guy dies 600 ft below Everest after making it

[keving]

A young scotsman named Peter Kinloch (sorry don't have the link) just summitted Everest then died 600 ft. below the top. Pretty sad the sherpas tried to help him for 12 hours but then had to leave him because of an approaching storm.

[Pilchuck71]

That is too bad....and sad.

I wonder if it similar to instances where people hang in there after being injured etc until help arrives and then lose the fight giving over to the rescuers/helpers and slipping away.

(did the desire for the summit keep him going..only to lose the will having made his goal?)

Bummer.

[ScaredSilly]

The guy went blind ... and was being assisted down but was taking too much time.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/everest-team-forced-to-leave-sick-british-climber-to-die-1988979.html

 

[genepires]

that must have been real tough to leave a live person behind. very sad for everyone involved.

[Plaidman]

Another reason for me not to go up there:

 

Dangers at Altitude

 

* Retinal haemorrhages – bleeding from the cells at the back of the eye – are a relatively common complaint of mountain climbers. High altitude causes the blood to thicken, increasing blood pressure, which can lead to the seepage of blood from cells into surrounding tissues.

 

* Some researchers have found that more than a quarter of climbers on an Everest expedition are affected by retinal haemorrhages. Normally, they are minor, with no noticeable effect on vision, and resolve themselves within weeks of a return to low altitudes. But in Peter Kinloch's case it appears the effects were acute and extreme, causing total loss of vision, which led to deadly consequences.

Edited June 3, 2010 by Plaidman

[rob]

Didn't a blind guy climb everest? (and descend)

[j_b]

This was a guided trip?

[Plaidman]

This was a guided trip?

Let's hope not. If it was the guide failed.

[wfinley]

He was climbing with Summitclimb. Details here:

http://www.everestnews.com/everest2010/summitclimbeverestnorth06012010.htm

 

That said -- being on the Summitclimb team doesn't necessarily means you're guided... Summitclimb offers tired services to the Himalayas. The base price is peak permit and yak/porter support to BC, then you add on what additional services you want like O2, usage of fixed ropes, personal porters etc..

 

 

[olyclimber]

"making it" for me also includes the descent.

[genepires]

I had one of our group have vision problems on the summit of rainier. She claimed to be blind but I think she could see a little but everything was really fuzzy. She could not see the trail or follow in postholes. I had to short rope her with 10 feet of rope and constantly direct her with left or right commands. Luckily we had no crevasse issues as it was just her and me on that rope. It took a while but we got back to sherman and her vision came back the next day.

 

If she had been truly blind, there is no way we could have gotten down and would have had to call for a rescue. Those sherpas must have done a heroic effort to get him as far as they did, at altitude no less.

 

If it was a guided trip, how did the guide fail? How can one predict or prevent a eye issue? From what I read, it seemed like everything was going good for the guy on the way up. Guiding at altitude is a very different game than guiding the cascades. Like the difference between checkers and bull fighting.

[nekopunch]

Didn't a blind guy climb everest? (and descend)

http://www.hulu.com/farther-than-the-eye-can-see

 

[Plaidman]

Client dies = guide fails

[ivan]

Client dies = guide fails

depends if the trip was pre-paid i reckon

[summitchaserCJB]

Ya I guess that's true. These days anyone with enough money can buy themselves a spot and get people into some hot water.

[genepires]

Client dies = guide fails

 

a elegant and simple equation indeed. One that looks reasonable but for any equation if you can find one example of an untrue condition, then the equation is not valid.

possible examples to negate your equation

-client unties from rope and jumps into crevasse, a planned suicide that was not shared with guide.

-client suffers from a unknown rare medical condition that kills him instantly upon eating oatmeal

-terrorist attack on rainier guided group.

 

Just because a client dies, doesn't mean the guide failed to do his or her job. On everest, history has shown that even the best guides can not ensure the safety of the clients or themselves. When the air is thick, the guide should have enough reserve energy to be able to ensure the safety of the client within reason. But up high....what is humanly possible?

 

Don't get me wrong. I am a believer of the guide is completely responsible for the welfare of the client. That is why I do not think that there should be high altitude guiding.

[summitchaserCJB]

Of course Gene. I don't think anyone would dispute your critique of the equation. We all know people go up to Everest that shouldn't be there. We also know that above a certain elevation there's not much people can do to save a person.

[Plaidman]

Client dies = guide fails

Don't get me wrong. I am a believer of the guide is completely responsible for the welfare of the client. That is why I do not think that there should be high altitude guiding.

 

There you go. I think we are on the same page.

[tvashtarkatena]

A partner of mine (a doc) began to experience some retinal hemorrhaging at altitude in Bolivia. Apparently, it can indicate the beginnings of cerebral edema, which can manifest itself pretty quickly. He was also experiencing some uncharacteristic fatigue. We went down the next day. It's a good thing to watch out for in your partners, particularly because it can be a fairly subtle condition at first, and one that's hard to notice (I didn't) behind a pair of shades.

 

 

[aged]

Kinloch's body remains on the mountain, 600 feet below the summit, ... Climber Peter Kinloch died on Mount Everest after reaching the mountain's summit. ...

[iluka]

A partner of mine (a doc) began to experience some retinal hemorrhaging at altitude in Bolivia. Apparently, it can indicate the beginnings of cerebral edema, which can manifest itself pretty quickly. He was also experiencing some uncharacteristic fatigue. We went down the next day. It's a good thing to watch out for in your partners, particularly because it can be a fairly subtle condition at first, and one that's hard to notice (I didn't) behind a pair of shades.

 

Retinal hemorrhages actually happen in a lot of people and often have not relation to cerebral edema. They happen in way more people than actually realize it but are often asymptomatic because they are either small or happen in an area of the retina that isn't critical for vision. Symptomatic retinal hemorrhages typically present as simply painless blank spots in one's vision. Sunglasses or not, you cannot actually see them yourself without the aid of an opthalmoscope to look in the back of the eye.

 

[Bronco]

June 8 marks the date in 1924 that George Mallory dissapeared on Everest. Did he make it to the top? I would like to think so...