Three Fatalities on Everest

[ZimZam]

While on the descent-

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060523/ap_on_re_as/everest_deaths

[bagsers]

What does that mean "died from exhaustion"? Do they mean hypothermia???

[chelle]

Are you trying to argue semantics here? If they were too exhausted to go on and sat down, does it matter? They're dead.

[MarkMcJizzy]

On the BBC this morning, Sir Ed was ripping climbers for continuing their ascents. While at least one climber huddled in a snow cave 300m below the summit, dying, other climbers passed him on their way to the top.

[dalius]

BBC LInky

 

Mr Sharp, who had climbed alone, was on his third climb of Everest when he apparently ran out of oxygen about 984ft (300m) below the summit as he made his descent

 

Exhaustion = "I ran out of bottled oxygen"

 

Seems like relying on bottled gas to get your ass to the top has its consequences.

[minx]

Are you trying to argue semantics here? If they were too exhausted to go on and sat down, does it matter? They're dead.

 

dead is dead. don't be a jerk about it.

[DirtyHarry]

On the BBC this morning, Sir Ed was ripping climbers for continuing their ascents. While at least one climber huddled in a snow cave 300m below the summit, dying, other climbers passed him on their way to the top.

 

If you sold some of your stock options to pay the $857,085.56 to climb Everest, you wouldn't stop either!

[underworld]

exhaustion doesn't kill, just like falls don't kill. in each case, it's the stopping that kills.

[skeletor]

Sharp was trying to climb without oxygen. He supposedly took two bottles with him as a back-up. Some Sherpas from Inglis' group (the double amputee)gave him some extra oxygen, but it's unclear to me what Hillary expected the climbers to do. It's not like they could have dragged the guys down from 300 meters below the summit.

[gavastik]

What does that mean "died from exhaustion"? Do they mean hypothermia???

 

There's an article about a Russian climber's death on 05/22 on risk.ru (in Russian). Not sure if it's the same incident as reported above, but this is what risk.ru say:

On May 21st a team of 20 people attempted to summit, all using oxygen. 16 of them did summit, 4 others got to about 8,600-8,700 meters. Everybody made it down to the 7,800 camp that day in good weather and good spirits. The next day (May 22) as they were preparing to descend, one of them - a 54-year-old man (who was among the non-summiteers) felt sick, complained of lack of oxygen and inability to breathe (even though he was using bottled oxygen). Raising the volume of oxygen from 2 to 4 l/min didn't help. A doctor-recommended injection of dexametanose (sp?) didn't help. He died. It was impossible to carry his body all the way down; so the guides and expedition members covered his body in sleeping bags and rocks; then descended to base camp.

 

This is just one of the tragic incidents; but this one doesn't sound like the one where the climber was left to die just below the summit. It could be a "death from exhaustion"... RIP.

 

I never know how to write about these things...

Paulina

[KaskadskyjKozak]

What does that mean "died from exhaustion"? Do they mean hypothermia???

 

There's an article about a Russian climber's death on 05/22 on risk.ru (in Russian). Not sure if it's the same incident as reported above, but this is what risk.ru say:

On May 21st a team of 20 people attempted to summit, all using oxygen. 16 of them did summit, 4 others got to about 8,600-8,700 meters. Everybody made it down to the 7,800 camp that day in good weather and good spirits. The next day (May 22) as they were preparing to descend, one of them - a 54-year-old man (who was among the non-summiteers) felt sick, complained of lack of oxygen and inability to breathe (even though he was using bottled oxygen). Raising the volume of oxygen from 2 to 4 l/min didn't help. A doctor-recommended injection of dexametanose (sp?) didn't help. He died. It was impossible to carry his body all the way down; so the guides and expedition members covered his body in sleeping bags and rocks; then descended to base camp.

 

This is just one of the tragic incidents; but this one doesn't sound like the one where the climber was left to die just below the summit. It could be a "death from exhaustion"... RIP.

 

I never know how to write about these things...

Paulina

 

Vichnaya pam'yat'.

[RocNoggin]

doesnt that bring the total number of deaths this year up to 9? business as usual on the big hill...