Previous :: Next Topic |
Author |
Message |
Eric Hansen Member
Joined: 23 Mar 2015 Posts: 860 | TRs | Pics Location: Wisconsin |
Guardian article notes that Alan Arnette chronicles each Everest season in his blog, called the traffic jams, delays this year as insane.
"“In 2019, we are hearing horror stories of summit pushes from the South Col to the summit taking 10, 12, even 14 hours. And due to the jams, the return to the Col is taking up to another six hours, making for 20 hour pushes – that’s insane.”
His blog: http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2019/05/23/everest-2019-3-new-deaths-now-6-on-everest-15-overall/
Scrolling down there is a picture of Everest's Southeast Ridge (from Lhotse) that gives context to the narrative.
Further down is a comments section, notable for reactions that mirror many of ours. Disbelief that the Hillary Step traffic jam photo is real. Horror at what Everest has become. Grief.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Anne Elk BrontosaurusTheorist
Joined: 07 Sep 2018 Posts: 2410 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
|
Anne Elk
BrontosaurusTheorist
|
Fri May 24, 2019 8:27 pm
|
|
|
I thought the first photo surely was photo-shopped until I saw the one in the link that Jimmy Bob posted. Besides the sheer numbers, the bottleneck has to be worsened by all the selfies. Managing the trash and s*** up there must be a real nightmare now. Ugh.
"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
|
Back to top |
|
|
olderthanIusedtobe Member
Joined: 05 Sep 2011 Posts: 7692 | TRs | Pics Location: Shoreline |
So...absolutely nothing was learned following the disaster that was chronicled in "Into Thin Air." In fact it's way worse now. So it's only a matter of time and the wrong conditions until there's an even worse disaster.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Eric Hansen Member
Joined: 23 Mar 2015 Posts: 860 | TRs | Pics Location: Wisconsin |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Eric Hansen Member
Joined: 23 Mar 2015 Posts: 860 | TRs | Pics Location: Wisconsin |
|
Back to top |
|
|
drm Member
Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 1376 | TRs | Pics Location: The Dalles, OR |
|
drm
Member
|
Tue May 28, 2019 9:20 am
|
|
|
You have to wonder if stories like these will undermine the entire scenario. Will people continue to be willing to pay big bucks for this kind of experience?
The backstory of course starts with the arrival of commercial guiding. But in recent years there was conflict, even violence, between western guiding companies and Sherpas. You might try looking up the movie Sherpa as it goes into it, available on some streaming services. It really is a fascinating exploration of the western guide-Sherpa conflict. There was even a strike one year and all Sherpas left the mountain, leaving paying customers sitting in camp.
All this has resulted in the guiding service and income significantly shifting to the Sherpas. They keep a lot more of the money now and that has made it even harder to set rules to limit numbers since more money is staying local. The Nepalese government probably doesn't care that much and just wants their cut.
So practically the Sherpas are the only ones who can bring order to this situation, but they have their divisions too.
|
Back to top |
|
|
thunderhead Member
Joined: 14 Oct 2015 Posts: 1511 | TRs | Pics
|
As the season wraps up, it looks like ~11 people died and >800 reached the top safely(which I believe is an all-time record), which is near the recent trend of a ~1% death rate.
So while the overcrowding is certainly an issue it does not look like it had a major impact on death rate this year. Keep in mind more people on the route will also be able to offer greater ability to bring down an ailing climber, so it is not all bad.
|
Back to top |
|
|
slabbyd Member
Joined: 21 Jun 2005 Posts: 293 | TRs | Pics
|
|
slabbyd
Member
|
Tue May 28, 2019 3:05 pm
|
|
|
The NYTimes article states that "150 are clipped into the same fixed line". You would have to have a total lack of self-preservation and/or situational awareness to directly connect yourself to a 149 other hypoxic and frequently inexperienced persons up there.
I'm not sure if their just running a carabiner over the rope or using a mechanical ascender, ultimately I guess it doesn't matter. Even if the ropes are replaced every season I would really question the quality of anchors those ropes are connected to.
You could just image the domino effect of an anchor pulling, sending one off-balance climber tumbling into another, penduluming down across the SE face, anchors popping as they go, the ridgeline being swept clean of everyone attached. Until they all tumble off the end, like a broken bead necklace.......
|
Back to top |
|
|
Eric Hansen Member
Joined: 23 Mar 2015 Posts: 860 | TRs | Pics Location: Wisconsin |
|
Back to top |
|
|
xrp Tactical Backpacker
Joined: 01 May 2012 Posts: 369 | TRs | Pics
|
|
xrp
Tactical Backpacker
|
Tue May 28, 2019 6:09 pm
|
|
|
Charge higher prices to squeeze out some of the excess demand.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Randito Snarky Member
Joined: 27 Jul 2008 Posts: 9495 | TRs | Pics Location: Bellevue at the moment. |
|
Randito
Snarky Member
|
Wed May 29, 2019 6:14 am
|
|
|
xrp wrote: | Charge higher prices to squeeze out some of the excess demand. |
It seems you have no idea about the current rates or the type of people pursuing the summit in the last decades. If anything doubling the fees would increase demand.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Malachai Constant Member
Joined: 13 Jan 2002 Posts: 16088 | TRs | Pics Location: Back Again Like A Bad Penny |
The problem as always is greed.
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
|
Back to top |
|
|
xrp Tactical Backpacker
Joined: 01 May 2012 Posts: 369 | TRs | Pics
|
|
xrp
Tactical Backpacker
|
Thu May 30, 2019 1:55 pm
|
|
|
RandyHiker wrote: | xrp wrote: | Charge higher prices to squeeze out some of the excess demand. |
It seems you have no idea about the current rates or the type of people pursuing the summit in the last decades. If anything doubling the fees would increase demand. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
tmatlack Member
Joined: 21 Aug 2007 Posts: 2854 | TRs | Pics
|
|
tmatlack
Member
|
Fri May 31, 2019 1:11 am
|
|
|
Radio interview with president of alpine guides association based in Ashford, WA, said the traffic jam looked bad, but was caused by several weeks of bad weather and then that one day when multiple teams went for summit. His spin on traffic jam was surprisingly nonchalant, in my opinion.
|
Back to top |
|
|
Randito Snarky Member
Joined: 27 Jul 2008 Posts: 9495 | TRs | Pics Location: Bellevue at the moment. |
|
Randito
Snarky Member
|
Sun Jun 02, 2019 9:50 am
|
|
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
|