Would You Leave A Friend To Die?
SodaHead Living
2010/06/03 13:21:43
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15 votes
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17 votes
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14 votes
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Climbing Mount Everest is still deadly fifty-seven years after Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hilary first made a successful ascent and return from the world's highest peak. The latest victim of the mountain was 28-year-old Peter Kinloch, a British adventurer left to die 800 feet down from the summit of Everest as his party attempted to return to base camp.
Kinloch was an experienced mountaineer attempting to pass the 'Seven Summit Challenge', an achievement managed by only a few mountaineers who have climbed the tallest mountains on all seven continents. Everest was the fifth summit for Kinloch, and unfortunately, his last.
At the peak of Everest he was 'elated, cheerful and bubbly', a team member reported. However, 600 ft into the descent from the peak of Everest, Kinloch began to complain that he could not see and began to stumble. Shortly after noting his symptoms, Kinloch revealed that bouts of blindness were not uncommon for him and that he was not suffering from snow blindness.
His team did their best to aid him, and three sherpas climbed up from a camp below in order to help Kinloch. Oxygen and steroids were given to help treat altitude sickness, however after spending half a day helping Peter and managing to descend only 200 feet, the decision was made to leave Kinloch to his fate before the entire team died trying to save him. Colleagues reported that 'the rescue team did everything in their power to help Peter for about 12 hours coming dangerously close to needing their
own rescue and not returning themselves.'
Due to the difficulty and extreme danger in attempting recovery, Peter's body seems fated to join the many bodies of lost and abandoned mountaineers locked in Everest's snows.
Kinloch was an experienced mountaineer attempting to pass the 'Seven Summit Challenge', an achievement managed by only a few mountaineers who have climbed the tallest mountains on all seven continents. Everest was the fifth summit for Kinloch, and unfortunately, his last.
At the peak of Everest he was 'elated, cheerful and bubbly', a team member reported. However, 600 ft into the descent from the peak of Everest, Kinloch began to complain that he could not see and began to stumble. Shortly after noting his symptoms, Kinloch revealed that bouts of blindness were not uncommon for him and that he was not suffering from snow blindness.
His team did their best to aid him, and three sherpas climbed up from a camp below in order to help Kinloch. Oxygen and steroids were given to help treat altitude sickness, however after spending half a day helping Peter and managing to descend only 200 feet, the decision was made to leave Kinloch to his fate before the entire team died trying to save him. Colleagues reported that 'the rescue team did everything in their power to help Peter for about 12 hours coming dangerously close to needing their
own rescue and not returning themselves.'
Due to the difficulty and extreme danger in attempting recovery, Peter's body seems fated to join the many bodies of lost and abandoned mountaineers locked in Everest's snows.
Top Opinion
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Meijin Ryuu - Imperial Indi... 2010/06/03 21:33:52Yes, if I did everything I could, and now I was in danger of dying, I'd leave.
I will fight as hard as I can for someone and possibly even give my life, unless I know it was nearly impossible to save them and I would simply be wasting mine in vain.
Now that people depend on me, I would have to go and leave them there......hell, come to think of it....now that people depend on me, I wouldn't even go NEAR the thing.
But just remember it had to be the worst case scenario.
It's like drowning where the person keeps struggling and is going to pull you under too and you are both going to die. I've been to high altitude and I've also been to Everest. I have several friends that have climbed and I am very close with a Sherpa friend that takes tours and climbs to Everest. His dad was the head man of the last village before hitting base camp and that's where my friend Ang grew up. My friend knew Tenzing, had met Hilary and is close friends with many famous Sherpa's and some are his family.
I'm in touch with Nepal all the time as I now make Jewelry using materials from Nepal. I was there helping build a hospital and our hospital was at the exact spot that Hillary and Tenzing started their route for their climb and is marked with that location right outside the hospitals gate.
The Sherpa's are experts...they know the mountain, they grew up knowing that mountain and they will fight to save a life but also know when there is no more help and can't get someone off the mountain.
I'll leave it to the experts to make the decis...
It's like drowning where the person keeps struggling and is going to pull you under too and you are both going to die. I've been to high altitude and I've also been to Everest. I have several friends that have climbed and I am very close with a Sherpa friend that takes tours and climbs to Everest. His dad was the head man of the last village before hitting base camp and that's where my friend Ang grew up. My friend knew Tenzing, had met Hilary and is close friends with many famous Sherpa's and some are his family.
I'm in touch with Nepal all the time as I now make Jewelry using materials from Nepal. I was there helping build a hospital and our hospital was at the exact spot that Hillary and Tenzing started their route for their climb and is marked with that location right outside the hospitals gate.
The Sherpa's are experts...they know the mountain, they grew up knowing that mountain and they will fight to save a life but also know when there is no more help and can't get someone off the mountain.
I'll leave it to the experts to make the decisions and they made them.
Everyone knows the risks and know the death rate on Everest and they still risk their life. This guy knew of his sometimes blindness yet told no one....big mistake as he would never have been allowed to go, that tells you right up front he knew the risks.
Stupid, selfish and unkind in to the bargain.
I'm not saying leave someone behind, but it does make me think about Kinloch in a very different manner. When reading or hearing his name from now on, I will immediatly think "Selfish boor! Oaf who cared all about his own adventure and nothing about the safety of his friends."
I do feel there are some missions or tasks that are so important that letting go of their connection to life, to complete the task is imperative. I do feel that in some cases, this idea is not the first consideration.
I do feel that what I hope I would do and what I actually do, might be two different things.
I hope I would continue trying to save my team-mate's life, but all things considered, I haven't been in that situation and I might have different considerations were I there.
everest isn't a bunny hill. only experienced climbers should attempt climbing it.
so if i were in this position, i would be an experienced climber and would have packed a bit extra... just in case.