You Pay Thousands to Get in, and They Don’t Even Bury You

A while ago, I wrote an entry about mountain climbing. I was disgusted to learn that many people who climb mountains refuse to help other people when they get in trouble, even when helping isn’t necessarily dangerous. And I mentioned someone I knew, who died on Mount Everest. I had only heard the story secondhand; there was no information available on the web, either, so I couldn’t learn anything new.

For some reason, I just Googled it again, and there is new information, and it turns out what I was told was right. It happened on a day in late summer, in the Nineties. He and his group were taking what is known as the northern route, without Sherpas or oxygen. He died in what is described as “a crevasse accident,” while climbing alone.

I had heard that his death was caused by his refusal to take advice; that he had wandered off from the group, knowing it was dangerous. But it was just gossip.

I decided to look into the safety rules for climbing. I knew there had to be some. And here is what I found. A nearly endless number of sites repeat the same thing: “never climb alone.” That certainly makes sense to me. People die on high mountains, even when they have plenty of capable companions. Climbing alone almost seems like evidence of a death wish.

What an awful thought. He must be up there right now, mummified in a dark, frozen crevasse, still wearing his climbing gear. He’ll be there as long as Everest stands. And who knows what his death was like? It may have been quick, or it may have taken a day or more. I assume there was no way to help him; the crevasses up there can be extremely deep.

It must be horrible, being in a situation like that, knowing you did it to yourself, and that no one is going to help you, and that all you have to look forward to is feeling your limbs freeze and then passing out. It has to be even worse, if you know passing climbers can help but choose not to, because–you have to understand–they spent a lot of money on their Everest vacations.

The guy that led the group has a website. He puts up cheery paintings from Tibet and Nepal; some from the year of the accident. Looks like he got over it. It has to be strange, making a living in a field where seeing your customers die unnecessarily is a normal part of the job. If I ran a business where customers routinely died on me, I’d probably look for some other way to pay my bills.

I think the rule for helping alpinists in trouble should go like this: you should be allowed to refuse to help another climber, simply because of the money you’ve spent, PROVIDED you go visit his loved ones afterward, face to face, and explain your decision to them. If you can do that, you’re so crazy you deserve to be excused.