illectro posted:

When I was skiing I talked with a lot of teenagers who wore helmets simply so they could attach a Go-Pro to it, one wonders whether the net effect of all those extra helmets will be to save lives, or to cause more injuries from kids showing off on camera.

Beardless posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwuw6Z33018

This is my favorite Everest story.

illectro posted:

When I was skiing I talked with a lot of teenagers who wore helmets simply so they could attach a Go-Pro to it, one wonders whether the net effect of all those extra helmets will be to save lives, or to cause more injuries from kids showing off on camera.

FreakerByTheSpeaker posted:

Hey, %50 off climbing to base camp! http://www.theclymb.com/adventures/14450/everest-base-camp/show-product/132775

Sure, we won't die on the summit, but we could find a way to die on our way.

a pipe smoking dog posted:

Isn't Michael Schumachers coma a direct result of a go-pro fracturing his helmet when he hit a tree while skiing?

SaltLick posted:

Didn't a goon do this a year or two ago? It seems like a pretty fun trip without the horrific dying part

FreakerByTheSpeaker posted:

Hey, %50 off climbing to base camp! http://www.theclymb.com/adventures/14450/everest-base-camp/show-product/132775

Sure, we won't die on the summit, but we could find a way to die on our way.

quote:

In 2005, this middle aged Polish guy arrived at Base Camp without a permit to climb on Everest, but fully intended to try anyway, going unnoticed. He had very little money and basic equipment, but felt stong and capable enough to take on the mountain and at one point made it all the way through the Icefall and up to Camp I. Some of the larger guide services made note of his presence but he spoke little English, wasn't very friendly, and seemed to be able to take care of himself. So they left him alone and only saw him on the periphery while they looked after their clients. As we have seen from our limited time here, the Nepalis take their high dollar Everest climbing permits VERY seriously. But, we have also seen that if you were to go incognito enough, there is a good chance that you could go unnoticed. That is, unless a dramatic or tragic event changed your anonymous status quickly.

In 2005, something happened at Camp I that everyone prepares for, but almost never happens- a huge avalanche calved off of Everest's West Face that was large enough that it literally washed over Camp I. More or less a hundred year avalanche. Dozens of tents were flattened from the air blast alone, almost all were covered, and if you hadn't placed your tents on the high ground fingers (like where ours are located), you were in jeopardy. By some stroke of luck though, most climbers were down in Base Camp that day and at the time the avalanche struck, Camp I was almost deserted. The Polish Guy was unique- he had elected to stay in Camp I along with a small handfull of others that day. When the avalanche hit, he apparently jumped out of his tent to film the thousand tons of snow and ice as it moved in on Camp I- not exactly something that's recommended. But he was a tough old guy and must have thought he'd be ok. As an avalanche moves forward, it is preceeded by a wall air- a blast wave that pushes things down quickly and with force before the mass of snow comes along and washes everything in white and sweeps it along as the avalanche travels on it's way.

It was this wall of air that seems to have done the most damage to the Polish Guy, who had his camcorder pressed up to his face at the time he was hit. Out in front, the solid air slammed the camcorder with such force that it cut his face in many places and people afterwards wondered if you might be able to read "SONY" imprinted backwards on his forehead. Word of the avalanche reached Base Camp, and rescuers quickly pressed out, reaching the Camp I record time. Dazed and confused, the Polish Guy was already staggering down the mountain with only what he had on, still bleeding and face all smashed up. He clearly knew that he'd be found out and didn't want to pay a massive fine, thrown into a Nepali jail for climbing without a permit. As he passed several rescuers enroute down the Icefall, he gruffly waved off care and just kept on going. The confused rescuers didn't know what they would find up at Camp I, so they kept moving up and figured the Polish Guy would be taken care of by someone else further down below.

Upon arrival at Camp I, the rescuers found what remained of the Polish Guy's tent- just an old, small job barely bigger than a kitchen table. Peering inside, they found: gas for boiling water, and a very large bottle of vodka. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. Gas and vodka. To climb Everest. The rescuers radioed that back, almost laughing in disbelief at how Spartan this guy's tent was. But by now the Nepali authorities knew about him and also knew he didn't have a climbing permit so they were actively looking for him with vigor. They didn't think it was very funny for sure. He wasn't in Base Camp, so the Nepalis figured he must still be coming down through the Icefall and focused their energy there. After a few hours he was nowhere to be found and they realized that despite their best efforts, he had somehow slipped the noose.

