I’m always enthralled by the stories of people who spend tens of thousands of dollars to live out the final weeks of their lives dying a slow death of cerebral/pulmonary edema and frost bite.
It does sound crazy but I would love to see that "Top of the World" view. Although minus all that death defying stuff would be great. I've been 14,000 feet up just hiking and the view was amaze-balls for whatever that's worth.
It's best it they're living a life of perfect luxury and ease and lying between satin sheets when that clarion call to Himalayan Adventure first pricks their awareness....
When you have the expedition leader running around trying to hit clients over the head with an air tank it's a good sign the mission has gone off the rails.
Bless the sherpas. That was very thoughtful of them to build Michael a memorial. Sad that his death could’ve been avoided, so many things went wrong that could go wrong. All that I’ve read and watched and researched about Everest climb is that if I were too attempt the climb, which I never would, I would most definitely listen to the sherpas. They know more than anyone.
If you want to see something sad but great to finish this story...Michael's brother went looking for his body and made a documentary about it. He meets a sherpa's family while he's there, the sherpa had also died on the mountain and his family were in a similar situation. The documentary was really great and the ending is a lovely tearjerker. It's on hulu if you have that. It's called Finding Michael
Sure it does. Ed Viesturs, one of the U.S.'s best ever high altitude climbers definitely listened to his gut instincts while he was climbing, and if something felt even a bit off to him, he went down. Probably a good reason why he is still alive after summiting all fourteen 8000m peaks, plus quite a few others that were below 8000m, but still dangerous on their own. He never took any mountain for granted. The one time that he DIDN'T listen was kind of early in his career when he was climbing K2 with Scott Fischer (who died on Everest in 1996). His instincts were telling him that the route wasn't safe, but because Scott wanted to keep going, Ed ignored his gut, and sure enough, an avalanche broke lose right underneath them that somehow didn't kill either him or Scott. He said after that, no matter what, he would listen to his gut instincts and what the mountain was telling him.
@@JokersWild70 - Gut instinct is the life jacket we were all supplied with before birth. It's amazing how many people never act on it, never listen to it, completely disregard it. I think some (many?) of these Everest climbers are so determined to summit that they'd ignore a 9.0 quake on the Richter scale to continue climbing. I've always been fascinated by Everest but would chew my own leg off before I'd attempt it. The Michael Matthews situation is still so controversial after 20 years, with Everest News and many organizations fiercely defending the OTT group as having done nothing wrong, but the majority of the OTT team itself that year claiming that Michael was abandoned by his guide and left to a certain death on the mountain. I guess we'll never know the truth - the egos involved are far too large for any guilty party to stand up and admit what actually happened.
It takes more than courage to walk away and leave your client in a storm too. How is it that they were able to continue to operate on Everest, albeit with a different name? Why was there no inquiry into Michael's death? I KNOW that shit happens on the Mountain - but .. He was simply abandoned!
1. Poorly organized expedition 2. Faulty oxygen cylinders 3. Insubordinate climbers 4. Psychotic guide 5. Sherpa's advice overruled by guide 6. Terrible weather It's a wonder that there was only one fatality!
You're not far off, i think. But most likely a lot of expeditions have varying degrees of preparedness for the worst scenario. I bet if that storm hit all everest expeditions the number of deads would be double or triple or quadruple. But for this expedition a post expertise should be done to verify if mixing separate bottles and connectors from different manufacturers violated those manufacturers product term of use. And if it didn't then whether testing the operation of the composite bottles was sufficient well done for a life and death expedition. The dead young man disregarded the advice of the expedition's professional sherpa to turn back. It should be written in the contract that if any climber receive that word and refuses then no liability is assumed. The young man was already showing early signs of AS way before he even climbed the summit. Even without the storm it is questionable that he would have made it back down alive. But to answer these questions, the expertise on the bottles is crucial. If he had a faulty bottle adapter from the start then the blame is 100% that company or manufacturer.
@@micheladerry5681 I think that will never be known for sure without a post expertise is done on the composite oxygen bottles and adapters from separate manufacturers. It is unclear if that was violation of the products term of use and if not, then it's faulty product, and if so what's the responsibility for the expedition not to have tested the combination ahead of time. There is a serie of technical expertise work that needs to be done in this case to determine responsibilities.
jaelzion Insubordinate climbers, psychotic guide and sherpas advice being overruled by psychotic guide is the main reason Michael Matthews was left to die on that mountain. He was ordered to turn around, why was he told to advance by a guide that would not stay with him, at least to be able to definitively say what happened to him. The guide was simply careless and selfish.
