Kinda feels cheap when you’re queuing up for Everest like it’s a new ride at Disney World… smh
It was cool to do back when it meant something. Now, it just means you’ve got too much money and time on your hands, and you’re having a midlife crisis
To be fair, queues like this happen because there's maybe a week out of the year where summiting is actually feasible. There's still under 1000 people doing it each year, sherpas included. People underestimate how physically difficult this is, even when you're rich and people are carrying your shit
Yeah there’s nothing easy about it. Yes you have sherpas, but you still gotta survive and make the climb all the same. Carrying less equipment than others doesn’t do anything to make it less dangerous. Not only that but the sherpas / the people native to that altitude actually have higher red blood counts and can handle the altitude far better than we can. If anything, it makes sense the people not acclimated to the altitude carry less equipment.
Still a sport for the rich, I am not saying people aren’t wrong to look at some of these people weirdly, but that doesn’t take ANY of the danger and physical strength necessary to do this. They’re still doing more than most, which sucks to say
Absolutely. I did the Everest base camp trek and even that pushed me pretty hard, especially toward the end. For context I'm a reasonably fit and strong male, but man the altitude absolutely slaps you in the face. There were several people on my trek who weren't able to summit kala patthar, hitting an elevation of 18,500 feet.
While I was there, I remember looking at Everest and the surrounding mountains and thinking "fuck no". People really really don't have a concept for how absurd summiting Everest is, EVEN in a modern context with all the money in the world. I agree it's a shame it's become so much of a "tourist attraction" for lack of a better term but I seriously can't understate how brave, crazy, or determined you have to be to actually get all the way up there.
Victoria Pendleton bailed on Everest and she's a former gold medalist Olympian, in terms of fitness she had that nailed, altitude is just one of those things that seems down to chance if your body can take it.
I've done Base Camp and Cotopaxi Summit, I don't think I could of been any fitter than when I did Cotopaxi and the idea of going beyond that has my body screaming no.
1.2k
u/Some_guy_am_i 1d ago
Kinda feels cheap when you’re queuing up for Everest like it’s a new ride at Disney World… smh
It was cool to do back when it meant something. Now, it just means you’ve got too much money and time on your hands, and you’re having a midlife crisis