Annual Everest Thread: Well they always told me getting high was dangerous.

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uwaeve: Oct 21, 2010; focus this time so i don't have to keep telling you idiots what happened; Lipstick Apathy

Keith Atherton posted:

I have a ton of mountaineering books and highly recommend these:

The Boardman Tasker Omnibus

https://www.amazon.com/Boardman-Tasker-Omnibus-Shining-Mountain/dp/0898864364

Joe Tasker and Pete Boardman were two British dudes who did some amazingly challenging climbing in the 1970s. They both died trying to summit Everest in 1982

Addicted to Danger

https://www.amazon.com/Addicted-Danger-Affirming-Life-Death/dp/0671019910

Jim Wickwire was the first American to summit K2. He lost a lot of friends while climbing with them and one in a horrible way that had nothing to do with climbing

Nanda Devi: The Tragic Expedition

https://www.amazon.com/Nanda-Devi-Expedition-John-Roskelley/dp/0898867398

In 1976 a group of experienced Himalayan climbers assemble a team to climb a remote peak in India. Willi Unsoeld is one of the old pros and brings his daughter Devi, who was named after the mountain The team is a mix of strong personalities, a few have little or no experience on such a difficult objective. It doesn't end well

Thanks, I'll stick these in the queue! And thanks to everyone else. Since posting I've read ed viesturs k2 book and I'm almost to the summit in denali's howl, and have downloaded a bunch more. I liked ed's writing style, but the combination of the writing (I think) and the audible narrator (i listen in the car and it stays synced with the kindle edition) is making me furious. The guy is like a cross between Howard Cosell and Rod Serling (I think he's the guy that did the twilight zone intros?). Interesting story, and I'm glad I got the recommendations and I'm glad to read it, just blows my mind how some of these readers get hired.

# ? Mar 22, 2017 15:52

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# ? May 15, 2024 09:57

Xibanya: Sep 17, 2012; Clever Betty

That longform article on scurvy was great.

# ? Mar 22, 2017 17:20

Levitate: Sep 30, 2005; randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENI�RE IN ME

Where are you watching these cool sounding docu's? Netflix, Amazon, actual physical media? I want to watch some stuff about mountains.

Also when does the Everest climbing season begin? Looks like middle of April last year?

# ? Mar 22, 2017 17:51

RCarr: Dec 24, 2007

Xibanya posted:

That longform article on scurvy was great.

Seconding this. Definitely check it out if you haven't already.

# ? Mar 22, 2017 20:16

RCarr: Dec 24, 2007

Edit: Doublepost

# ? Mar 22, 2017 20:33

AceRimmer: Mar 18, 2009

Levitate posted:

Also when does the Everest climbing season begin? Looks like middle of April last year?

https://twitter.com/alan_arnette/status/843542811354042371
:unsmigghh:

# ? Mar 22, 2017 23:06

FrozenVent: May 1, 2009; The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

AceRimmer posted:

https://twitter.com/alan_arnette/status/843542811354042371

And so it begins anew.

# ? Mar 22, 2017 23:09

Cojawfee: May 31, 2006; I think the US is dumb for not using Celsius

Was a geological survey done to see if Everest shrunk?

# ? Mar 22, 2017 23:10

SulfurMonoxideCute: Feb 9, 2008; I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

Thanks! I'll be praying!

# ? Mar 22, 2017 23:12

Platystemon: Feb 13, 2012; BREADS

Cojawfee posted:

Was a geological survey done to see if Everest shrunk?

Everest got harder and grew a few inches.

# ? Mar 22, 2017 23:26

AceRimmer: Mar 18, 2009

Cojawfee posted:

Was a geological survey done to see if Everest shrunk?

It's being remeasured on the ground this year but it apparently shrank 5 cm based on satellite data.

# ? Mar 22, 2017 23:33

Bobby Digital: Sep 4, 2009

AceRimmer posted:

It's being remeasured on the ground this year but it apparently shrank 5 cm based on satellite data.

It was in the pool!

# ? Mar 22, 2017 23:56

Shangri-Law School: Feb 19, 2013

RCarr posted:

Seconding this. Definitely check it out if you haven't already.

