Prepare to pay a high price when striving to reach the top
Anyone who has climbed a mountain knows the exhilarating feeling of standing at its peak. Sweat and exhaustion give way to awe and beauty. It is not surprising that mankind has for centuries attempted to climb mountains. Higher and higher — in Asia, in Europe. But with each climb comes this known danger. This could be your last ascent. You may not come down alive.
You can never be 100% safe
No mountain ascent can ever be truly 100% safe. No amount of preparation from pamphlets, films, maps, or anecdotes guarantees a successful climb. As an example, eight climbers died during the 1996 Mount Everest disaster due to a blizzard. The storm caught them by surprise and diminished visibility. It hampered their efforts to descend safely to their base camp.
Powerful storms contribute to exhaustion and sickness in climbers. Extreme icy temperatures can lead to frostbite. Blood vessels constrict. To keep the body alive, blood and oxygen divert away from the extremities to the vital organs. Several climbers suffered severe frostbite in the 1934 Nanga Parbat climbing expedition.
Various groups of climbers have also met their end due to an avalanche. The 1922 British Mount Everest expedition also ended in tragedy. This campaign concluded after an avalanche of heavy snow hit and subsequently killed seven porters. A French expedition in 1974 met the same fate en route to the summit. Six climbers died after an avalanche swept across the area. Only one man survived.
Preparation, not merely willpower, is vital
Earl Denman was a Canadian mountaineer with very little experience. One day, in the year 1947, he decided that he wanted to climb Mount Everest by himself.
Then, without any apparent effort of thought, the original conception broadened into a tremendous ambition — that of going alone to Everest. If I were successful on the eight Virunga mountains — but only if entirely successful — I would go to Everest in the same simple way. — Earl Denman, Alone to Everest
With little experience and preparation, but enough ambition, Earl Denman decided to go ahead. With him were two sherpas — Tenzing Norgay and Ang Dawa. They had haphazard plans and close to zero equipment. Denman took a camera instead of oxygen tanks, warm sleeping bags, or any instrument for measuring altitude. They struggled for four nights under horrific weather conditions. Fierce, icy winds that nearly blew them and their tents down onto the glacier. After a terrible night at 22,000 feet, Denman decided to go down. The three of them failed. At least, they survived.
Six years after Norgay’s attempt with Denman, he would conquer Mount Everest with a man named Sir Edmund Hillary. Tenzing Norgay was one of the first two men able to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953.
Just because you think and believe that you can conquer a mountain does this mean that is enough. Sheer willpower alone needs to be coupled with ample preparation for a successful climb.
Preparation entails the following (at the very least):
- physical fitness
- first aid, mountain rescue
- decent equipment — including footwear, clothing, oxygen tanks
- navigation skills
- weather knowledge and understanding
- movement skills
Pure cardiovascular fitness does not suffice. Even those who have completed marathons fail to summit mountains without proper training. Strength is also essential for both the upper and lower body. After all, you will be carrying things on your back. Proper climbing and flexibility training should be undertaken as well.
Even a small mistake can be deadly
When climbing up a mountain, small mistakes can be deadly. The first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1860 was done with great care. Unfortunately, one of the mountaineers, a British man named Douglas Hadow slipped and fell on Michel Croz. Hadow and Croz both fell to their deaths and pulled two of their companions (Charles Hudson and Lord Francis Douglas) with them. It was a small misstep. But for these four men, it meant death.
If the fixed ropes had been prepared early enough in the 1996 Mount Everest climb, then the participants would have not been delayed. Without this setback, then they presumably could have made it down to the base camp before the blizzard hit. This 2-hour delay spelled death. Had they managed to go down two hours earlier, they would have avoided descending during the blizzard.
Not a lot of mountaineers manage to climb the world’s tallest peaks and descend to tell their tales. Mountaineering has been appropriately called the art of suffering. It takes a great deal of physical and mental preparation, but even that may be insufficient. The natural barriers abound — avalanches and blizzards, to name a few. Small mistakes can cause death. Nevertheless, many men and women yearn to conquer the mountain. And they are prepared to pay a high price just to reach the top.
Unlike any sport, it demands that its players die. — Bruce Borcott
Resources
Denman, Earl. Alone to Everest. Pickle Partners Publishing, 2018.
Gellner, John. “Madcap Assault on Everest by a Canadian Engineer.” Maclean’s, 4 January 1964. Accessed on 8 February 2021. https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1964/1/4/madcap-assault-on-everest-by-a-canadian-engineer
Jordan, Jennifer. Savage summit: the life and death of the first women of K2. Harper Collins, 2009.
Schurman, Courenay, MS, CSCS. “Outdoor Sports Conditioning: Training for Alpine Climbing Season.” Body Results, January 2003. Accessed 8 February 2021. http://www.bodyresults.com/e2alpinetraining.asp.
