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Post by ecocentric on Nov 17, 2015 12:27:01 GMT -8
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desert dweller
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Post by desert dweller on Nov 17, 2015 12:56:32 GMT -8
I think I saw that listed on Netflix.
I'll check again when I get home.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2015 14:55:46 GMT -8
Only the Sherpa guides know how to climb Everest. They do the work, carry the gear, set up the ropes, and take the risks. But historically, movies are made to make the privileged Westerners look like the heroes. The real work and the hazards faced by the Sherpas are cut from the movie.
After 16 Sherpas are killed in an avalanche, the other Sherpas wish to stop and honor their dead. For that they are called "terrorists." So, yeah, I'd say it is way past time to show the Sherpas' side of the story. Good article.
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BlueBear
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Post by BlueBear on Nov 17, 2015 15:57:56 GMT -8
Looks good, I'll probably check it out some evening here if it ends up on Netflix (I don't think it is yet, still making the rounds at movie festivals).
It also reminds me, not that I needed it, that I have little desire to climb Everest. There are so, so many possibilities for truly adventurous outdoor accomplishments--whether it's climbing, paddling, long-distance trekking, what have you--that do not involve joining a congo line with a hundred other wealthy trekkers all of whom have been coddled with 90% of the work already done for them. If you're actually in it for a challenge and an adventure, I just don't see the draw, I guess. Saying "I climbed an unnamed first-ascent peak in Pakistan/Antarctica/Baffin Island/Greenland/what-have-you" just doesn't have the same ring at a cocktail party, I guess, even if the adventure would be 100x more authentic. Or something. Obviously I don't understand it, and I'm okay with that. I know I'm far from the only person here with that general sentiment.
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amaruq
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Post by amaruq on Nov 18, 2015 4:39:51 GMT -8
I know I'm far from the only person here with that general sentiment. I've only ever met one other mountaineer/adventurer who had any interest in climbing Everest. And that was at her Everest trip-report presentation to the local MEC (Canadian REI) membership which I happened to stumble into. I think MEC was one of her sponsors, so she was compelled to do so. My personal demon is Thor Peak. Not a particularly technical climb (East side), but it sports the highest vertical drop on the planet (1250m, West side). I will have a look into this film for sure.
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toejam
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Post by toejam on Nov 18, 2015 5:21:40 GMT -8
I was never interested in climbing Everest until I talked to a guy who'd done it a few times. His stories were fascinating. He's a guide who was stuck at high camps during the last two disasters. He also put in ropes for an alternate route off Hillary Step to lessen the bottleneck the year before, so the Sherpa don't do all the work. They are just guys trying to make a living. Some are scoundrels & thieves. They deserve more recognition, and they get it from the real climbers & guides.
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FamilySherpa
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Post by FamilySherpa on Nov 18, 2015 5:38:50 GMT -8
I'll definitely give this a watch. I have no interest in climbing Everest, but I'm always captivated by stories & documentaries about it.
I think I've probably read about 10 different Everest books, most of which are first hand accounts, and I don't think any of them fell short of defining the sherpas as the real heros on the mountain.
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Post by tipiwalter on Nov 18, 2015 6:07:27 GMT -8
People interested in this story should research Grayson Schaffer who talks about Sherpas, Mt Everest and the risk mitigation of climbing clients. I think he calls it Outsourcing the risk for climbing---to the Sherpas. www.npr.org/2013/08/14/206704533/on-mount-everest-sherpa-guides-bear-the-brunt-of-the-dangerI have a very low opinion of climbers who don't set their own ropes and carry all their own gear. If Messner can do a solo Everest climb without oxygen, so can everyone else. Or try. Guide Services in my opinion have ruined the Everest experience by coddling their clients. Here are some solutions: No oxygen allowed For every piece of gear you leave on the mountain including rope and tents and oxygen bottles there will be a $10,000 fine---per each item. Pack It In, Pack It Out. No helicopters allowed in Base Camp and no helicopter flights EVER to the top of Everest. You will carry the icefall ladders and You will carry the ropes and tents and food and everything else. Or go home and hike the Virginia Creeper Trail. Obviously I'm steamed by the entitlement mentality of Western and other client climbers.
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Post by ecocentric on Nov 18, 2015 7:19:52 GMT -8
If I am ever lucky enough to visit Nepal, I'll spend most of my time below snow line botanizing. I'd love to visit the coast of Greenland. Baffin and Ellesmere Islands. Climbing mountains is no longer as important to me as experiencing the plants and critters that live around them. With any luck, I'll ski until it's time to take my dirt nap.
tipiwalter, I can agree with LNT and trad climbing, but very few people have the physiology of Alex Lowe or Reinhold Messner. If you are willing to carry oxygen, pack out the empty bottles. As for porters, guides, and Sherpa assists, it is an important part of the economy in places where there are very limited opportunities. Interacting with the local people and local culture can and should be mutually beneficial. Respect is the key to getting the most out of foreign travel. The costs of permits on Everest should be high enough to make a significant contribution to clean up the mountain, and approach.
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Post by tipiwalter on Nov 18, 2015 7:35:49 GMT -8
I agree that climbing is an important part of the Nepalese and sherpa economy---and so they have to live with the high death rates that go along with that economy. And with the frequent sour attitudes of their climbing clients.
As far as respect, I can't help but think of Ueli Steck and the brawl on Mt Everest with the Sherpas. Also included were European climbers Simone Moro, Steck, Jonathan Griffith and Marty Schmidt.
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amaruq
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Post by amaruq on Nov 18, 2015 7:45:02 GMT -8
no helicopter flights EVER to the top of Everest. That one is pretty easy. Helicopters hovering in ground effect can reach about 14,000 ft (Agusta A109E). At full power and forward motion one may push as far as 25,000 ft, but that's not very useful for picking up or depositing customers. Everest is over 29,000 ft high.
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Post by tipiwalter on Nov 18, 2015 13:55:40 GMT -8
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Post by tipiwalter on Nov 18, 2015 13:59:29 GMT -8
Question is, if I pay $70,000 for a chopper ride to the top of Everest, can I say I summited?
Or how about if I decide to explore one of the last wilderness areas on Planet Earth and set up camp in the South Col of Everest and then be buzzed by a helicopter taking fat tourists up to the Col or beyond? Sort of ruins the whole alpine experience for me. Might as well stay in the GSMNP and listen to racing Harleys on the Newfound Gap road.
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FamilySherpa
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Post by FamilySherpa on Nov 18, 2015 14:05:02 GMT -8
Many new helicopters can reach 30k ft. Finding a suitable landing area is the trouble.
I don't actually think its possible to be on a normal Oxygen supply and still clean up your own empty canisters, unless you are paying someone else to do it. Some guide services have a dedicated team of oxygen schleppers that haul the empties down at the end of the trip, but since there is no regulation, few actually do it.
I agree that something should be done about the discarded canisters, but I think eliminating the use of oxygen would probably just lead to more deaths and dangerous high mountain rescues. I'm not sure the restriction would actually dissuade people from attempting. If anything, it might invite more climbers, who would consider it an even bigger challenge.
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toejam
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Post by toejam on Nov 19, 2015 5:39:19 GMT -8
I have a very low opinion of climbers who don't set their own ropes and carry all their own gear. If Messner can do a solo Everest climb without oxygen, so can everyone else. Or try. Guide Services in my opinion have ruined the Everest experience by coddling their clients. This is just so clueless. There's no reason for you to be steamed - Everest has no relation to the places you backpack. Don't be such a hater.
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