I am not a climber but from what I know trekking to Everest, that guide who took the responsibility to take Mike to the summit had complete responsibility to bring him back down. Mike Smith should have short roped Mike if he was leading him and never gone so far ahead he couldn't see him even in a storm. Mike Smith's behaviour was shameful. Rob Hall lost his life because he wouldn't leave his client even though he had completely collapsed.
He sure did stay up there w Doug til they both were too weak to come down. I believe Rob was suffering from hypoxia too. There's no way he wasn't he was at the south summit for over 12 hours before he called in and said he hadn't moved. At least he got to talk to his wife. It's just such risky business.
Worse is people actually didn't disclose that 2 the family. Supposedly they were "friends "... Luckily there was an annymous leaked and he spilled the beans.
@Definitely a George Soros funded bot Your username is hilarious!! I thought the issue was that they were Russian & American - made parts that didn't fit together properly? I didn't think the problem was with canisters made in Britain but with the bottles connecting to the rest of the apparatus.
Why do you say that? Do you work for the OTT? From Mike picture that was taken immediately after he reached the top of the mountain he looked kind of sick even then. He might slowed down because of low oxygen bottle. Why the guide didn’t watch him and make sure to remain closer to him? Did he see him dead and pretended to not see him at all blaming the wind? Maybe he didn’t want the company or him to be blamed?
What gets me is these guides can make $30k a climb and the Sherpas doing all the work making dozens of climbs and setting everything up make maybe $700? I think Nepal should make it mandatory that Sherpas make a minimum of what the guides make, plus an extra $1000 for every extra climb from camp to camp carrying everything. And, the company should be required to provide a $150k life insurance policy for each Sherpa they employ. That’s at the least.
I agree. They should also require some type of gratuity. They deserve a nice tip for risking their lives to haul them to the top. Especially hearing that some of them literally help carry them to the top. That’s ridiculous!!!
It cost anywhere from $5k-$30k to climb Everest depending on which climbing company you use but that cost is to cover the necessary cost of food,oxygen,gear for the duration of the trip that could last weeks. Sherpas should get paid a type of royalty that helps them even when the climbing seasons are quite especially since they maintain the routes over the summer periods
The average income in Nepal is 250 dollars a year....the sherpas charge 300 for each ox rented...100 for hay for each ox...the sherpas make about 3000 dollars for 2 months work out of the year....not to mention everest dosent effect them like it dose white people....if you paid the sherpas 30k....they would retire for life rich men
These guys all brag they've climbed Everest... meanwhile the Sherpas are climbing up and down continuously carrying all their bags and oxygen, setting up camps and fixing ropes/ladders, while guiding the men to the top 🤣🤣 all hail the brave Sherpas
I couldn’t say it any better- PERFECTLY STATED. The sherpas do all the grunt work and take all the risks, (whereas a climber might go up and, hopefully down, once) going up and down 20+ plus times per climb setting lines, carrying supplies, readying camps, etc.)
I'm big on the process of making high quality decisions. There is a huge lesson to be learned from this story as a guide told Michael he should go to the summit while a Sherpa yelled he must go back down. Guides tend to have a daredevil mentality, while the Sherpa would likely have the mindset to make it back safely at the end of the climb because, the Sherpa are native to the region, they go on all the expeditions, and have family waiting at the bottom they absolutely want to see again. Furthermore, a client climber should put more weight in the directions from a Sherpa than guide when those directions differ in a deadly situation like climbing in the death zone.
I might edit that to say that a guide has not a "Daredevil Mentality" but rather a mentality that for self-promotion wants as many of his clients as possible to summit. It is good for his personal Public Relations.
The guide might have been suffering from high altitude impaired judgement but with the high altitude gene adaptation the sherpa did not and was yelling the right choice.
When these people realized that they had paid a lot of money for a guided tour and the oxygen bottles were incompatible with the fittings, they should have gone down, gone to the office of the they guided tour company, and demanded their money back
Except there is no "office" to go to. They would have to telephone the company and try to get a refund... of course the company will refuse and say they are exaggerating.
Gas man Gas man : I believe so too and not only that but every dead body in their way should be a warning to stop and go back canceling the expedition trip for good. This people are probably feeding their ego and look like they do not have something more important to do. Should be a law that prohibit this kind of propaganda trips. A Ban. no more expedition to this and any other dangerous zone in earth. Like the list of prohibited Island that we are not allow to go.
I think climbing mountains like The Matterhorn are the ideal way to challenge your love for mountain climbing with just enough hair-raising moments to keep you from being distracted or unable to stay sharp and alert and focused. I believe the often hellish conditions and uncomprimising demands on the human body on mountains lilke K2 and Everest are the product of ego and delusions of grandeur. Once everyone and their grandmother has climbed them the thrill of victory surely can't be as exciting as when you are the first to go where no one has gone before.
