[l]

C-Wall, I'd be willing to bet anything I own (not much) that if we took a poll of who we'd most like to meet on the board, your name would make most, if not everyone's list. And the reason why can be found in your thoughtful, friendly, humane posts. Especially the last one.

[Slugman]

I'm heading up to the Enchantments, a hike as that may be as hard for me as Everest is to a top climber. I've waited for years for the right opportunity to go, good weather on Oct 15 when the permit season ends, time off from work, etc. If I don't make it this trip, it may be years again before I get the chance to go back. On my way up from Snow lake on day two of my five-day trip, I find a solo hiker with a broken leg sitting just off the trail. I haven't seen anybody else all day (OK, it's a fantasy! ). So, I just keep going on my trip, ignoring the injured hiker, because if I hike all the way out to the trailhead to get help, I'll nver have time/energy to get to the 'Chants. My trip would be ruined. So I keep going. Screw them, they knew the risks, it's not my fault or my problem. Never. Not in a million years would that fantasy ever come true. What kind of a callous ghoul could enjoy or exult in their accomplishment knowing it was tainted by death? (refering back to the Everest incident here). Maybe mountain climbers have been forced by circumstance to have a ruthless moral code that would justify such lack of action to help another person. I don't know. But if that's what it takes to get to the top of Everest, or anywhere else for that matter, then "include me out". Two other points: the first linked article stated that a distress call was made, and the second stated that an attempt at a rescue would not likely have endangered the climbers who turned aside from their summit attempt. I guess if you have energy/oxygen/good weather enough for a summit, you also have enough to share the weight of a single person between say ten other people (out of forty). Maybe my problem with the climbers who passed the guy by is my inability to put myself in their shoes to begin with. Even the amatures being sheparded up the mountain by the pros have shown a dedication to achieving a goal that is far beyond what I have ever done. Perhaps without a certain ruthlessness they never would have made it there to begin with. So the same attributes that led them to be near enough to possibly rescue the guy made them unwilling to actually do it. That is a tragic irony indeed.

[Rich Baldwin]

I don't believe it was ethical or excusable to leave the dying man simply to obtain the summit. I could understand the decision if it had to do with making sure the group of 40 got back safely. I could appreciate the difficulty of turning around 40 people at 28,000 feet. But surely, someone out of that large group could have done something.

[jenjen]

I know and have known several climbers. I can't think of a single one who would leave another human being on the side of the mountain to die while they made the summit. It's only an accident of fate that kept one of them from being the guy dieing alone in the snow. That's just not a human thing to do. Part of being a human is putting aside your ambitions to help another human out. Part of being human is making the choice to put another's need in front of your own. To do otherwise is to prove you're no better than cattle trampling a herd mate unfortunate enough to fall down in front of the feed trough. When I first read that Inglis had reached the summit, I thought that was really great. Now that I know he literally walked past someone in desperate straights assuming someone else would come along to help the man....... It makes him seem like an ego driven jerk. Yes, he made the summit without his feet -- and he left another man to die. He made that choice along with 40 other people, and I find that despicable.

[peppersteak'n'ale]

Has anyone read "Into Thin Air"? This almost reminds me of an excerpt from out of that book. Maybe it was the $60,000 they had to pay to Nepal's tourism department and the once-in-a-lifetime chance to bag Everest. According to the second link in Knobbley's first post, he wouldn't have survived the rescue: "David Sharpe was "effectively dead". Frozen, he could only move his eyes. If this diagnosis is correct, it is extremely unlikely that he would have survived the descent. No amount of help would have saved his life." Apparently, the goal of reaching Everest was worth more to this group than stopping to assist this guy, or at least attempt to rescue him (I'm sure a few team members of a group of 40 would have forgone their summit attempt to help out). I can't say what it would be like in that exact situation at 28,000 ft. (sitting here at my couch) but I think I would have at least tried to help to some degree. Perhaps Everest should be closed this season for "cleaning" until everyone figures out why they're going up there to begin with.

[GeoHiker]

