Everest

gozunda

tuxy wrote: »

Why would that be? I've heard most don't want to use refiled ones due to the extra risk of malfunction.
Why are they so valuable? What are the empty cylinders used for?
I've seen pictures of them just discarded up there.

I believe that the older and now defunct types of cylinders are most often the problem. The metal of these are now increasingly recovered and recycled. The refilling of reusable bottles is still big business afaik.

This article details some of the issues.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/23/sports/everest-climbing-oxygen.html

Blaizes

Link to a BBC article How deadly is Mount Everest giving some stats.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-47418215

Yurt2

gman2k wrote: »

It is now recognised that Tenzing stepped onto the summit just before Ed, but again a moot point.

Sorry, just caught the last bit. It's far from recognized that Tenzing got there first. The claim that Tenzing got there was intimately tied up with Indian anti-colonial sentiment.

Tenzing never made the claim he got their first. In fact, it was only after he died that Hillary spoke out and definitively stated he (Hillary) happened to summit first.

This article covers the ground well...


https://www.scotsman.com/news-2-15012/hillary-and-tenzing-s-everest-summit-agreement-1-2946398

Ultimate Seduction

Blaizes wrote: »

Very interesting. Read more from him on everestnews.com he blames the Sherpas for the thefts saying a few percent are bad but most are good. He says they discuss their thefts at base camp. Very disturbing.

Can't be true. Only "Westerners" are bad people..

Ultimate Seduction

These wealthy Westerners who can't climb are carried up by Sherpas yet are able to steal loads of oxygen containers?

To me the true mountaineering heroes are the volunteers around the world who form the voluntary mountain rescue teams. Not the people who climb Everest.

MadYaker

The search for Seamus LAwless has been called off according to the Irish Times. What happens to all the money in the fund that was set up I wonder?

batgoat

MadYaker wrote: »

The search for Seamus LAwless has been called off according to the Irish Times. What happens to all the money in the fund that was set up I wonder?

They said they'll refund anything not used.

jam_mac_jam

MadYaker wrote: »

The search for Seamus LAwless has been called off according to the Irish Times. What happens to all the money in the fund that was set up I wonder?

It has been said about twenty times on this thread that they are refunding it

MadYaker

Well apologies for not reading all 116 pages

Ultimate Seduction

You'd wonder how they'll decide who's money was used and who's wasn't.

bnt

Everest is so over now, in my opinion, and only cleanup crews should be allowed back on to retrieve the discarded oxygen cylinders, bags of human poop, and dead climbers. I imagine the Nepal government would like that too if it wasn't for all the income it brings in.

jam_mac_jam

MadYaker wrote: »

Well apologies for not reading all 116 pages

It's in the last few pages

Effects

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

It has been said about twenty times on this thread that they are refunding it

Yeah, but I bet this hasn't been posted yet.

kurtainsider

Effects wrote: »

Yeah, but I bet this hasn't been posted yet.

The whole Everest thing is getting a bit naff isn't it?

gctest50

kurtainsider wrote: »

The whole Everest thing is getting a bit naff isn't it?

To raise more needed funds, the Nepal government could provide online betting on the glory-hunting mountain fodder


2 to 1 if the fodder reckons they don't need acclimatising etc

beauf

kurtainsider wrote: »

The whole Everest thing is getting a bit naff isn't it?

Has been naff for a long time. People are only hearing about it now.

kurtainsider

gctest50 wrote: »

To raise more needed funds, the Nepal government could provide online betting on the glory-hunting mountain fodder


2 to 1 if the fodder reckons they don't need acclimatising etc

Between the Nepalese government raking in the dosh and the expeditions being funded by money which was raised for charity it seem that the people losing out in the deal are the Barretstown kids and the mugs handing over their fivers and tenners to these "heros".

kurtainsider

kurtainsider wrote: »

Between the Nepalese government raking in the dosh and the expeditions being funded by money which was raised for charity it seem that the people losing out in the deal are the Barretstown kids and the mugs handing over their fivers and tenners to these "heros".

Agree completely. If anything this entire incident from when Seamus Lawless went missing has made me so skeptical about these “charity fundraisers” in aid of sick children, cancer research, Goal, UNICEF, Barnardos, Barretstown, CRC etc.

It seems it’s actually just a way of getting a free trip out to these places fully paid for by the public, and the charity gets any leftovers (in the case of Seamus Lawless none). It really beggars belief how people on these trips to Everest and other places are considered “heroes”.

If you pay for it fully out of your own pocket fire ahead, it’s a free world.

My feelings are Everest should be closed and cleaned up , things up there are getting a bit out of hand.

MadYaker

It would seem it needs to be much more tightly regulated by the Nepalese gov in terms of how many permits they give out at a time. Only a certain number of people should be on the mountain at any given time. At the moment it seems like a free for all.

kurtainsider

I've had a look at the Ireland on Everest website and their corporate brochure and I must say that I've had a change of heart about the whole thing and feel that a number of my earlier posts were unkind and unfair. I should have informed myself better before posting and not have gone with my assumption that the whole thing as a sponsored climb in aid of Barretstown and funded by the donations.

Reading their material they are certainly not rattling the tin for Barretstown. They were upfront about their aims and what they were about and were seeking a corporate sponsor for their activities.

I still think that undertaking an expedition like this with a 4 year old child and another on the way was very unwise and that the whole Everest thing is a bit of a travesty but that aside - we have a family grieving a decent man. I should have considered that before posting.

I’m quite sure something will emerge from this Gofundme business. There are so many of these pages being set up for all sorts of purposes, some of them no doubt if dubious merit and a small proportion of them must be totally fraudulent. None of the funds raised are for registered charities and I’m sure somewhere in the backdrop Revenue and maybe other authorities must be taking a little look at it all.