Thirding. Really interesting stuff. Sucks that we're one of the few species that can't make Vitamin C; I wonder if the other animals make fun of us for that.

# ? Mar 23, 2017 00:20

mod saas: May 4, 2004; Grimey Drawer

Shangri-Law School posted:

Thirding. Really interesting stuff. Sucks that we're one of the few species that can't make Vitamin C; I wonder if the other animals make fun of us for that.

Dude they won't even talk to us and you wonder?

# ? Mar 25, 2017 14:41

Woodchip: Mar 28, 2010

I'll take 3 in this year's pool.

# ? Mar 25, 2017 15:17

ewe2: Jul 1, 2009

Surviving Everest (2003)

Rating: :eng99:

Yet another Nat Geo Everest documentary, possibly the most manufactured. The sons of Hilary and Tenzing climb Everest with the help of our old mate Pete Athans, for whom the expedition is a swansong. It's not just the names, they've already climbed Everest, and in two groups will try the South East Route and the Western Route, so the crazy starts there. Tenzing's son will only climb to Base Camp having promised to never climb it again after his one summit. Peter Hilary has even less reason to return: his mother and sister died in a plane crash in the 70's when the Hilarys planned to live in the area and improve life for the Sherpas.

I've got to give Nat Geo credit: I've seen 3 docos by them on Everest and they never shirk their debt to the Sherpas and the dangers and sheer hard gruntwork they face. I can't understand how clients don't watch these and figure this out, given the events of the previous movie Sherpa I described. Cue shots of 5yo Sherpa kids picking their noses and not talking. Classy poo poo.

We also get your classic noob client who thinks she can just buy her way up the mountain. Thankfully she's going up the standard South Col Route. The Western Route is daunting, 40 attempts, 6 summits, 23 deaths. Peter Hilary tried it, and lost two companions. There's a lot of irony in this documentary given its release date. They speak in hushed tones of the terrible season of 1972 when 6 Sherpas died in an avalanche. The Sherpas speak of the wedge of climbing income and deaths.

There's also discussion of the ugly underside of the succesful 1953 summit. In 1952, Tensing Norgay attempted the summit with the Swiss expedition and failed only 800m away. The British not only benefited from the Swiss expedition's equipment and experience, they made a direct play to secure Norgay for the following season. When you hear about the post-summit politics, keep in this in mind: they would not have succeeded without him but made every attempt to dismiss his contribution once he did.

This doco has the most bad weather Everest photography I've ever seen, usually it's only mentioned to raise the drama. It also demonstrates what a traffic jam on the south summit looks like, which is a hideous thing to see when you're coming back down. And speaking of that, this doco ends on the summit, which I just hate, it's only half the story! The biggest problem with it is that, outside of the story of the sons and the 1953 expedition, there's very little point to this doco, it's redundant about many things if you've seen others from the 2000's. That's about it, though, I've pretty much ransacked my DVD provider for mountaineering docos unless new stuff comes in like the tale of this season :getin:

postscript: one of the better moments is Pete Athans talking down a Sherpa who's having a bit of a crisis higher on the mountain. I won't spoil it but the Sherpa is really mad at God.

ewe2 fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Mar 25, 2017

# ? Mar 25, 2017 21:28

George H.W. Cunt: Oct 6, 2010

I wish I was some big baller. I want to buy off every Sherpa to never climb again and leave all these idiots on their own

# ? Mar 25, 2017 21:43

Comrade Koba: Jul 2, 2007

George H.W. oval office posted:

I wish I was some big baller. I want to buy off every Sherpa to never climb again and leave all these idiots on their own

poo poo, I'd pay them even more to smear grease on the ladders across the icefall and replace the stashed oxygen at Camp 4 with helium or something.

# ? Mar 25, 2017 23:01

Cactus Ghost: Dec 20, 2003; you can actually inflate your scrote pretty safely with sterile saline, syringes, needles, and aseptic technique. its a niche kink iirc

the saline just slowly gets absorbed into your blood but in the meantime you got a big round smooth distended nutsack

every oxygen bottle is actually a fart machine

# ? Mar 26, 2017 21:36

Platystemon: Feb 13, 2012; BREADS

Has anyone attempted to climb Everest while vaping continuously?