I can't imagine leaving someone to die like that, but maybe it was the gawkers syndrome. Everyone see's the accident, they want to help, but assume someone else is going to. At that altitude your brain doesn't think right. You're on another planet at that height. It's hard to put yourself in those other 40, but an experience I had 15 years ago makes it possible for me to see how they could walk right by and not do a thing. I was first on a horrific head on collision late one night on 522 near Monroe. There was a huge fireball on the road as I came up and debris scattered 100 ft. in every direction. My first thought was some damn kids lit a hay wagon on fire in the middle of the road! I got out of my truck and could see it was 2 vehicles. Looked like a SUV and something else on fire butt to butt. I ran up to the SUV and tried to help the passenger out of the burning vehicle, but couldn't get the door open. Several minutes passed and a good crowd of people were standing about 100 ft. away. I yelled for someone to help me, but not a single person would. There were 15-20 people standing with their mouths open. I ran down the road to a semi and grabbed his fire extinguisher. I asked him to help and he said no way. I emptied that and knocked down the fire some. Minutes passed before a young guy finally came up and we worked on getting the passenger door open. We gave up on that and got the driver out and dragged him across the hyway and out of danger. Never for a moment was I concerned for my life. What I thought was a hay wagon was a Ford PU truck. All that was left was a frame and the bed. Everything else was gone or on fire. The passenger in the SUV was trapped and nothing we could do would release him. All we could do was stand by and watch as the SUV turned into an inferno. Finally the fire dept. showed up and put the fires out. 2 died and the driver of the SUV was in the hospital for 9 months. Alcohol was involved. To this day I still have nightmares and see all those people just standing with their mouths open huddled in groups. How could they stand there and not do anything? I don't think the passenger in the SUV would have lived, but who knows? Without knowing the details I can't say what I'd do on Everest. I know I would at least comfort the person and try to do something. I know that climbing Everest is a fierce all consuming effort that is highly competitive, so the situation is unique. What happened to Beck in 96 is almost laughable when you look at his ordeal. You gotta shake your head.

[Dayhike Mike]

[Newt]

[gigamike]

While thought of a rescue may have been unrealistic, I was most shocked that someone didn't at least stop to give him Dex and a fresh bottle of oxygen. I can believe that the expedition clients were at their absolute limit just putting one fit in front of the other but a guide would or should have had the capacity to at least see if he could have jump started the guy. Also, there is no way there was a party of 40 at that section of the mountain. The dangerous bottleneck would have formed at the Hilary Step just like '96. It is more likely that 40 climbers passed David Sharp over the course of 2-3 days. And though incomprehensible, this isn't the first time this has happened. In '96, Beck Weathers and Yasuko Namba were left for dead when they were discovered alive but immobile just above Camp IV far lower on the mountain than Sharp was. Also, in Krakauer's book, Doug Hansen had been unable to traverse the Hilary Step on the descent and Rob Hall stayed with Doug which resulted in both of their deaths. I distinctly remember reading interviews from other very experienced Everest climbers that Rob should have left Doug the second he realized Doug couldn't move under his own power and that anyone unable to move at that altitude was effectively dead- that they might as well have been on the moon. I second the notion that this incident really bothered me to my core, more so than '96. When I first read it at work, I couldn't work anymore, I just quietly left. It's kept me awake at night and I'm hoping that I'll read some accounts from the climbers that can explain how this could have been.

[Malachai Constant]

And you never really know "Dead " Climber Found Alive

[gigamike]

[Tom]

Unbelievable in all respects. Hopefully he survives.

[seawallrunner]

GeoHiker, you are very courageous, and I am glad that you took action when others merely stood and stared. I am also glad that your involvement didn't see you get injured, in the hospital yourself, or worse. Have you had an opportunity to meet with the person who recovered in hospital, after he got better?

[jimmymac]

[Brain]

I feel pretty strongly about this one and disagree with most of the people on this thread. First off, I must make it clear that it's sad that David died and I feel bad for him and his family. Helping someone at 28,000' and well into the Death Zone is not like helping someone in the Enchantments...it's not even in the same realm so that analogy is way off base. Tying your shoe or zipping your pants at that altitude is a chore which can take a long time so helping someone who can't move on thier own is usually not possible. People cite Beck Wethers as an example, but what they're forgetting is that he was able to get himself down to Camp IV under his own power (Sharp wasn't) and had the will to move on his own...he was helped, but he went down to 21,000' on his own legs. You can't just carry someone down that can't move under thier own power. There is a reason that the bodies of the deceased are left on the mountain...it's nearly impossible to get them down and puts the lives of others at risk. As for faulting people for not giving up their summit bid just so they can sit with him while he dies? That's just ridiculous. David chose to climb alone and without support, which endangered himself and others. While I don't have a problem with people soloing, I do have a problem with criticizing others when that person's conscious and calculated decision comes back to hurt them. At that altitude there really isn't a lot people can do. Guides on expeditions have a top responsibility of making sure thier clients are as safe as possible. If David wanted this protection, he could have hired a guide or at least climbed with a partner or expedition...he intentionally went alone. If a guide has to leave his party to help another climber who has very little chance as it is, they endanger their entire group and put people who aren't already at risk (beyond the inherent dangers of the mountain, which are great) in a dangerous situation. When people set out to climb Everest or any similar mountain, they are going into it with the knowledge that what they are doing comes with the very real possibility that they will die. The mountain doesn't need to be shut down so people can look at thier reasons for climbing...people die there every year and will continue to perish in the future...for many, that sense of real danger is why they climb. For every six people that stand on the summit, one person dies...people that climb Everest know that and still choose to go. If there was something that someone could have done that would have saved David Sharp's life and they didn't do it, then shame on them, but I think it's very wrong to criticize people for not helping when we don't know all of the facts and can't comprehend what it's like to function in the Death Zone (of course, if you have been there, I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts).