Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Climbing Mount Everest
I keep putting off my intentions to blog on this topic. I figure that if I get farther from the time that it started to bother me, I'd feel less strongly about it. Then I watched the news this morning. Okay, so I'm going to blog on this topic.Mount Everest. Climbing it. And, just to clarify, right off from the start, NO, I do NOT have a desire to climb that mountain. And, the more I learn about those who DO climb that mountain, the less I would be inclinded to do so, even if I were to ever get into mountain climbing.
What I want to write about today is how much it bothers me the way that climbing Mt. Everest has become big business. I started thinking about this when I read "Into Thin Air" a couple of months ago. Since then I have watched several documentaries on Climbing Mt. Everest.
I know that there are people out there who are "thrill seekers". They're often out there taking risks and always chasing that next and more exciting thrill. Many of the thrills that these folks attempt wouldn't bother me (I mean, I probably wouldn't try them myself, but I have no problem with other people trying them). For example, I would never go bungee jumping, but really, I've got no problem with the fact that other people do it. Yeah, it might not always be good for you, but I drive in DC area traffic every day, and my chances for physical endangerment are probably higher than any bungee jumper out there. :-)
Or extreme skiing or other "extreme" sports. Fine ... play your sport. Enjoy it. In fact, I probably wouldn't be able to imagine some of the thrill seeking done by people with enough money to pay for the really BIG thrills. These are not the kinds of things that I'm talking about.
Let's take a look at your average quest for getting to the peak of Mt. Everest. Here is a British site that outlines everything that is involved in attempting to climb Mt. Everest. The thing that gets me is the quote that the guided tour alone costs £29,000 (which is equivalent to about $54,000 USD). That is actually a lower number than what I've heard/read elsewhere. I've heard anywhere up to about $80,000 USD. That does not include the cost of insurance, tips (for the Sherpas, or local climbing workers), training or equipment. I'm not sure if it includes the hefty fee that the government of Nepal (or Tibet on the other side of the mountain?) will charge for the permit to climb. That's a LOT of money for a thrill.
So. Let's say that you've put up all of that money to do this very risky thing. You are well aware that people die every single year in their attempt to climb Everest. And every year we hear the stories about climbers who were left for dead. There are various reasons why a person who is still alive would be "left for dead". Let's say that they are so close to death that their climbing partners didn't think that they'd be able to make the descent to safety (air rescues are impossible beyond a certain height up the mountain). Or maybe rescuing a dying climber would endanger the lives of the rescuers.
But let's look at a third possibility. There have been many instances where a climber in trouble was passed by many (and I mean many) other climbers who didn't want to stop to help. They didn't want to stop because they knew that they had only a very small window of time in which to complete their own quest for the peak. So it's either help a dying person ... or get to the peak for which they've paid a LOT of money. Let's say that you paid all of this money and that you're completely well aware that there WILL be climbers killed on Everest this year, like every other year. I would have to guess that you make the decision ahead of time as to whether it's worth giving up all of the money you paid to attempt to help save someone's life, even if they may already be beyond saving ... or to walk right past them on your way to your own summit experience.
Climbing Mt. Everest is absolutely nothing more than sheer tourism. It's absolutely high priced tourism, but tourism nonetheless. I would question whether it's even ethical to attempt to climb Mt. Everest. In simply attempting the climb, you are automatically putting others' lives in danger. Here is an article I found about the ethics of climbing Mt. Everest.
The Sherpas are working on the mountain. In fact, they probably don't have much of a choice, in that it's my understanding that there aren't many ways for the Sherpa people to earn income outside of working the tourism industry on the mountain. They were a poor people to begin with, and the climbing industry has become their only true income. It's probably not a fun trip for any of them. And, in fact, many who are killed on the mountain every year are the Sherpas. Did you know that Edmund Hillary did not arrive at the summit of Mt. Everest alone? He was with a Sherpa guide. One of the documentaries showed the youngest of Sherpas (about 12 years old) carrying VERY heavy loads for the tourist groups (they carry loads on their backs attached to straps across their foreheads).
In my mind, I can justify (to a certain extent) space exploration. I liken it to exploration of our continent (or others) that took place a few centuries ago. And I can justify certain pursuits which are only undertaken for the purpose of one's own personal satisfaction (I myself have proven that I am able to spend 60+ days driving across the country alone ... and it didn't hurt anyone, did it?) But climbing Everest? It has no point (except to prove something to someone or to oneself).
So ... the question that I am often left thinking is whether the sport is worth it or not. You can say that everyone who goes up on the mountain knows that they might not come down. And you're probably correct. But does the fact that one does something for the pure sport of it justify the undertaking completely and without any alternative circumstances to consider?
Side note: I also watched a documentary on climbing Kilimanjaro over the weekend. It was very interesting, and seemed to me to be MUCH more justifiable. There were two children (ages 12 and 14 I think) in the group that climbed it for the film. The Tanzanian guide who led the expedition had climbed Kilimanjaro about 250 times in his life. There is a crater near the top of the mountain and all sorts of volcanic history and geography there. If I'm going to climb a famous mountain some day, maybe it ought to be Kilimanjaro!
Okay ... off of my soapbox for now. I don't even know if any of you will get to the end of this post, it's soooo long. If so, leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts.
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