# ? Mar 27, 2017 04:36

aardvaard: Mar 4, 2013; you belong in the bog of eternal stench

George H.W. oval office posted:

I wish I was some big baller. I want to buy off every Sherpa to never climb again and leave all these idiots on their own

I wish I was a little bit taller
I wish I was a baller
I wish I could buy off every sherpa to never climb again and leave all these idiots on their own

# ? Mar 27, 2017 20:33

red19fire: May 26, 2010

Syncopated posted:

I recommend Kiss or Kill by Mark Twight. He was one of the best alpinists in the world in the late 80's to early 00's. He took huge risks climbing but was good and lucky enough to survive a lot of poo poo. There's a lot of written stuff on his website as well. He also wrote a textbook of a sort called Extreme Alpinism which is pretty much what it sounds like.

I tried to read this book, there's a lot of technical mountaineering info that I just didn't get and had to give up halfway through. I like Mark Twight though.

# ? Mar 28, 2017 05:46

Cactus Ghost: Dec 20, 2003; you can actually inflate your scrote pretty safely with sterile saline, syringes, needles, and aseptic technique. its a niche kink iirc

the saline just slowly gets absorbed into your blood but in the meantime you got a big round smooth distended nutsack

I'll recommend Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills with the caveat that it's entirely technical. As in, it's a textbook on all things mountaineering, from bouldering, tshirts, and day-hiking all the way up to multi-day big wall climbs, crampons, goretex, and 8000m summits. Avalanche risk evaluation, the pros and cons of various materials and types of gear, an exhaustive list of knots and how to tie them, and on and on and on. If you do anything that even grazes the topic it's a useful resource, in addition to just being a fun read if you're the sort of nerd like me who enjoys technical-reading-fueled daydreaming.

# ? Mar 28, 2017 08:50

DPM: Feb 23, 2015; TAKE ME HOME
I'LL CHECK YA BUM FOR GRUBS

OMGVBFLOL posted:

I'll recommend Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills with the caveat that it's entirely technical. As in, it's a textbook on all things mountaineering, from bouldering, tshirts, and day-hiking all the way up to multi-day big wall climbs, crampons, goretex, and 8000m summits. Avalanche risk evaluation, the pros and cons of various materials and types of gear, an exhaustive list of knots and how to tie them, and on and on and on. If you do anything that even grazes the topic it's a useful resource, in addition to just being a fun read if you're the sort of nerd like me who enjoys technical-reading-fueled daydreaming.

This is extremely my poo poo, thank you.

# ? Mar 28, 2017 08:59

extra stout: Feb 24, 2005; ISILDUR's ERR

What about this guy Wim Hof who climbed Everest in nothing but shoes and shorts and will do it again with no air in his lungs?

# ? Mar 28, 2017 12:23

gohuskies: Oct 23, 2010; I spend a lot of time making posts to justify why I'm not a self centered shithead that just wants to act like COVID isn't a thing.

extra stout posted:

What about this guy Wim Hof who climbed Everest in nothing but shoes and shorts and will do it again with no air in his lungs?

He didn't climb to the summit, he went to 22,000 feet. That's impressive but it's not climbing Everest and it's something hardly anyone would use oxygen for.

# ? Mar 28, 2017 13:53

AceRimmer: Mar 18, 2009

Still the best unprepared Everest climber:

quote:

The Polish Guy

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.

# ? Mar 28, 2017 23:36

Cactus Ghost: Dec 20, 2003; you can actually inflate your scrote pretty safely with sterile saline, syringes, needles, and aseptic technique. its a niche kink iirc

the saline just slowly gets absorbed into your blood but in the meantime you got a big round smooth distended nutsack

I forgot about the anonymous polish alcoholic. That's such a great story.

# ? Mar 29, 2017 05:04

Rondette: Nov 4, 2009; Your friendly neighbourhood Postie.; Grimey Drawer

Truly the hero this thread needs and deserves.

I must get round to posting the pictures from the Meg and Mog Everest story. It's got everything.

# ? Mar 29, 2017 10:34

Lunsku: May 21, 2006

There's a Meg and Mog Everest story?!?

