knowledge was that everyone in the high altitude mountaineering community learned their lesson in 1996 when 15 people died that year (12 in the spring season and 3 in the fall) and for the most part those hard learned guidelines hold true. But in looking at the how most of these people died this year, the situation couldn't be any more different. First of all, four of the deaths were more or less 'accidents'. A sherpa succumbing to alcohol, another falling into a crevasse in the Khumbu ice fall and two other stroke victims. However, the remaining six deaths were all AFTER summits. There was no big storm like in 1996, rather these people died from a combination of exhaustion and altitude sickness on their way back down from the summit. Is reaching the top of the world worth dying for?
Full disclosure - I'm not an expert and my opinions are just that - opinions. I wasn't on the mountain this year and I don't know all the variables. My statements are based on online accounts and my own experiences, which truth be told, are very different than anything that is being experienced on the mountain this year. I climbed Everest in the fall of 2010 with a small sherpa team. We were the only team on the ENTIRE mountain for several weeks. On our summit day, there were no lines, no crowds, no other people. Just us and a whole lot of snow, ice and rock.
What most people don't realize is that there are actually two seasons for climbing Mt. Everest: before and after the monsoon. Spring and Fall. Most people climb in the Spring because the weather is getting warmer (not colder), there is less snow (or avalanche danger) and more infrastructure. However, go to base camp now and you will see nearly a 1,000 climbers and support staff. In the fall, it's colder, snowier and generally all around more difficult. Climb like we did and the fall and you will also be responsible for setting your own fixed lines up the entire mountain (we did have a little help from a Czech team who were trying for Lhotse, but failed).
In thinking about the unfortunate series of events that lead to these tragic deaths I wanted to offer my personal opinion as to why I think this happened. What should be done to avoid these deaths in the future is a subject for a future discussion.
1. Weather - Much different than in 1996 when a singular storm caused so much carnage, this year's deaths are related to bad weather during the entire climbing season. Many teams were forced to delay their summit attempts due to bad weather; therefore, when a clear weather window occurred nearly a 100 people were vying for the summit. Blame global warming (I do) but when you start getting unusual weather systems that occur regularly, somethings up. Talk to any sherpa in the khumbu and they will tell you plain and simple: their climate is changing rapidly. Therefore, old reliable systems of predicting 'weather windows' has to be thrown out the door. Regardless, bad weather conditions ultimately led to Conrad Anker's National Geographic Expedition pulling the plug as well as the delay in many groups summit attempts.
2. Too many people. You could argue that there are simply too many people on the mountain in general, but the reality is that more people have been on the mountain and summited in previous years. In the 2007 climbing season, nearly 600 people summited (almost three times the amount of all successful North Pole expeditions) and on May 23rd, 2010 the summit of Mount Everest was reached by a mind blowing 169 climbers! What would Sir Ed think? Ultimately, it wasn't the sheer numbers of people on the mountain this year that lead to so many deaths, but that most were climbing on one day creating bottle necks that resulted in certain groups (but more realistically, the people who died) being on the mountain way too long.
3. Unrealistic personal assessment. In my opinion, just because you want to climb Mt. Everest doesn't mean you should. Ultimately, I would say there are a lot of people in the world who have the ability (physical/mental) to climb Everest but not the desire. Conversely, thinking that you can climb Everest and actually being able to are two separate things - maybe not all that far apart, but separate none the less. I think having a realistic assessment of your abilities and self awareness in critical to being safe on the mountain. Unfortunately, self awareness, is not a universal expedition quality and often creates team tension, and potentially as seen in this case, severe injury or death.
Most of the climbers who died on Everest this year were all coming DOWN from the summit. While I can't speak to the variables of each situation - my quick assessment is that these climbers used up too much energy getting to the top. They had an unrealistic assessment of how much energy they would need to return as well as their own abilities.
