This talk by Dr. Ken Kamler is a recommended watch. Dr. Kamler was one of the doctors on the 1996 Everest disaster. The ’96 season was the worst with 15 deaths occurring on Everest, and this single tragic day contributed to 8 mountaineers perishing. It was a combination of too many summit attempts on a single day, a blizzard, the attitude of Everest climbers and commercialization of Everest climbs.
The incident sparked a major debate in the mountaineering community over these issues. I cannot find the source, but I’ve further read that this single disaster caused a major overhaul of rules and permits at Everest. The bottleneck in the climb is usually a part of the climb called the Hillary Step — just shy of the summit. With 30% oxygen at that altitude, any major delay can be directly fatal.
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On a related note, I heard from my hiking partner that permits are now required to hike Half Dome on weekends. If left unchecked, hundreds of hikers gather at the base of the metal cables causing delays of over an hour. The temperatures touch 100 degrees F and I have seen this cause dehydration, cramps and fatigue.
Permits will cause some inconvenience : I won’t be able to decide and drive to Yosemite at night to hike Half Dome, but it is a good move that was needed.
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March 26, 2010 at 7:26 pm
Medical miracle at Everest. « News You Can't Use !
[...] miracle at Everest. In the past, I wrote about Dr. Ken Kamler, the only doctor on Mt. Everest during the 1996 Everest disaster. He spoke at TED recently, [...]