I’ve been watching a couple of series on the Discovery Channel, about people who voluntarily put themselves into extreme survival situations, like climbing Mt. Everest.
Everest is 29,035 feet high, poking its way into the jet stream at an altitude beyond which helicopters can fly.
Summitting Everest requires a 12 hour climb from the highest base camp; the last 300 feet alone take 1-2 hours. Having not slept for the 48 hours before beginning their ascent, climbers must reach the summit and then descend safely past the “Death Zone” in a continuous 17 or more hour non-stop trip.
Oxygen levels at the top of Everest are about 1/3 of amounts at sea level, leading to hypoxia and cerebral and pulmonary edema: if someone were dropped directly from sea level to the top of Everest, they would die in 3 minutes.
Wind speeds can exceed those produced by a category 5 hurricane like Katrina. In July, the warmest month, the average summit temperature is -19 degrees C.
People pay $60,000 or more to join these expeditions, and with rescue often being impossible, an average of 5-6 climbers die each year from injuries, exhaustion or altitude-related illness.
I’ve never understood “because it’s there” as a reason to climb the highest mountains, but seeing these documentaries, I grasp that some people need that challenge to their athleticism. An acquaintance of mine whom, having completed one Iron Man triathalon, wants to do another, is similarly motivated.
Still, this seems like such a waste of effort and money, because it’s voluntary. Other people are put through equally challenging ordeals due to circumstances beyond their control: cancer patients, for instance.
While the extreme athlete amazes, there is absurdity in his or her efforts. It makes one wish that there were a way to bank physical stamina in the same way as cash, to be loaned to those who really need it.