8000m peaks - Everest - K2 - Kangchenjunga - Lhotse - Makalu - Cho-Oyu - Dhaulagiri - Manaslu - Nanga Parbat - Annapurna - Gasherbrum I - Broad Peak - Gasherbrum II - Shishapangma
May 1996 and the modern era of Everest Climbing
In 1996, Ang Rita Sherpa stands on the summit of Everest for the 10th time
without bottled oxygen. 1996 also marks the fastest ascent via the standard
North Col-north ridge-north face Route by Hans Kammerlande on May 24-th.
It taakes him only 16 hours 45 minutes from base camp. He descends most of
the route on skis.
1996 however became known as a year of great tragedy for Everest climbing.
15 people died on Everest, including two of the most successful guides
of their time, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer. The events on May 10 have
been widely
publicized and analyzed. In the center of the discussion stand the purpose
and ethics of modern day Everest mountaineering. Everest ceased to be the
end of the world accessible only to handful of experts. Today, professional
climbing guides enable average people who can pay for the service to fulfill
their dream to stand on the highest point on Earth. As 1996 has clearly
shown, the risks associated with it are still extremely high. One
out of six attempts
ended fatal on average. The question about the purpose of it is at the
center of an ongoing debate. The only good answer is perhaps still
Mallory’s
famous: “Because it’s there.” At the heart of it is the
desire to discover and explore and as such it is deeply human. It is the
same force that drove humans to spread out of Africa and to settle around
the globe. This deep desire to explore the unknown will allow us to conquer
Mars and other new worlds. Whether it should be applied to endeavors that seem
not to have ramification to mankind is and will always be debated.
Photographs:
Bottleneck of climbers waiting to scale the Hillary Step (left centre)
on May 10, 1996 (left).Climbers descend from the summit of Mount Everest
on May 10, 1996, as the clouds of a storm that killed several other climbers
that day
gather below them (right). Source: Scott
Fischer/Woodfin Camp and Associates.
Media reports: CNN
Satellite pictures showing the change in weather pattern during the day of May 10, 1996 (Source: weathergraphics.com).
Outside Magazine September 1996: "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Jon Krakauer describes summit-day tragedy
Ed Viesturs on 1996: Turn Around, Guys!
All
Mount Everest Summiteers
Mount Everest History/Facts
Lene Gammelgaard
Yasuko
Namba, more
...
May
10, 1996: Photographs