@@craigroberts1670 You are a walking contradiction. Stay safe and be grateful for all of these nice new outdoor layers we have today because of people who are brave. and crazy, enough to live there life outside their comfort zone.
Yea for real!! Just looking at the footage on a perfectly clear blue sky day seeing how narrow some of the route they follow is makes it truly Unbelievable knowing people have made it back to safety!! Some of the "route" is barely shoulder width apart and they say the winds in this storm and others were over 100 miles per hour!!!! How in the fu** is that possible??! LITERALLY asking HOW tf is that possible when trying to walk in 100mph winds on dry flat ground is virtually impossible!! Lmao I honestly don't understand that and most likely never will if I am to remain being honest with myself!! Lol
@@kevinkelly5569 its not stormy all the time...thats why summit windows are chosen with utmost care. There are a Lot of other 8000s which are exponentially more difficult to climb than Everest. Everest is most popular (because its highest) hence a Lot of people are attracted to it...in the last decade more inexperienced climbers. Hence the death toll is high...still it is just 4%. In comparison Annapurna and K2 has death toll of 29-30%. But lower number of deaths in comparison...as inexperienced climbers don't attempt them.
Very sad. It's basically an expensive suicide. Same thing happened years ago to a Canadian woman, she went to the top but died on her way down after being told by sherpas that she shouldn't go. These documentaries are definitely eye opening, thanks for sharing.
Very good book by Jeffrey Archer about a man climbing Evert just letting you maybe share. Can't remember the name of the book but s brilliant men and a few women including me read and enjoyed
I want to watch films of them going DOWN, where 80% of injuries and deaths occur. Hey, if they are going to do something this stup...errrrrrrrr I mean dangerous, we want to see all of it
I wish these 8,000ers had a ban. Only climb to clean. When it's clean...start again with a plan. Sherpas who are there each year should have final say imo.
@@TierNone_LarperatoR what a negative and short sighted thing to say, you have no idea " what it's all about", how about challenging yourself to be more than an ignorant, negative critic. Have a nice day.
This was doomed from the beginning by not making a firm team of everyone. You should all be known to each other, to know that you are doing this as a team, and if 1 is down, all are down. You don't get so much rebellion when you feel more part of a bigger picture! When you are off to do something that could take your life, you make a bond with everyone involved, or it won't work!
I know! It's crazy to see these climbers who have these single-minded egos and disorganized teams of amateur strangers lining up. Something like everest should be a humbling personally rich experience. Not a throw down tourist go.
My husband and father were both military, both deployed to wars. They were, of course, with very diverse teams. But they WERE teams, and had common purpose and watched out for each other. This OTT exhibition seems it was a $hit show from Day 1. I'm saddened that this young man died needlessly and there was zero accountability. I pray his loved ones have found some piece.
A shocking tale of deceit and desertion! Out There Trekking (OTT) completely failed in its duty to provide and care for its clients. Leadership was insufficient, equipment was faulty, and guides abandoned clients. 1) Following the leader, Jonathan Tinker's stroke and departure from the mountain, there was insufficient leadership and planning. There was no group cohesion. Communication was non-existent. Organization was horrendous. First the replacement leader announced that the weather was too poor to ascend in the next 5 days. Then, he reversed his decision, sending climbers into -40 degree temperatures with 100mph winds. The most telling sign that the replacement leader was in over his head was the fact that he attempted to assault his client on the mountain! 2) The oxygen bottles were faulty. In an attempt to cut-costs, Tinker chose to purchase used, second-hand oxygen bottles. No fewer than 6 climbers reported having problems with the oxygen. If a climber's oxygen cuts out at 29,000 feet, it's a death sentence. 3) The guide, Mike Smith was derelict in his duty. His story that he simply went too fast and lost sight of his client is unacceptable. Obviously if his client had become incapacitated, the guide would have no responsibility to carry him down the mountain... but that's not what happened. The guide simply abandoned his client. While that's not exactly murder, it's damn close. Frankly, I don't believe the guide's story. I believe he fabricated parts of it to make himself seem less dastardly, and even his altered story sounds bad. If the guide's edited version of events sounds as bad as it did, I can't imagine what the true story was. Did he steal the climber's oxygen?
Actually, neither is easy. The issue is that people do not properly account for the descent: they get "summit fever" and do not realize that they aren't "safe" until they are back at Camp 4 from their summit. You expend as much energy going down as you do up when you're that tired... The level of fitness required to make the trip safely is also something that is not easily internalized. I know, because I was seriously pursuing this goal until I was talked out of it by a nice man named Rob Hall. Perhaps you've heard of him....
