Rondette posted:

Welcome to the 6th Annual Something Awful Everest thread!




Everest is the highest mountain on Earth. 8848 metres of rock.


It was first knowingly ascended by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hilary in 1953. Since then more than 4000 people have summitted, and around 250 have died trying. A lot of those people are still up there, and have become landmarks for other hopeful climbers. The most notable one is known affectionately as 'Green boots', and resides in a cave close to the summit.


Dorje Morup aka Green Boots

There is a lot of controversy about the bodies on Everest, and every year people ask why they can't get the bodies down. For a start, even though climbing Everest is much 'easier' these days thanks to modern technology, you are still battling conditions at an altitude of cruising jets, with 30% of the oxygen you are used to. Your body is actively eating itself and you have to climb a single fixed line that is also being used by loads of other climbers of varying skills, under an incredibly strict time window. It is not a place where rescues happen easily, let alone chipping decades old bodies from a rock face. The air is too thin for helicopters - the highest ever rescue took place in 2013 and that was a struggle at 7000 metres.

Everest has been a source of fascination for me since the first thread I read on SA back in 2011, and I have read and digested more than I care to remember.

A good place to start is to read 'Into thin air' by Jon Krakauer which is about one of the most famous years on Everest. 1996 was the year that 15 people died, 8 in one night when they were caught in a terrible storm. It was made into a tv movie and was made into a movie which wasn't quite as good as it could/would/should have been, but did have some amazing shots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZQVpPiOji0


2006 was another bad year, with another large death toll, including one David Sharp who was stranded next to Green Boots and left to die while people passed him by to get to the summit. The 2006 year has a lot of footage available for us to watch, as there were at least 2 tv crews up there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZLCIpovtkU


This is a good tv show but you will hear a LOT about Tim Medvitz's injuries. Also 'Ever-ever-ever-ever-rest rest rest' There are 3 seasons of this, the first two are definitely the best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_CMD4R0ufk
This series follows some guys from the British army attempting to try to climb the quite frankly terrifying West Face, which has only been successfully climbed by 19 people, and it has killed 21 people.


2014 was hotly anticipated by goons after some notable failures in previous years, including this unfortunate Canadian Lady in 2012 who photoshopped herself into some mountain scenes as part of her climbing preparation.


It didn't end well.



Unfortunately for everyone the 2014 season was abruptly cut short when an avalanche killed 16 sherpas, making it the deadliest year in Everest's history. The remaining Sherpas refused to work out of respect for their colleagues, and probably knowing it was next to impossible to do without them, all expeditions were cancelled. This included a crazy bastard who wanted to Base Jump from the summit.

Last year was....well, terrible for everyone. There was a massive earthquake which devasted Nepal, and also set off an avalanche which swept through base camp killing 18 people, and taking out 21 in total. This effectively closed the mountain for the season, and fairly as the sherpas needed to get back to their family and look after their own. There is a lot of terrifying footage of the avalanche on YouTube to peruse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JC_wIWUC2U

So, bring on the climbers!! The avalanches!! The endless arguments about why they can't 'put a slide at the summit'!!

Also feel free to talk about other mountains, such as Everest's slightly smaller but much angrier cousin, K2, known affectionately as 'The Killer Summit' - it will eat you and literally chew you up, depositing your remains at its feet. Also caving, diving and any other sort of extreme sport which we can get freaked out by.

I have a youtube playlist with some more mountain documentaries on here-
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...BnY01-OKSEuG1eT
Previous Threads-
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
I can't wait.

Oh, and mountain pug!


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THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS THREAD

We are morbid fuckers and there will be tasteless jokes, a death pool, pictures of dead bodies and general disrespect for the dead. Climbing this mountain is something that really ceased to be necessary after Norgay and Hilary summitted to anyone other than scientists, doctors and researchers who can test effects of high-altitude and the like. It is dangerous, unpredictable (as the last two years in particular have shown) and there isn't really much honour in getting local people to do all the heavy lifting for you for an embarrassingly small amount of money.

Remember this, and if you find it offensive, well. You're in the wrong forum really.



(will add updates if and when I get suggestions)