Talkback: Why We Haven't Written About Death On Everest

But now you have. Could have just left it...

Yes, every year nearly always the same tragedy. Nearly always substantially caused by not turning back when you are not at the summit early enough. Weather forecasts are very detailed - people gamble with them.

You are right to point out the death of the local sherpa's is definately the saddest part, although everyone who goes is taking a risk for possible gain - either to summit the tallest, earn lots of money, or to be able to run expeditions in future based on past performance.

But now you have

Not really... did you actually read the article?  

Peter Clinch wrote (see)

Not really... did you actually read the article?  

Wot Pete said

If you like it's a story about what is 'news' when it comes to Everest. Is it news that it's dangerous, overcrowded and every year people - very sadly - die as a result? Is it news that people are drawn to world's highest mountain as a challenge? Not really, but that's what the national press mostly focus on.

There are other stories there that get brushed to one side. Like why so many teams are actually permitted to be on the mountain at any one time, which has a lot to do with the economics of Nepal's tourism-based economy. And the role of the Sherpas in the whole thing and in particular their exposure to risks which in some respects aren't of their own choosing, for purely economic reasons. There's a moral question there for commerial climbers, which isn't a comfortable one.

And yes, of course, sherpas and porters make their own choice to work in that role and yes, the rewards for them are in Nepali terms substantial, but that doesn't somehow mean that there are no moral issues involved in risking other people's lives for money in search of your own essentially selfish goals.

I'm certainly not an expert. I've been out to Nepal a couple of times and have a friend who is a high altitude Sherpa - Kaji, in the image, in the article above - and I'm not saying that he shouldn't work on Everest or doesn't want to, but what I am saying is that somewhere in the middle of all this is the question of responsibility, of making the mountain a safer place without damaging its economic benefits to Nepal.

But at the moment, mostly the only Everest stories which get space are about death and overcrowding and records.

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OutdoorsMagic Editor | jon@outdoorsmagic.com 

Yep. I read it. A story about deaths on Everest. Has been (pardon the pun) done to death in books, magazine articles, online, etc. If you are going to write about it, don't apologise for it - just write the story. If not, leave it. Story is the same as last time and little has changed.

Erm... Look at article title. Read article. About deaths on Everest? Yes. QED.

But nothing directly concerning what everyone else was on about these last few days, which was specifically the immediately recent queueing up of hundreds of paying punters and associated carnage.

Story is the same as last time and little has changed.

That's true of the story of the immediately recent queueing up of hundreds of paying punters and associated carnage, but not the article we're talking about, at least as I read it.

Perhaps "Why we are not writing the same article as everyone else about death on Everest" would have been more strictly accurate, but at least to me it was pretty clear that was what was meant.

So is it about pedantic semantics, or about climbing Everest in the 21st Century?  I suspect  Jon's focus is the latter.

Pete.

and on a related note...

"In the interview he describes being confronted by a procession of around 200 climbers headed for the South Col, his disbelief at encountering 'climbers' who don't know how to use a jumar - a standard device used for ascending fixed ropes"

Fixed ropes and jumars are surely 'cheating'...?

Surely when so many prominent mountaineers are speaking out about the situation on Everest then it is time to write about the Death on Everest so a proper debate can be had to solve the problems rather than all the armchair mountaineers being smug about it on their forums? As someone said take the ropes off the Hilary Step and the mountain will return to what it used to be!

... but explain that to the people who live off the Everest Circus... How do you solve the problem?