@@SueMead The man probably saved my life. He challenged the motivations I had, and basically made me stop and think before I went any further. It's not that he was discouraging me from climbing, on the contrary, he was making sure that for this particular challenge, that my eyes were wide open and that my motivations and the information I was receiving were pure and honest. He said specifically that to conquer Everest, you conquer yourself; your pride, ego, self-worth and even basic decency as a human are all tested on that climb and other challenges like it. In hindsight, I believe my desire to climb it was out of nothing more than pride, and placing my wife and kids in jeopardy of losing me was simply not worth it (in my particular calculus). For others that follow through and do it, I have nothing but respect and admiration. Even back then in 1994, Rob was concerned about the growing number of climbers he saw that were not experienced enough. I could see after the tragedy the tension that existed in the businesses of these men between having funds to conduct expeditions, and ensuring safety while performing the work of guide, counselor, motivational speaker, and at times Drill Instructor to get their clients up and down the mountain safely. I'm sure his desire to save Doug is why Rob died: people can second guess all they want I suppose. He's dead and unable to defend himself. The man I spoke to though, he was conscientious, meticulous, and very humble and realistic about trekking on Everest. I hope he is at peace and that his widow and daughter are proud of him and what he stood for.
Mike’s first mistake was not climbing Cho Oyu first, since it’s an easier technical 8k meter climb than Everest. He would have gained experience climbing in the death zone. Aconcagua is 6k meters and nowhere near the death zone. In fact, he’d have done better to climb Denali first, since it’s the tallest mountain on earth above sea level. Everest is the highest mountain. Google it. His second mistake was going against Tinker when they were ordered to come down. His third was not returning to base camp with the team. His body would have had time to build the red blood cells they needed to carry oxygen at altitude. His fourth mistake was not short roping with the guide who made it back. Were he clipped to him, he wouldn’t have wandered off. His fifth mistake was listening to Dave Rodney. Pride goes before destruction.
In winds of that strength - a climber can simply be blown clean off their feet in a split second, and into the abyss. One of my friends died descending from the summit of K2 in that way. To blame guides for a client getting blown off the mountain is a bit rough. OTT sounds like a joke, and only crazy people would consider climbing anything more serious than a set of stairs with them. So many warning signs. So little sense.
Chris Davies I recall watching a mountain climbing video in which one guy came out of his tent without his boots on, had slippers on instead and as soon as he placed his foot on the frozen snow, went into a slide as all began screaming for him “don’t do it, get your boots.” He went over the ledge. This was just early in the ascent.
Chris Davies : In first time the place is too dangerous to go and no worth. Nothing that can be done for him, but please adventures be aware. Use that money for z better cause.
Awful place? Don't be stupid ….. The Khumbu is the most stunningly beautiful place I have ever seen and the Nepalise are the most friendly, helpful and happy I have ever met. Climbing Everest maybe too dangerous for you but there is nothing awful about it. @@lydiaaponte7868
I’ve seen many natural beauties on this planet but the top of Mt Everest happily won’t be one of them and I’m quite content with that! RIP to all the lost souls on that mountain
Yeah but Michael had O2 when he sumitted. Then his mountain guide got scared and abandoned his client on Everest in a stom and made a beeline for safety and the South Coll camp,
What these highly inexperienced climbers fail to realize is if you are lost or immobile in the death zone you will be left and no one will come to rescue you. That is the risk you take when you climb Everest, accept that or don’t climb.
Is this true? This should be on all magazine articles, and in the contract they sign with the company. How is this OK. £40,000 to possibly just be abandoned to death on an icy, lonely mountain. Not worth the risk. Just to say: oh yeah, I did that. Or not 🙄
@sassi7966 this is a very well known and accepted reality of the Himalayas. If someone is going to climb Himalayas they should be experienced enough to know this otherwise they have no business even being at base camp. It's not a Disney land ride for christ sake. It's a life risking activity where you're at the mercy of nature, biology & physics.
i summitted a month ago and lost a dear friend up there. Its not worth the hype it used to be. its everybody for themselves up there, takes you to rather carnal times
Congratulations on summitting - but also very sorry to hear of your loss, I can't imagine the pain you must feel. It seems every year more & more operators are bringing too many clients, to the dangerous point of "logjams" where people are waiting for sometimes hours to move forward waiting for others in front to get past tough areas, leaving clients cold & exhausted. This particular story is tragic, & shows how some operators are more concerned with the $$ than the climbers - the oxygen tank issue should have been a no-go from the start.
I’m so sorry about your friend. Frankly I find you fascinating. I would go a long way to avoid going up there and I seek to understand the drive that gets people up there. And how it feels up there, what goes on in your mind.
@@marilynsgirl01 I somewhat understand your point but if I had to condense it into it’s simplest form it would probably be ‘the fear of missing out’. Some people genuinely get anxious at the prospect of what if’s. 70/80/90 years is a finite amount of time.