Like many, I love my travels and after years of saving I got my dream to visit Antarctica. I bet that if I had set up a Gofundme “Send Catmaniac to Antarctica” page with a nice sob story about how I had overcome illness (true) to be able to fulfill this dream that I would have had myself fully funded to travel First Class all the way, with an extended cruise staying in the top range suite rather than the smallest cabin, with extended stopovers in five star hotels, and with spending money to spare. My funders would them be rewarded with photos of me posing beside penguins with a slogan “I have fulfilled my dream, Thank You!” Then if I added that I was doing it for cancer research or Laura Lynn etc, buckets more would pour in. All without my having to prove any credentials, except maybe an old picture from a hospital bed. All the money going in to plump up my bank account, with Joe Public, the mugs funding me.

Any Tom, Dick or Harry can set up one of these pages for any purpose they wish so long as they can sell it to the gullible, the ordinary decent giving people.

Blaizes

MadYaker wrote: »

It would seem it needs to be much more tightly regulated by the Nepalese gov in terms of how many permits they give out at a time. Only a certain number of people should be on the mountain at any given time. At the moment it seems like a free for all.

Would agree but poor country, it provides revenue and jobs for people though Everest seems to in the spotlight this week( for not good reasons obviously) around the world especially with that iconic photo of the queues.Wonder if it will gather momentum and if the Nepalese will be forced to take some action -regulation as you say.Time will tell.I'm just shocked at those queues. I used to do hill walking before I had my kids nothing like Everest obviously but I loved it. Might get back into it but just so saddened to read about these queues, theft of equipment etc. perhaps leading to unnecessary loss of life. Another poster raised the issue of equipment and tanks and you'd want to know if you were going there that you had the best possible tanks etc. that weren't going to leak.Really needs more best practice imo.

Wailin

kurtainsider wrote: »

I should have considered that before posting.

Yeah, you should. This whole thread should have been closed days ago with some of the hateful posts about a man's death in that place. People like you, posting without a clue of what they're talking about.

Nobelium

gozunda wrote: »

Do you include the huge numbers of Chinese, Indians who climb Everest etc etc in those misanthropic wanderings?

What anyone climber may 'think' is irrelevant tbh.

Perhaps you could also explain to why those specifically who are 'wealthy' enough to pay for guides and a fully organised climbing expedition need to sneak off and steal oxygen cylinders above all others?

Btw we're not talking about the occasional cylinder here btw - entire caches of cylinders are being stolen which imo indicates deliberate and organised theft. But hey sure go ahead - let prejudice be your only judge and jury ...

Nice bunch these climbers . . .

"Back in Base Camp, it was not the persistent illnesses and relentless cold but boredom that caused the most discomfort. Books, stereos, and countless trips to Hotel California for beer and cards passed the time as the climbers acclimatized. Computers provided e-mail during the day and action films on DVD at night: Kill Bill at the Himalayan Experience camp; Gladiator at ours. Nobody brings romantic comedies to Everest. Beer flowed every afternoon. Vodka and whiskey marked special occasions.

During an evening of drinking, George gave Chuck a blow-by-blow account of the tension and infighting that plagued the Romanian national expedition he climbed with in 2003. But it was talk of raiding other teams' caches of oxygen that troubled Chuck.

"This is the Connecticut Everest Expedition. This is my name and my reputation. We're not stealing oxygen," Chuck told Anne afterward.

But a few days later Anne and Carolyn were surprised to hear Chuck say that there was plenty of excess oxygen and abandoned equipment in the higher camps, and that he would take whatever he needed.

"They've told me how to do it," he said, explaining that with found bottles of oxygen, you could just open up the valves inside a sealed tent, which then inflates with oxygen, thereby avoiding the inconvenience of wearing the oxygen mask while sleeping.

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08s/wfeature-high-crimes-kodas/3"

Wailin

Wailin wrote:

Yeah, you should. This whole thread should have been closed days ago with some of the hateful posts about a man's death in that place. People like you, posting without a clue of what they're talking about.

Jesus. Calm down there. He explained that he was unaware of the facts and corrected himself.

You don't need to be an expert to post on a discussion board. Take a step back and have a breath.

Muahahaha

Deleted User wrote: »

I’m quite sure something will emerge from this Gofundme business.

I just dont know why the people running the gofundme are refunding the excess money rather than just donating it to Barrettstown. I would imagine that all the people who donated €20 or €30 wouldnt mind their contribution going to the charity he was climbing for in the first place rather than going back to their wallet as an unused donation. Or at least give people the option of a refund or a transfer to Barrettstown

Wailin

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Jesus. Calm down there. He explained that he was unaware of the facts and corrected himself.

You don't need to be an expert to post on a discussion board. Take a step back and have a breath.

Who are you, his Dad?

tuxy

Muahahaha wrote: »

I just dont know why the people running the gofundme are refunding the excess money rather than just donating it to Barrettstown. I would imagine that all the people who donated €20 or €30 wouldnt mind their contribution going to the charity he was climbing for in the first place rather than going back to their wallet as an unused donation. Or at least give people the option of a refund or a transfer to Barrettstown

Rule 25 of the terms and conditions
https://www.gofundme.com/terms

Without limiting the foregoing, you agree not to use the Services to:
collecting or providing funds for any purpose other than as described in a Campaign description

There were issues with this rule from the start. I don'#t believe any of the fund went to a search and rescue mission.
I'm not sure how the refund process will work. Sound very messy.

Wailin

Wailin wrote:

Who are you, his Dad?

You seem delightful.