4. Not enough training. I have one simple philosophy on expeditions. Train hard and travel easy. My goal is to put as much effort into training so the actual expedition is easy. This permeates all aspect of preparing and extends way past simply lifting weights or going for a jog. One of the critical components to being successful is understanding your body - knowing how to meter your energy, conditioning your body to eat lots quickly, understanding how to push and how to conserve and much more. Many current-day Everest climbers (and 7 summiters) are people who have day jobs. Devoting one or two hours to training every day is simply not enough. Training for Everest needs to more than just a 'work out'. One thing I always recommend to my polar clients is to simply go on a week long backpacking trip prior to departure. This conditions your body to long days hauling weight and beginning to understand the physical and mental weariness that builds from weeks on the trail.
5. Variables and mistakes. On an expedition one simple mistake opens the door for future problems to occur in greater frequency and severity. While the singular event of having a bottle neck at the Hillary step isn't a death sentence adding that fact with all the previous factors could potentially be the last nail in the coffin - no sleep, bad hydration, not eating enough, not enough training, too much time at altitude, etcÂ... It doesn't take much at 27,000 feet to have a good situation turn bad.
6. Taking care of yourself. One of the most important aspects of being a good team member on an expedition is being selfish. Now, that may sound counter intuitive but hear me out: In order to be able to actually assist someone else, you need to make sure that you are safe, warm, well fed, etc first. Today's guided expeditions place a lot responsibility on the guide to take care of everyone - and making decisions for them - when to stop, how to dress, when to eat/drink. Guides play an integral role in being being safe and successful - no question. But as someone who is both guide in extreme environments (polar) and also been guiding (on climbing and whitewater trips) I understand the difference in making your own decisions versus relying on someone else to make your decisions for you.
Ultimately, your level of personal responsibility lowers when others are in charge - it's human nature. For example, think about driving a car versus being a passenger. If you're driving someplace new, you're more than likely able to find your way back versus if you were just hanging out in the back seat.
7. Too much focus on the summit. Plain and simple.
It's tragic in my mind that people are dying on Everest. That said, I understand the need for people to push their personal limits and try to achieve big goals. But at what cost? In my mind, the world of Everest climbing, is so completely different than it's roots that some big changes need to be made. What those changes are and how they should be implemented are decisions to be made by others than myself.
Image: A message painted on a rock near Everest Base Camp.
Common knowledge was that everyone in the high altitude mountaineering community learned their lesson in 1996 when 15 people died that year (12 in the spring season and 3 in the fall) and for the most part those hard learned guidelines hold true. But in looking at the how most of these people died this year, the situation couldn't be any more different. First of all, four of the deaths were more or less 'accidents'. A sherpa succumbing to alcohol, another falling into a crevasse in the Khumbu ice fall and two other stroke victims. However, the remaining six deaths were all AFTER summits. There was no big storm like in 1996, rather these people died from a combination of exhaustion and altitude sickness on their way back down from the summit. Is reaching the top of the world worth dying for?
Full disclosure - I'm not an expert and my opinions are just that - opinions. I wasn't on the mountain this year and I don't know all the variables. My statements are based on online accounts and my own experiences, which truth be told, are very different than anything that is being experienced on the mountain this year. I climbed Everest in the fall of 2010 with a small sherpa team. We were the only team on the ENTIRE mountain for several weeks. On our summit day, there were no lines, no crowds, no other people. Just us and a whole lot of snow, ice and rock.
What most people don't realize is that there are actually two seasons for climbing Mt. Everest: before and after the monsoon. Spring and Fall. Most people climb in the Spring because the weather is getting warmer (not colder), there is less snow (or avalanche danger) and more infrastructure. However, go to base camp now and you will see nearly a 1,000 climbers and support staff. In the fall, it's colder, snowier and generally all around more difficult. Climb like we did and the fall and you will also be responsible for setting your own fixed lines up the entire mountain (we did have a little help from a Czech team who were trying for Lhotse, but failed).
In thinking about the unfortunate series of events that lead to these tragic deaths I wanted to offer my personal opinion as to why I think this happened. What should be done to avoid these deaths in the future is a subject for a future discussion.