This was so very sad to watch, and must be devastating for Michael's family to see. This company had a responsibility, as did the climbers. The decision to stay at the camp against the instruction of the company is likely an important factor in the outcome. I can't quite fathom inexperienced climbers ignoring the instructions of the company responsible for guiding them in one of the most hostile places on earth, but this company had been a farce from day one so it's a lot easier to see how you'd come to that choice. It was clearly evident Michael was struggling when they returned to camp, and while they seemed to identify this, 'hoping' his natural strength would get him there is NOT the attitude to have on everest. He was clearly fatigued, and by the time they got back up to camp 3 clearly experiencing altitude sickness. The video they shoot inside their tent talking about how rough it was getting up there shows he is already short of breath at rest, and importantly, coughing. The company should have had experienced enough people to identify this and instruct people when it is no longer safe to continue, not leave the choice to a 22 year old, full of confidence, and with nowhere near the same understanding they should have of the risks of altitude sickness. I wouldn't be surprised if Michael made it to the top, and compounded with the oxygen problems, developed high altitude pulmonary oedema and this was the reason he slowed so drastically. The decision of the guide to take him up and then get too far ahead to keep contact with him proved fatal, and should never have happened had he properly assessed the situation. Getting to the top doesn't prove you can do it, it proves you can make it half way, but you still need the physical reserves to make it back to camp again. I can't imagine how heavily it weighs on the mind of Michael's family whether he could have made it back if the guide hadn't lost contact with him. Rest in peace Michael. Forever at the very top of the world ❤
I'm usually on the "sometimes horrible shit happen on dangerous mountains despite everyone's best efforts and you really don't get it unless you're there, and you can't be too hard on people in extraordinary circumstances", but this was a disaster waiting to happen. What a mess. Poor kid. Doesn't sound like he did anything wrong except to trust his guide, which he should have been able to do.
why should he have been able to trust his guide ? A bit of basic due diligence would have told him that in 1996, the two most experienced guides in the business, Scott Fischer and Rob Hall, driven by rivalry and financial need, both got themselves killed and decimated both their expeditions in the worst fiasco to date, such a big story it was the front cover of Time magazine. Even the film of that disaster, Into Thin Air, became a global phenomenon. No he died of ignorance, naivety and bad luck, that is all. ....who do so many adventurers lack all imagination ? Everest is such a tired cliche, isnt it ? And, yes, I have travelled throught the Tibetan plateau from Kathmandu to Llasa and experienced migraines diarrhorea and altitude sickness....I think Everest adventurers are all losers, sorry.
@@supergrahamg because if you know anything about guiding, you know the guide's first responsibility is the safety of their clients, and theres really no excuse for losing one (barring completely unforeseen freak accidents). My husband is a guide (not on Everest, but a guide who guides clients in potentially dangerous outdoor/wilderness situations), and the idea that a client should have to mistrust his guide would be entirely foreign to him. A guide's entire purpose is to be safe and knowledgeable enough to have people following him and trusting him. Anybody not able to do that should not have even gotten a guide license. The 1996 season was an unusual circumstance and, yes, the guides didnt do what they should have, but its suspected that the day of the climb, Fisher anyway was so ill with the effects of altitude that he probably was incapable of making any good decisions; he never really even participated in the actual guiding that day. So potentially Everest is just a place that guides cannot reliably operate as such, but it is their, the professionals, job to figure that out. And their clients should be able to trust them to do that.
@@FabricofTime but their naive clients clearly can't trust the judgment of their guides because so many of them die on the mountain; these trust fund adventurers have abdicated responsibility for their own welfare to people that are otherwise unemployable - you are in denial because you have financial 'skin in the game' - as your comment shows - you are married to a mountain guide. At least be honest about the whole charade.....there is nothing more ridiculous than an unfit pompous gin-and-tonic quaffing New York journalist 'correspondent' with a ton of audio equipment being short-roped to the top of an 8000m mountain and then squealing when it all goes horribly wrong. Guides' ethics are skewed by a financial imperative where what is at stake is life or death. That is where it is morally tendentious. I am a solicitor by training and I would never advise a client to bankrupt himself for a cause celebre and a day in court...just so I can put in a bill of costs. It's about integrity and judgment at the end of the day....just saying...With tourism mountaineering.it seems in short supply on both sides because both parties are in the grip of a mania. In my view, it is a contemporary folie a deux. You romanticise something that has no lustre....