I was following Alex Txikon's infrequent blogging about their expeditions winter attempt at Everest (they didn't end up making it). Plenty of traveling between BC and C4 looking for the window, but the conditions just sounded so insane that it wasn't meant to be. http://alextxikon.com/

# ? Mar 29, 2017 16:56

ManifunkDestiny: Aug 2, 2005; THE ONLY THING BETTER THAN THE SEAHAWKS IS RUSSELL WILSON'S TAINT SWEAT

Seahawks #1 fan since 2014.

Well now following this thread as some dude from my HS is trying his hand at Everest in the next couple weeks. Should be interesting. Dude at least has some climbing experience and is in decent shape, so hopefully he won't have to rely on some sherpa hauling him around.

# ? Mar 31, 2017 18:32

pr0zac: Jan 18, 2004; ~*lukecagefan69*~; Pillbug

ManifunkDestiny posted:

Well now following this thread as some dude from my HS is trying his hand at Everest in the next couple weeks. Should be interesting. Dude at least has some climbing experience and is in decent shape, so hopefully he won't have to rely on some sherpa hauling him around.

Yes he will.

# ? Mar 31, 2017 20:53

Cactus Ghost: Dec 20, 2003; you can actually inflate your scrote pretty safely with sterile saline, syringes, needles, and aseptic technique. its a niche kink iirc

the saline just slowly gets absorbed into your blood but in the meantime you got a big round smooth distended nutsack

"some climbing experience" and "in decent shape" is the prerequisite for having all your poo poo hauled by sherpas

that's not even really just a "Everest tourism" thing either. that's just how gear gets hauled overland up there, on foot. and in the case of a summit attempt, you need to haul a shitload of gear to base camp, then proportionally smaller huge loads of poo poo to the higher camps. Unless you're traveling ultralight and moving exceptionally fast (which only, like, the top 1% of climbers can manage, think Olympic marathoner levels of fitness and training), you're having most your poo poo hauled by sherpas. it's just how it works.

# ? Mar 31, 2017 21:26

SulfurMonoxideCute: Feb 9, 2008; I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

ManifunkDestiny posted:

Dude at least has some climbing experience and is in decent shape, so hopefully he won't have to rely on some sherpa hauling him around.

You're grossly underestimating that mountain.

# ? Apr 1, 2017 01:47

Rondette: Nov 4, 2009; Your friendly neighbourhood Postie.; Grimey Drawer

Lunsku posted:

There's a Meg and Mog Everest story?!?

Oh my, they animated it!!

https://youtu.be/SeSenrsQtwc

It has everything!!! Yaks, Sherpas hauling poo poo up the mountain, butter tea, getting lost in the fog and flying a broomstick from the summit

Perfection.

# ? Apr 1, 2017 02:47

Levitate: Sep 30, 2005; randy newman voice

YOU'VE GOT A LAFRENI�RE IN ME

New thread title for 2017 anyone?

# ? Apr 1, 2017 04:47

SulfurMonoxideCute: Feb 9, 2008; I was under direct orders not to die
🐵❌💀

It better be amazing because the old one is hard to top. It's too perfect.

# ? Apr 1, 2017 05:17

shame on an IGA: Apr 8, 2005

Everest Thread 2016/17: All Gifts Are Accepted By Chomolungma

# ? Apr 1, 2017 05:22

simplefish: Mar 28, 2011; So long, and thanks for all the ~~fish~~ gallbladdΣrs!

Rondette posted:

Oh my, they animated it!!

https://youtu.be/SeSenrsQtwc

It has everything!!! Yaks, Sherpas hauling poo poo up the mountain, butter tea, getting lost in the fog and flying a broomstick from the summit

Perfection.

Also a poo poo in the snow. I was waiting for some cheeky green boot somewhere but alas

# ? Apr 1, 2017 07:24

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# ? May 15, 2024 09:57

Rondette: Nov 4, 2009; Your friendly neighbourhood Postie.; Grimey Drawer

simplefish posted:

Also a poo poo in the snow. I was waiting for some cheeky green boot somewhere but alas

Yeah that would have been amazing. I think the original book predates old Green Boots though.

Meg- first woman to broomstick off the peak of Everest

# ? Apr 1, 2017 07:52

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