anyone on here ever climbed or attempted everest

I couldn't think of anything worse, the whole Everest circus looks horrific. Doing a (admittedly very hard) snow plod behind a queue of 100 people doesn't appeal to me.

I go climbing to get away from people, so would rather do a more technical climb on a quieter peak.
 
Street said:
I couldn't think of anything worse, the whole Everest circus looks horrific. Doing a (admittedly very hard) snow plod behind a queue of 100 people doesn't appeal to me.

I go climbing to get away from people, so would rather do a more technical climb on a quieter peak.
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Ooh, finally a serious post.
Doesn't it also cost a fortune to go to Everest and attempt to climb it?
 
I've got a client who has summited it and a colleague who I'm sure would do it if he had the budget. We organise some climbing expeditions, like Iraq's second highest mountain next March. Maybe something in the Himalayas one day!
 
I watched that Ben Fogle thing the other week, I hadn't realised it was a weeks-long endeavour going backwards and forwards between the various camps to get acclimatised before the final push. I'm sure I read Edmund Hillarys book when I was a kid and they just went up it in steps, I assumed everyone did it like that.

If I climb Snowdon 10 times (I'm up to 3) does that count as the same thing?
 
Dave Lee Roth's book has a good section on all his travels, and his climbs in the Himalayas. pretty intimidating though, he's on about the issues of frostbite etc, and the fact it can get so cold that it can pop the fillings out of your teeth - that goes a little ways beyond what i'd be willing to do for fun!
i've heard other accounts of Everest being both a money leech and it being like a rubbish dump now, i'm sure there are areas of it that have distinctly lost the glamour.
 
No and I don't understand it.

There are plenty of ways of pushing yourself to achieve amazing feats of endurance without littering one of the most incredible places on the planet with trash and corpses. What's wrong with just knowing it exists? Why do we have to go and ruin it?

There are over 200 corpses on the mountain and over 5000 have made the summit. The 2 main routes are preset with oxygen, food, tents and men who are 21x the achievers (literally 2 Sherpas tied for 21 times to the summit) willing to do the hard work for you in return for your £40,000. It will slowly turn into Mount Fuji, a shop loaded, festering heap of litter and excrement.
 
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DampCat said:
No and I don't understand it.

There are plenty of ways of pushing yourself to achieve amazing feats of endurance without littering one of the most incredible places on the planet with trash and corpses. What's wrong with just knowing it exists? Why do we have to go and ruin it?

There are over 200 corpses on the mountain and over 5000 have made the summit. The 2 main routes are preset with oxygen, food, tents and men who are 21x the achievers (literally 2 Sherpas tied for 21 times to the summit) willing to do the hard work for you in return for your £40,000. It will slowly turn into Mount Fuji, a shop loaded, festering heap of litter and excrement.
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This, absolutely this. Hiking has exploded in popularity in the UK and it's ruining many places in the same way, although less corpses admittedly. I have this naive notion that people who go to the effort of walking up a mountain of any degree have the mindset of taking their rubbish home and they are generally personable and reasonable people. Unfortunately if you pick a popular peak at the height of summer you're going to be bashing elbows with morons. I prefer to go play out in the colder months with less people about and the terrain is more interesting.

Everest would be an amazing achievement but it's just a commercial exercise and not worth it. If I could just turn up and find out the hard way by myself I would, as I'd go prepared and respect what I'm undertaking, but the huge tax and commercial aspect of it makes it a yuppies pastime I'm not interested in.
 
No idea why people care about Everest unless they are A) doing it without oxygen and B) doing it without sherpas holding their hands the whole way.

Just an ego trip for people who want to be able to boast that they have climbed Everest. Its not a climb, you are walking up a mountain, you have oxygen and sherpas to do all the actual work and your success is largely based on the weather and your ability to avoid high altitude sickness which is simple chance.

There are literally thousands of routes in the world that are far harder than Everest. You actually have to climb them yourself using your own skill.
 
fez said:
No idea why people care about Everest unless they are A) doing it without oxygen and B) doing it without sherpas holding their hands the whole way.

Just an ego trip for people who want to be able to boast that they have climbed Everest. Its not a climb, you are walking up a mountain, you have oxygen and sherpas to do all the actual work and your success is largely based on the weather and your ability to avoid high altitude sickness which is simple chance.

There are literally thousands of routes in the world that are far harder than Everest. You actually have to climb them yourself using your own skill.
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I thought even on the easiest route you still had to climb up some straight walls! or do you mean that ladders are already in place?
 
SexyGreyFox said:
I thought even on the easiest route you still had to climb up some straight walls! or do you mean that ladders are already in place?
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The 2 main routes have bridges and permanent rope paths, as well as you're going to be doing in huge groups. Not dozens... Hundreds. Your dinner is waiting ready at each stage along with oxygen and the worst of your kit.

I'm not suggesting it's easy, but it's not what it was, is it
 
DampCat said:
The 2 main routes have bridges and permanent rope paths, as well as you're going to be doing in huge groups. Not dozens... Hundreds. Your dinner is waiting ready at each stage along with oxygen and the worst of your kit.

I'm not suggesting it's easy, but it's not what it was, is it
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I see and they had a go at Hillary for using a bit of oxygen.

I watched this about a month ago - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3967910/
 
I know several serious umbers who have been up 8000m himalHima peaks, one including K2, and one of them attempted a new never climbed route on a lower 7000m peak in the karakorum.

None of them have any desire to join the tourist train on a pretty mundane mountain. The chances of death a high purely due to rich Americans paying 100k to be dragged up the mountain. It is a non-technical slog made possible by oxygen past dead bodies and piles of trash.

As an amateur alpinist I have zero desire. But I also don't have the skills or time for anything interesting. Once the kids are older I'll get back to doing some fun routes in the Alps
 
SexyGreyFox said:
I thought even on the easiest route you still had to climb up some straight walls! or do you mean that ladders are already in place?
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There isn't really any technical climbing on the trade routes. It's mostly just jumaring up fixed ropes. It's still a hard slog though.

D.P. said:
As an amateur alpinist I have zero desire. But I also don't have the skills or time for anything interesting. Once the kids are older I'll get back to doing some fun routes in the Alps
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That's the thing, there are many more fun, quieter routes right on our doorstep, without having to pay tens of thousands to do them. I've probably got enough climbs on my alpine ticklist to keep me going for a lifetime too!
 
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