I think this doc was pretty one sided. We didn’t hear anyone from the expedition tell their version of the story, just the versions from a few disgruntled clients. I think the critical failure came when Michael and Rodney refused to follow directions about returning to base camp with the team. There’s no evidence that the oxygen had anything to do with this. It sounded like everyone’s oxygen worked just fine. If the expedition was at fault anywhere, it was not kicking them off the team right after they refused to descend to base camp..twice. Clients are implicitly told and retold that they have to trust their leader’s expertise and follow their orders. They didn’t do this, and the result was Michael was clearly weakened from the summit push, combined with the storm and refusing an order to descend was one too many things going wrong in the death zone. Guides can only do so much.
There are also bodies (not counted) that are IN the mountain, people who have fallen down into crevasses, never to be seen again, covered by an avalanche, sometimes, sadly, whole parties of several people so there's no one left to account for them! And there are some who fell off trail and were unable to climb back up and froze to death but are NOT seen from the trails. He says 160, but I've read stats saying 200+, which sound more reasonable for the last almost 70 years that thousands of people have been climbing Everest, and we're referring to those who "climb Mt. Everest" not necessarily summit the mountain.
Ever st have over 30o death toll but I saw a documentary where half of the bodies were removed the other half was difficult to remove so they leave them
My condolences to the family and friends. It is even more tragic if his death could have been prevented as for many possible reasons mentioned in the documentary. But in general, it is to say that if one decides to climb Everest, he knows it is a dance with the death and that possibly makes it more adventurous and interesting for many climbers. He was a smart man and he knew the statistics. Still, sorry for the loss. 😢
The guide will always be lambasted for leaving the client behind but at a point where the only way of getting down is yourself, you are beyond help. The reverse side of that story is Rob Hall, who died because he refused to leave a client behind.
@@PurplePandemonium but what a legacy to leave behind to die in a quest to save someone else because you coudlnt possibly leave them says alot about someone's heart he probably truly believed he could save them both 💔
@@Despond and if everyone thought that way we wouldn't have so many historical figures we have today , that's a real passionless way of thinking do you want to just die and that's it be gone and forgotten I dont
Agreed. In SCUBA you check and recheck your O2 canister and any other pieces of equipment before even looking at the Ocean. You always inspect/test your own canisters and your dive partner/other eyes should inspect yours. If it's bad, it's called off. If it's a life-and-death item, they shouldn't have continued to risk it. :(
As soon as...it should of been called off. Money refunded, great steak dinner and drink binge night before flying back( can't be a total waste). Worse case scenario if not refunded, rescheduled. I cannot believe they proceeded without the oxygen supply being absolute.
Yes the guy that owned the company they should have told him about the problem with the oxygen bottles.... and he should have immediately had the word put through to the clients that he will give them all refunds... that would have been the right thing to do
This is one of the craziest stories I’ve ever heard. How can sensible people find themselves in such a state. If you are reading this I implore you not to attempt this senseless climb. I’ll never understand.
High finance in the city, difficult to get into without strong family connections. Sad loss of life but hard to blame the average Englishman for not mourning.
He is successful and young. It is surely not unprecedented. The problem is the decision-making and maturity level before going to do such a task. The mountain does not take kindly to those that are unprepared. Pay to play is also completely wrong. Required (mental and physical) tests should be passed before you go to prevent this. The storm, poor guiding, O2 bottles and everything else can be blamed but it is on the person who is in the dead zone to have the proper training to get him down safely . You are half dead up there and dying and everyone seems to forget this. Tech does not always come through. If you are reading this and your whole goal in life is to be at the top of the highest mountain go to many other mountains first in British Columbia, Argentina and gradually develop your skill level. Also, watch the CBC documentary on the Nepali -Canadian lady that was adamant to go to the top of Everest and should bought all the shiny gear and had a great kit but....
The problems at Everest have only worsened over the past 20 years. The Nepalese government and the expedition companies have more interest in making money versus creating and upholding safety requirements. Overall this puts much of the burden, risk and little of the profit into the hands of the Sherpa. It’s very sad to see such a great number of climbers, willing to pay upwards of 100,000 US dollars but are so inexperienced that they should be turned away.
The sherpas should benefit far more for their efforts versus the cure system. Ultimately a person is putting their life in their hands it seems to that they should be at the top of the pay scale if Everest is to remain commercialized. They are the only “heroes” if you will on Everest.
The main issue with this type is they've never been told 'no' & it stuck. So when they're being told 'no' to save their clueless ass when adults they see it as a challenge rather than another human telling them they'll die.
Rodney is telling the truth, the man who chased him with the oxygen bottle basically “pleaded the 5th”, and simply lied and said that Rodney (and the doctor) made up the whole story.