1. Weather - Much different than in 1996 when a singular storm caused so much carnage, this year's deaths are related to bad weather during the entire climbing season. Many teams were forced to delay their summit attempts due to bad weather; therefore, when a clear weather window occurred nearly a 100 people were vying for the summit. Blame global warming (I do) but when you start getting unusual weather systems that occur regularly, somethings up. Talk to any sherpa in the khumbu and they will tell you plain and simple: their climate is changing rapidly. Therefore, old reliable systems of predicting 'weather windows' has to be thrown out the door. Regardless, bad weather conditions ultimately led to Conrad Anker's National Geographic Expedition pulling the plug as well as the delay in many groups summit attempts.
2. Too many people. You could argue that there are simply too many people on the mountain in general, but the reality is that more people have been on the mountain and summited in previous years. In the 2007 climbing season, nearly 600 people summited (almost three times the amount of all successful North Pole expeditions) and on May 23rd, 2010 the summit of Mount Everest was reached by a mind blowing 169 climbers! What would Sir Ed think? Ultimately, it wasn't the sheer numbers of people on the mountain this year that lead to so many deaths, but that most were climbing on one day creating bottle necks that resulted in certain groups (but more realistically, the people who died) being on the mountain way too long.
3. Unrealistic personal assessment. In my opinion, just because you want to climb Mt. Everest doesn't mean you should. Ultimately, I would say there are a lot of people in the world who have the ability (physical/mental) to climb Everest but not the desire. Conversely, thinking that you can climb Everest and actually being able to are two separate things - maybe not all that far apart, but separate none the less. I think having a realistic assessment of your abilities and self awareness in critical to being safe on the mountain. Unfortunately, self awareness, is not a universal expedition quality and often creates team tension, and potentially as seen in this case, severe injury or death.
Most of the climbers who died on Everest this year were all coming DOWN from the summit. While I can't speak to the variables of each situation - my quick assessment is that these climbers used up too much energy getting to the top. They had an unrealistic assessment of how much energy they would need to return as well as their own abilities.
4. Not enough training. I have one simple philosophy on expeditions. Train hard and travel easy. My goal is to put as much effort into training so the actual expedition is easy. This permeates all aspect of preparing and extends way past simply lifting weights or going for a jog. One of the critical components to being successful is understanding your body - knowing how to meter your energy, conditioning your body to eat lots quickly, understanding how to push and how to conserve and much more. Many current-day Everest climbers (and 7 summiters) are people who have day jobs. Devoting one or two hours to training every day is simply not enough. Training for Everest needs to more than just a 'work out'. One thing I always recommend to my polar clients is to simply go on a week long backpacking trip prior to departure. This conditions your body to long days hauling weight and beginning to understand the physical and mental weariness that builds from weeks on the trail.
5. Variables and mistakes. On an expedition one simple mistake opens the door for future problems to occur in greater frequency and severity. While the singular event of having a bottle neck at the Hillary step isn't a death sentence adding that fact with all the previous factors could potentially be the last nail in the coffin - no sleep, bad hydration, not eating enough, not enough training, too much time at altitude, etcÂ... It doesn't take much at 27,000 feet to have a good situation turn bad.
6. Taking care of yourself. One of the most important aspects of being a good team member on an expedition is being selfish. Now, that may sound counter intuitive but hear me out: In order to be able to actually assist someone else, you need to make sure that you are safe, warm, well fed, etc first. Today's guided expeditions place a lot responsibility on the guide to take care of everyone - and making decisions for them - when to stop, how to dress, when to eat/drink. Guides play an integral role in being being safe and successful - no question. But as someone who is both guide in extreme environments (polar) and also been guiding (on climbing and whitewater trips) I understand the difference in making your own decisions versus relying on someone else to make your decisions for you.
Ultimately, your level of personal responsibility lowers when others are in charge - it's human nature. For example, think about driving a car versus being a passenger. If you're driving someplace new, you're more than likely able to find your way back versus if you were just hanging out in the back seat.
7. Too much focus on the summit. Plain and simple.
It's tragic in my mind that people are dying on Everest. That said, I understand the need for people to push their personal limits and try to achieve big goals. But at what cost? In my mind, the world of Everest climbing, is so completely different than it's roots that some big changes need to be made. What those changes are and how they should be implemented are decisions to be made by others than myself.
Image: A message painted on a rock near Everest Base Camp.