Saddened, but not surprised by most recent Everest tragedy

There is no physical test that climbers have to go through, but that doesn’t mean you can pay your way onto the back of a Sherpa. The goal of those assisting the climb is a safe return to base, said Breashears, to return to their families.(AP Photo/File)

The hard part isn’t climbing up – often the toughest part
about summiting Mt. Everest is the climb back down.

Adventurers have been watching the death toll rise on
Everest as four climbers have been reported dead over the
weekend. David Breashears, a filmmaker, author and
mountaineer just recently back from the Everest base camp,
has been getting his information from friends near the
scene, and online news.

Breashears has summited Everest five times, and most
recently documented it for a film called “Storm Over Everest.” The film is about
the oft-documented 1996 Mount Everest Climb disaster.

“That storm killed our friends,” Fisher told 97.3 KIRO FM’s Ron & Don
Show.

Climbing Everest requires four things: Time, goals,
training, and money. Climbers will pay anywhere between
$30,000 and $90,000. There is no physical test that
climbers have to go through, but that doesn’t mean they
can pay their way onto the back of a Sherpa. The goal of
those assisting the climb is a safe return to base, said
Breashears, and a safe return to their families.

To Breashears, one of the main intuitive problems among
climbers is the mentality that summiting the mountain is
the goal. It shouldn’t be – the goal should be to safely
get down the mountain.

“[Climbers] apparently get themselves into a position
where they’re just too tired to get back down the
mountain.” Sometimes, it’s because even those among the
most physically fit have bodies that don’t respond well to
the elevation changes. Other times, guides and Sherpas
can’t read the exhaustion on the faces of the climbers
until it’s too late.

Conquering Everest is risky – something Breashears knows
all too well. While people have lost their lives and many
people are saddened, he’s not surprised. When a storm can
roll in unexpectedly – whole groups of climbers could find
themselves encountering risks greater than exhaustion –
the weather. “I’m surprised there hasn’t been a bigger
tragedy.”