I thought the same as you. What I speculate is that David Rodney (who I despise, based on this video) just took it upon himself to go digging through the oxygen tanks, just looking out for himself, as usual, potentially rendering even more of them useless. Of course, at that altitude, that oxygen was their lifeline. I think when that guide saw what he was up to, in addition to all his previous antics, sure, I think the guide may have just lost it. I mean, I wanted to bludgeon Rodney with an oxygen tank just sitting in my bed listening to him suggest that the rest of the "team" was jealous because they didn't share his genius decision to ignore the guide- whose leadership they were all paying for- and do their own thing. You would think that when conditions changed and it was time to go back up, the rest of the team having had like 5 days of rest and bonding, while he and his partner had to turn around and go right back up, you would think that he would get it, would understand the value of everyone staying together. Nope. Wow, I've really wandered off the subject- so yeah, I think the guide did try to kill him, but I'm ruling not guilty- justifiable homicide.
@@poutinedream5066 the guide should have said that instead of just saying "nope never happened at all everyone else is lying". And I agree to an extent, I'd be furious with the guy too, and I think most people would get him just losing it. But lying about it instead just makes him look bad.
21:35 The reason to climb and then descend before coming back up is to give the body a chance to get more O2 and warmth and recover before making the final climb. All the time doing nothing at Camp 2 they were just getting weaker, not stronger.
Who was running the show?... the clients or the guides? I would have told them.. the clients... your paying me to get you up and down the mountain safely.. There is no arguments...there is no democracy... either you do as I tell you to do...or you.. choose to continue on your own without my assistance....
It's very sad Michael Matthews should never have died, they shouldn't have cut corners trying to get oxygen that was cheaper in my opinion it was a OTT fault. it's absolutely heartbreaking for his parents and other family members this should never have happened my heart goes out to them. RIP Michael.
While I do believe that ultimately Mike Matthews was responsible for his own death there's no denying that the negligence and other problems especially the situation with the oxygen bottles was of criminal proportions and so because they chose to cover up the truth about things that contributed to a young man's death I can't understand why there was no prosecution whatsoever... at least a minimal amount of jail time for the cover-up .
that attitude is the problem to start with. Believing that a guide company is responsible for you in a dangerous place like Everest. They climbed with oxygen they knew was faulty, after all the organizational problems, after the expedition leader apparently tried to bash a client over the head with an oxygen tank. None of them took personal responsibility, they all had this false belief that they were on a trip to the zoo or something and the guides would keep them safe from any dangers. Even at the end, what did they expect the guide that was with him in the storm to do? Pick him up and carry him down from the summit? Freeze to death with him? There are clearly risks that can't be mitigated, it's absurd people do things like this believing that because they paid a company lots of money to take them that their guides will turn into superman if needed to keep them from dying.
I feel very sorry for Mike's parents. Too bad that they didn't or couldn't talk him out of this dangerous desire to climb Mt. Everest. Especially when things started going terribly wrong. Young people often feel they are invincible. Too bad we can't turn back the hands of time and give Mike a second chance to make a wiser decision.
He was King of the stock markets and thought how else can I conquer the world 🌎 🥳 So sad. I remember being 22, I thought I was virtually immortal and death was only for old people. I mean, I knew it was a fact that young people died.. but that never felt real 😔
Excellent viewing, thanks for sharing, mate! Sad story but when they turn Everest into a plaything for rich adventure tourists with little climbing experience and allow them to try and cheat the mountain and nature with bottled oxygen then these deaths will continue to happen...
and continue to leave rubbish, tents, oxygen tanks etc. good grief what an arrogant bunch who treat the Sherpas as bloody servants, putting their experienced lives at risk by ignorant stupid behaviour
@@watchgoose yeah they do. The climbers and trekkers bring much needed money to the area and I think it's not an easy task for a Sherpa to get a job on an expedition. Many of them apply but few are chosen. But I do agree about the highest rubbish dump in the world. They must do more to clean it up and practice leave no trace like the rest of us do in the lesser mountain ranges of the world.
I read, that theyre gonna temporarily close the mountain for climbers to do clean-up of all the rubbish left there over the decades, as well as try to bring down the many bodies. Dont remember if it was North side or South side tho.
I hate the commercialism behind it but I have a slightly different reason: we are destroying nature with the flesh of the deceased and leaving behind litter, in the way of equipment and such, that is going to stay on Chomolungma forever. (Too cold to decay, too dangerous to retrieve). It's costing the minority group of Sherpas their lives (about 1/3 of deaths are Sherpas). I would love to see the top of the world as much as the next person but it's not worth potentially adding another body to the graveyard. Nature will always win. Always.
How is it destroying the mountain again? You think a mountain gives a fuck about some dead bodies and tents? It aint like you would even see any of it unless you went up there yourself. Please stop acting as if some oxygen tanks and sleeping bags are going to topple the mountain. Please...
@@TheGillenium Pick axes destroy the mountain. Loads of rubbish and human feces. Search the topic and you will find some disgusting videos of the damage that is being done to the mountain.
