RIP Edmund Hillary

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: Farang
I was going to compliment him on never revealing who made it to the top first, him or Tenzing Norgay, because the two had made a pact to never say. In the article it credits him for keeping his mouth shut until 'long after Norgay's death,' which I'm not sure is commendable.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200...an/obit_edmund_hillary

RIP Ed.

The two did have the first ascent of everest, but may not have been the first to reach the top. See Mallory/Irvine controversy:

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[Sylvanas]

RIP Sir Edmund Hillary, what a great achievement, he will go down in history as someone who overcame one of the last frontiers and did amazing things for the people of Nepal.

 

[biggestmuff]

I'm going to wait a couple more years until I climb it. With global warming, it should be a breeze.

 

[illusion88]

Originally posted by: biggestmuff
I'm going to wait a couple more years until I climb it. With global warming, it should be a breeze.

Global Warming has nothing to do with altitude sickness. The cold is the least of your worries above 20,00 feet (where the majority of the climb is)

 

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: illusion88

Originally posted by: biggestmuff
I'm going to wait a couple more years until I climb it. With global warming, it should be a breeze.

Global Warming has nothing to do with altitude sickness. The cold is the least of your worries above 20,00 feet (where the majority of the climb is)

Sometimes it's really depressing to watch non-climbers discuss a climbing subject.

While sort of correct about the cold, not really true. Above 20,000 feet, especially in the Himalaya, Windchill can commonly reach -100F with only nominal gusting. During daylight hours, this isn't so much of an issue as radiant heat in this area is *also* extremely high - the atmosphere has less effect on the sun's rays at this height. At nighttime or in cloudy weather, however, the temperature is an equal concern as anything else.

Of course, the radiation during the daytime has it's own worries, especially the massively increased volume of UV exposure. That's why 100% UV blockage sunglasses and goggles are required gear for high peaks, along with an ample supply of the highest SPF sunscreen you can find. You can literally cook yourself during the day.

Then of course, we have the wonderful issues of HACE and HAPE, High Altitude Cerebral Edema and High Altitude Pulmonary Edema. Respectively, these are either the cranial cavity (the area between the brain and skull) or the lungs filling with fluid due to atmospheric pressure decrease as ascent continues. The best part about these illnesses? No one knows what causes them to occur - the only real known risk factor is that if you've had it before, you're likely to have it again. Even better, people don't respond consistently to treatment, the only somewhat consistent solution seeming to be (not surprisingly) getting the climber back down to a lower elevation ASAP. Cerebral edema is even more worrisome, as many of its symptoms are the same as cerebral hypoxia, which is an expected and unavoidable occurrence at high altitudes, and thus not considered with any amount of worry in its minor stages. A smart climbing party or guide team will monitor anyone with hypoxic symptoms as ascent continues to see if they worsen faster than they should - a more likely indicator of HACE.

Then of course there are the objective hazards: Avalanche, Hidden Crevasses with a thin crust of snow over them looking for all the world like solid ground (don't forget your probe, and if you don't have a fixed route, be damn sure you rope up properly and walk DIAGONAL!), incorrect route-finding, weather (do not mistake the impact a blizzard can have at high altitude - a lot of you have probably read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer regarding the famous '96 disaster of Rob Hall's New Zealand expedition caused by Blizzard and bad judgement), and more.

And all the little inconveniences - like that at high altitudes, no matter how much you eat, your body wastes because metabolism is more energy expensive than energy productive, like the fact that nothing heals, not even the tiniest cuts, again due to lack of O2 in the blood. The blood vessels in your eyes can commonly spontaneously hemorrhage and rupture (called petechiae) due to the low pressure.

Everest is not a technically difficult climb. In terms of difficulty, it's mostly walking up a gentle grade hill with a few class 4 and 5 technical sections as speed bumps. At sea level, most any reasonably fit person with minor training and proper supervision could accomplish it in a day or two. The issue on Sagarmartha is that you're undertaking this hike in an environment only slightly less hazardous than space.