Several days later, the climbing community at Base Camp learned of his fate: Somehow, the Polish Guy had made it all the way to New Delhi, India and repatriated back to Poland from the Embassy there. New Delhi? Apparently, the Polish Guy had managed to walk close to 100 kilometers in the exact same climbing clothes that he had been wearing when hit in an avalanche at Camp I in the Western Cwm. Bleeding, injured, and only with the clothes on his back, he downclimbed through the Icefall, and no one noticed as he traveled all the way through the Khumbu Valley, out through Lukla and into Kathmandu.

From there, he likely took a bus across the border and all the way to New Delhi. He didn't have much money, so people speculate that he sold his climbing boots in Kathmandu for just enough money for bus fare to leave the country unnoticed. Even today, when you enter the Sagarmartha National Park gate near Lukla there is a picture of the Polish Guy looking all gruff and dazed on a ratty wanted poster that has likely been there since a few days after he ran off in 2005. My guess? He made it home, started putting back his loved vodka, told his tale to friends and family who called him a crazy nut, and he gave up on Everest completely.

Wasabi the J posted:

And disappear without a trace when the Neplaese government tries to track you down to pay to die on their mountain.


Polish dude owns.

FreakerByTheSpeaker posted:

Hey, %50 off climbing to base camp! http://www.theclymb.com/adventures/14450/everest-base-camp/show-product/132775

Sure, we won't die on the summit, but we could find a way to die on our way.

Hijo Del Helmsley posted:

Oh boy, we can die at the foot of the mountain, instead of in the Death Zone.

Germstore posted:

rear end-to-mouth at 5400 meters could be dangerous.

Germstore posted:

rear end-to-mouth at 5400 meters could be dangerous.

DerekSmartymans posted:

Poz my -40 degree hole...

Meatwave posted:

There should be an entire TV show that features nothing but a weekly hour of Brian Blessed shouting at mountains.

Cojawfee posted:

That must be terrible for that kid. Your parents leave you to go climb everest. When the mountain tells them two times "gently caress off, go home," they try for a third time and get themselves killed. "What did you do for summer vacation?" "Not much, I had to deal with my parents committing suicide by mountain."

Germstore posted:

rear end-to-mouth at 5400 meters could be dangerous.

Alan Smithee posted:

How do we know the guy was Polish? If he were Polish they would have found a snorkel or something

Hijo Del Helmsley posted:

Oh boy, we can die at the foot of the mountain, instead of in the Death Zone.

SaltLick posted:

Didn't a goon do this a year or two ago? It seems like a pretty fun trip without the horrific dying part

Alan Smithee posted:

How do we know the guy was Polish? If he were Polish they would have found a snorkel or something

LongDarkNight posted:

Rondette posted:

Talking about extreme survival stories, check out Douglas Mawson. He was part of an Australian team who went to map the South Pole, and probably suffered one of the most extreme stories of survival you will ever hear. I read his story in a book by Ranulph Fiennes which has several stories about adventures and acts of bravery that inspired Ranulph. I don't want to spoil it too much but let's just say Husky liver is Really, Really bad for you.

Fatkraken posted:

There's some big furore going on with permits for the Nepal side at the moment, since last years season basically didn't happen due to the disaster that killed the big group of Sherpas. The climbers still don't know if they'll be allowed to use the old permits and the government is dragging it's feet, so a lot of expeditions are in limbo

subpar anachronism posted:

On top of the discarded tanks and trash, Everest is literally getting shittier every year.

Dely Apple posted:

I was watching Dark Side of Everest and this lady's story was in the middle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francys_Arsentiev

She just went up to be The First American Woman Who Climbed Without Supplemental Oxygen (tm) and the interview with her family is tier. Her son was 7 and he goes "Well it was my call that my mother went and died, she asked me, and I didn't want her to hate me forever for denying her dream." and he was SEVEN. What a thing to live with.

Earlier in the thing Buck goes "There's no accomplishment for climbing Everest if you aren't Tensing or Mallory." And he was right. But we wouldn't have this thread if people were sensible

Alan Smithee posted:

what the fuuuuuck

is there any good videos of how harsh this place can get?

elwood posted:

I don't really see a problem with a trek to base camp other than there are better/prettier treks in that region. It's basically just walking, there is no real climbing involved.

Robo Reagan posted:

That mom is a right oval office