Everest

1
Lecture 4

• Everest

2
Mount Everest

• 8850 meters
• Separates Nepal and Tibet
• 1953 first successful climb
• By 1980, 100 climbers ascended to summit
• 1985
• David Breashers guided wealthy Texas businessman,
  Dick Bass, to the top
• Started trend to commercial expeditions
• Less experienced people climbing
• Profit was part of the goal
• 1996
• 846 successful ascents
• 148 deaths

3
Adventure Consultant

• Established 1992
• Robert Hall and Gary Ball
• Experienced climbers
• Seven Summits 7 highest peaks on each of the 7
  continents
• Included Everest
• Ball dies of cerebral edema amidst success
• Cost 65,000
• 1994
• Hall guided 39 clients
• 1995
• 100 Success
• Failed expedition due to extreme weather
• 1996
• Planned Everest expedition

4
Halls Climbing Team

• Leader Hall
• Guides
• Mike Groom
• Climbed Everest without bottled oxygen
• Andy Harris
• No Everest experience
• Helpers
• Ang Dorje
• 6 climbing sherpas

5
Halls Recruited Clients

• No experience
• Beck Weathers, John Taske, Stuart Hutchison, John
  Krakauer
• Unsuccessful attempts
• Doug Hansen (H 1995), Frank Fischbeck
• Experience with other peaks
• Lou Kasischke, Yasuko Namba

6
Mountain Madness

• Established, 1984
• Scott Fischer
• Offered climbing instruction and guided
  experience
• Fischer
• Expert climber
• 8000 peaks
• Climbed Everest without supplemental oxygen on
  4th attempt
• Inspired by Halls 1994 successful guided climb

7
Fischers Climbing Team

• Leader Fischer
• Guides
• Anatoli Boukreev
• Climbed Everest without bottled oxygen
• Neil Beidlman
• No Everest experience
• Helpers
• Lopsang Jangbu
• 7 climbing sherpas

8
Fischers Clients

• No experience
• Kiev Schoening
• Tim Madsen
• Unsuccessful attempts
• Sandy Hill Pittman
• Dale Kruse (known to have altitude sickness)
• Experiences
• Pete Schoening (Legend, 68)
• Lene Gammelgaard
• Martin Adams
• Charlotte Fox

9
Journey to Base Camp

• Base Camp
• Shelter for climbers
• Tents are maintained by sherpas
• Food, drink, communication center
• Fischers team arrives on April 8th
• Halls team arrives on April 9th
• Problems
• Polluted air and unsanitary living conditions in
  villages cause respiratory and digestive ailments
• Logistical problems
• Fischers oxygen supply, tent, supplies
• Time burden vs. planning and acclimating

10
Reservations

• Boukreev
• Readiness
• Ability
• Language difficulties
• Prepare the mountain for people vs. prepare the
  people for the mountain
• Krakauer
• Normal people
• No hard core climbers
• Others
• Team reliance
• Self esteem
• Guide climbing without supplemental oxygen

11
Acclimatization

• Performed in Mid April
• Strenuous activity
• High altitude
• Climbing mixed with rest and recovery
• Major health issues to avoid
• Altitude Pulmonary Edema
• Swelling and/or fluid accumulation in the lungs
  that leads to impaired gas exchange and may cause
  respiratory failure
• Must maintain adequate oxygenation
• Altitude Cerebral Edema
• An excess accumulation of water in the intra-
  and/or extra-cellular spaces of the brain
• Must descend immediately or med-evac

12
Oxygen Issues

• Bottled oxygen necessary for final summit
• Guides also should employ bottled oxygen for
  client safety
• Pete Schoening started using bottled oxygen at
  base camp
• Bottled oxygen was in limited supply

13
Base Camp to Camp II

• May 6th
• Problems prior to climb
• Insufficient number of radios
• Lack of team spirit
• Established 2 oclock rule
• If you arent at the top by two, its time to
  turn around. Darkness is not your friend.
• Schoening (sr -F) becomes ill
• Fischer accompanies him back to base camp then
  back to Camp II
• Hansen (H) gets frost bite and frozen larynx
• Hall forcibly encourages Krakauer and Hansen to
  continue
• Fischer handles sherpa illness and death
• Hall my word is law

14
Base Camp to Camp II

• Radios a joke
• Only three
• Held by each guide
• Kruse (F) gets sick
• Fischer accompanies him back to base camp
• Friendship has him leave the team
• Hall
• Anyone can get up
• The trick is getting down alive

15
Camp II to Camp III

• May 8th
• Harris (H guide) gets hit by a small boulder
• IMAX (Breashears) team goes back because of bad
  weather
• Boukreev doubtful about weather
• Kasischke (H) and Fischbeck (H) struggling

16
Camp IV

• May 9th
• 60 mph wind speed
• Erecting tents difficult
• Halls plan
• When weather calms, proceed to summit during
  midnight, return to Camp IV by nightfall
• No set 2 oclock rule
• Hansen (H) health deteriorating
• Emotionally driven by past failed attempts

17
Summit Day

• May 9th, 1130 PM teams depart Camp IV
• Hall and Fischer at rear
• Each client has two oxygen canisters
• Problems
• Taske (H), Hutchison (H), Kasischke (H), and
  Fischbeck (H) turn back before summit
• 530 AM
• Krakauer (H) and Ang Dorje (H sherpa) discover
  no ropes affixed for remaining 500m
• 1 hour wasted until all clients arrive
• Lopsang Jangbu (F - sherpa) assisted Pitman (F)
  for 6 hours to lower camp

18
Summit Day

• Fischer remains at back to help struggling
  clients
• His physical condition deteriorates
• Weathers condition deteriorating
• Clients opting to grab 3rd oxygen on the way up
• Noon to 1PM
• Ropes need to be affixed to Hillary Step
• 1PM
• Krakauer (H), Harris (H - guide), Boukreev (F
  guide) reach summit
• Beidlman (F guide), Adams (F) follow

19
Summit Day

• Critical Error
• Harris thought that no supplemental oxygen
  remained at south summit
• 200 PM
• No more of Fischers clients have reached summit
• Beidlman (F guide) wants to advise to turn back
  but feel too junior to advise Boukreev (F
  guide) and Fischer
• 230 PM
• Hall and Groom (H guide) reach summit with
  other clients
• 345 PM
• Fischer reaches summit
• 400 PM
• Hansen (H) reaches summit
• Hall waited for Hansen

20
The Descent

• Weather problems
• Descent pace is very slow
• Boukreev (F guide) descended quickly to Camp IV
• Decision questionable
• Hall remained above Hillary Step
• Could not provide oxygen to Hansen (H) by
  Harris (H guide) report
• Made it to South Summit
• 600 PM Hall is still there
• Fischer with serious heath problems
• Lopsang (F sherpa) goes to Camp IV for Boukreev
• Boukreev stuck due to weather

21
The Descent

• 900 PM
• Krakauer (H) and Adams (F) reach Camp IV
• Beidlman (F guide), Groom, 7 clients, 3 sherpas
  huddle together lost to wait for break in storm
• Beidlman (F guide), Groom (H guide),
  Schoening (F), Gammelgaard (F) reach Camp IV
• Boukreev (F guide) rescues Pitman (F), Fox (F),
  Madsen (F), leaves Namba (H) and Weathers (H)
• Hall radios that Hansen was dead and Hall is
  climbing down
• Sherpa team cannot rescue Fischer
• Weather makes it to Camp IV
• May 12th
• Hall, Fischer, Hansen, Namba, and Harris are dead

22
Closing Thoughts

• Recruitment
• Competitiveness
• Prestige
• Profit
• Experience
• Arrogance