i_like_sun Posted May 6, 2007 Posted May 6, 2007 I know its the highly overused and abused Everest, but shit, why WOULDN'T you want to go here???? There is just something crazy and powerful about this place......... I personally can fully understand why so many have risked everything on this mountain. Not saying I'm will to die for ANY mountain, but I can understand the sickness... Quote
catbirdseat Posted May 6, 2007 Posted May 6, 2007 Dru, you have the ability to rain on any parade. Quote
AlpineK Posted May 6, 2007 Posted May 6, 2007 Someday folks will pay to go look at all the human trash up there, and if they slip the guide a few extra bucks they'll get to take some home to put on the wall. Quote
i_like_sun Posted May 6, 2007 Author Posted May 6, 2007 Hell yes. Dude I would jump on one of the clean up expeditions in a heartbeat! Quote
astrov Posted May 6, 2007 Posted May 6, 2007 http://www.bellsfromeverest.com/ordering.html The bells turned from canisters were being offered in the mountain gear catalog year before last for something like 10 grand!!! Quote
wfinley Posted May 7, 2007 Posted May 7, 2007 I haven't been on the Big E but last year we climbed a couple smaller trekking peaks. Topping out on a peak that's 19,000' and turning around to see another peak looming 10,000' higher is pretty intense. Quote
i_like_sun Posted May 7, 2007 Author Posted May 7, 2007 Topping out on a peak that's 19,000' and turning around to see another peak looming 10,000' higher is pretty intense. Yeah, I want to go to the Everest region just to see what you desrcibed! I (most people) simply don't have an sort of mental schema for those kinds of scales. The biggest thing I've ever seen in person would be Mt. Whitney or Mt. Rainier...... I'm not sure I'd actually even want to climb Everest (climbing something less popular yes), but just to see it would be amazing. Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted May 7, 2007 Posted May 7, 2007 What I enjoyed most about my hike to Kala Patar was gingerly hopscotching through an alpine bog mined with soggy little piles of human excrement at Gorak Shep. I think it was right about then that my intestinal parasites were making their presence known. Quote
Weekend_Climberz Posted May 7, 2007 Posted May 7, 2007 Not to knock it or anything, but I can think of a couple of other places besides the crowds on the Big-E: Quote
G-spotter Posted May 7, 2007 Posted May 7, 2007 “Climbing K2 or floating the Grand Canyon in an inner tube. There are some things one would rather have done than do.” Ed Abbey Quote
wfinley Posted May 7, 2007 Posted May 7, 2007 Not to knock it or anything, but I can think of a couple of other places besides the crowds on the Big-E: I can't speak from experience but I doubt that K2 basecamp is much cleaner than Everest. At least there has been a dedicated effort from the Nepali government in recent years to clean up the Khumbu valley. When a region depends on tourism to survive it is only a matter of time before the locals figure out that trash hurts their economy. People bring trash and the only reason we don't deal with trash issues on the local level (on the scale of what you see in the third world) is because we have money and can afford to enforce violations. Quote
i_like_sun Posted May 7, 2007 Author Posted May 7, 2007 Not to knock it or anything, but I can think of a couple of other places besides the crowds on the Big-E: Yep, that too. Why not go to ALL these places??? Quote
Weekend_Climberz Posted May 7, 2007 Posted May 7, 2007 Not to knock it or anything, but I can think of a couple of other places besides the crowds on the Big-E: I can't speak from experience but I doubt that K2 basecamp is much cleaner than Everest. At least there has been a dedicated effort from the Nepali government in recent years to clean up the Khumbu valley. When a region depends on tourism to survive it is only a matter of time before the locals figure out that trash hurts their economy. People bring trash and the only reason we don't deal with trash issues on the local level (on the scale of what you see in the third world) is because we have money and can afford to enforce violations. But the Pakistani government provides incentive for cleaning up after yourselves in the form of a $5000 deposit. If you leave your crap up there, you don't get it back :tup: Quote
archenemy Posted May 7, 2007 Posted May 7, 2007 Well when those lazy gov't assholes are up there IDing your trash, why don't they pick some of it up? Quote
wfinley Posted May 8, 2007 Posted May 8, 2007 But the Pakistani government provides incentive for cleaning up after yourselves in the form of a $5000 deposit. If you leave your crap up there, you don't get it back :tup: Garbage deposit for Everest is $4000; $3000 for all other 8000m peaks. Garbage deposit for trekking peaks is $250. And they do check it; although not as closely as one would hope. It's all who your trekking agent is and who takes who out to dinner in Katmandu. However.. to put it in perspective - the garbage issue is minimal when compared to the issue of over development. Quote
chris Posted May 8, 2007 Posted May 8, 2007 (edited) There's also a great program paying Sherpa staffs for bringing down loads of trash from the high camps. I'm told that the famous pictures - like what Dru showed above - don't reflect the current view. Edit: I just broke my own ban. Goddamnit. Edited May 8, 2007 by chris Quote
sk Posted May 8, 2007 Posted May 8, 2007 There's also a great program paying Sherpa staffs for bringing down loads of trash from the high camps. I'm told that the famous pictures - like what Dru showed above - don't reflect the current view. Edit: I just broke my own ban. Goddamnit. i don't really want to summit, but i would like to trek around and maybe get involved in helping haul some of the trash off the mountain. Quote
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