Mount Everest is Earth’s highest point: 29,028 feet at the summit. It is a brutal place where temperatures at –50F are common; where fingers, toes and noses can quickly freeze solid, and where there is only one-third of breathable oxygen available as there is at sea level; where the cold and hypoxia can lead to madness, coma and death. It takes months to acclimate your body to attempt the climb, and it can cost tens of thousands of dollars to hire the right guides to help you survive a summit attempt. But despite the danger and the hardship, climbers flock to Everest from around the world, determined for whatever reason to reach “the roof of the world.”
In 2006, Mount Everest claimed the lives of eleven people, the highest number of on-mountain fatalities since 1996: three Sherpas, Tuk Bahadur (a Sherpa kitchen boy), Vitor Negrete (Brazil), Tomas Olsson (Sweden), Sri Kishan (India), Jacques-Hughes Letrange (France), Thomas Weber (Germany), Igor Plyushkin (Russia), and David Sharp (England). A twelfth, Australian Lincoln Hall, was left for dead but managed to survive overnight at 28,200 feet with no shelter or food.
Some of these deaths were immediately recognized as accidents -– falls, or people succumbing to pulmonary or cerebral edema. Others were viewed more suspiciously: some other climbers near Thomas Weber at the time of his death believed that his guide took too long to respond to Weber’s distress; later investigations suggested that Weber may have climbed Everest as a means to commit suicide.
The saddest story was that of David Sharp: a solo climber, not affiliated with any of the big outfitters and purposely attempting the ascent without oxygen, Sharp died alongside the trail as reportedly forty other climbers trudged past him on their way to the top. While the rest of the world erupted in outrage that no one rescued Sharp, the reaction of most high altitude climbers was that it was all most of the other climbers could do to keep from dying themselves, much less drag another sick climber down to safety.
Article comments
1 - Kevin Eagan
What a compelling read. I never knew that climbing Mt. Everest was this dangerous, but I guess I should have known. One question: why do they suspect that Thomas Weber climbed Mt. Everest to kill himself? Seems like an odd way to go, but then again, if you're already delusional enough to want to kill yourself, why not add 28,000 feet and 1/3 the oxygen to add to your delusion? It may make it more fun, I guess?
2 - friend.mouse
Oh - you'll just have to read it! But it has something to do with the fact that he seems to have lied about several facets of his background and, when they checked his tent after he died, had suspiciously little gear left behind.
3 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Boston.com. Nice work!