It says something about the whole Everest circus that the rescue
of a near dead Nepalese woman climber high on the mountain last week
has caused only minor ripples outside the specialist mountaineering
media.
Usha Bista, a 22 year -old climber from Nepal was reportedly
abandoned by her own team after collapsing at about 8300 metres on
the mountain. Thankfully she was found by Canadian climber Meagan
McGrath who initiated a successful rescue with other climbers and a
team of British doctors on a medical research expedition who managed
to treat her cerebral oedema - swelling of the brain caused by
altitude.
According to the Guardian, the leader of the British expedition
believes that scenarios like this are due to under-resourced
expeditions with insufficient oxygen. Ms Bista apparently had only
one bottle with her, not enough for a summit attempt.
Rescue Impossible?
The question of rescues high on Everest is one that appears on an
annual basis and is particularly emotive. One argument often advanced
is that rescue high in the death zone is near impossible, with
climbers stretched to their limits merely to stay alive themselves.
It's a standpoint that's often viewed as a convenient fiction for
climbers who fear a disruption to their own summit attempts.
When British climber David Sharp was abandoned high on the
mountain last year, it was this argument that was trotted out. Yet
there are several precedents for rescues high on Everest.
OUTDOORSmagic member Conan Harrod was helped down the mountain a few
years ago after having been struck by a falling climber and breaking
a leg.
The Bista rescue too shows that in the right circumstances, it is
possible to rescue even semi-conscious climbers, however she was
fortunate in being helped by experienced high altitude climbers like
veteran US guide David Hahn and in the prescence of the British
medical expedition on the mountain. Hahn is quoted in the Times as
saying that he didn't think she'd survive, despite him giving up his
own oxygen during the rescue.
Is there a 'right answer'? Morally it has to be unquestionable
that you should do whatever you can to help a fellow climber in
distress high on a mountain. Of course it's easy to write that
sitting at sea level, but surely anyone considering attempting
Everest should have considered the possible scenarios and their moral
and practical stanc should the worst happen.
More details at www.guardian.co.uk
/ www.timesonline.co.uk
/ news.bbc.co.uk
/
Dom Griffiths