No body noticed..a young "baer garylls" appeared in video right in begining around 18 sec. Nice to see him holding that much experience in climbing. He had already make all of us proud with man vs wild on discovery. Great Champ.
This is a strange one to me. Everest stories are full of people having to abandon others, knowing that if they stayed the only thing they would accomplish would be adding their own death to the toll. Many of the stories are gut-wrenching.The company may have sucked, but I can't fault the decision of the guide in those moments in a brutal storm on Everest.
I am going to disagree with that whole 'abandoning' thing. It's already too late when 100 mph winds and -40 deg temperature hits. Nobody can babysit another in these conditions and should not be blamed for it at that point. The mistake and blame occur earlier by letting a slow climber with altitude sickness go on, and tell him he can do it.
Totally agree. Guides have some responsibility to intervene and try to help if someone is in trouble but if they don't listen and staying means the guides life will be sacrificed, the guide has every right to leave..... that is a very unfair job condition!
"Why wasn't Michael better taken care of?" Said one of the people being interviewed. Really? A Sherpa - an expert of the mountain - told him to go back down. He listened to some dipshit instead and it cost him his life.
He listened to a professional guide , who said he would do it with him . The guide was part of the outfit that he paid to get him to the summit and down . How was he to know that the guide wouldn't be looking after him like he should have . I believe he was abandoned and not just on accident. They were in whiteout conditions, why hadn't the guide tied a rope to Micheal and himself so they would not be separated? Why does it seem as though the guide just set a pace in the storm and didn't really care if Michael could match it. In his mind if Michael couldn't match it that was Michael's problem because he wasn't seriously risking his life to save somebody that could end up getting him killed too. Yes he made a bad choice but the outfit that those people paid to take screwed them all . When the problem arose with the oxygen they should have called it off , to ensure their customers lives . Even if that meant giving their money back, making their endeavor a total loss. Instead they risk all their live to a greater degree and then one of their guides leaves a young man, they all knew was having a hard time , on the mountain. By himself , in a storm , and so tired he had not one chance by himself to make it alive . Criminal is how I see the people of that organization.
@@ICE69ROG I agree with all of your points... except the fact that the guide was supposed to take care of the client and ensure his safety ! Although its a fact that the guide should never have taken a slow climber to summit past their scheduled turn around time....but once caught in the storm if the guide would have stuck around with him...he would have signed his own death sentence as well (very similar to Rob Hall). Up in the death zone...every man is for himself...i know everyone finds it selfish and inhuman...but the conditions are such...that you kindness and conscience will not save your life. The party you are helping will surely be dead...and so will you.
@@7777igloo Yes it possibly/probably would have gotten him killed , but it is a matter of honor . When the sherpa was yelling at Micheal to turn around that guide interfered. Giving Micheal his word saying he would take him up to theee summit and bring him back down , if I remember right . Implying that they had time to do it and that he would be with him the whole way. By virtue of being paid to do this job safety was that outfit's responsibility, Micheal was their responsibility and that guide was a part of that outfit. I would agree with you if the guide had been just a companion. The truth is that they all had notice how Micheal was moving , the exhaustion that was over taking him in the thin air . Reality is that he should never have been on the fourth leg , he should have been down at base camp resting for the chance of another attempt. To many things had gone wrong and he was too depleted by the time they finally started that forth leg . That guide basically killed him when he told him he would go with him. He was in no shape to make it without a storm, with the storm he was doomed.
as someone who’s been to base camp I can say a lot more preparation went into getting to basecamp than these unprofessional tour organisers did for the summit. A shame
Would a good mother not appreciate the relief of the other mother, knowing that her child was sacrificed so a stronger, higher value individual could survive? It seems selfish to think a pissy, spoiled nonce like that deserved more than what could be done without risk to the stronger team members.
Yes and if they didn't offer a refund I would have sued them for a refund after I got home.... but first I would have gotten the names and phone numbers of all the other clients to corroborate the story about the oxygen bottles .
I have read stories about people smoking in their tents. I too am a smoker and don't see how you could smoke at that altitude, guess it depends on how much you smoke.
That guide Mike probably had oxygen problems too and knew he had to get down quickly. I reckon he left him there to die. As that other man said ;how can you get so far in front of your climber that you cant see him anymore'. Pure neglect and selfishness to leave him there alone. RIP Michael Mathews, you were too young to die. Great doco though. Thank you so much.
Everytime I watch one of these videos I'm astonished by the poor decision making. Making those climbers come down 6000 ft only to head up 2 days later? The fact that the wrong oxygen bottles & adapters were provided? The fact they didn't have organized team meetings? Did they pay $40,000 for a professional service or a circus???
I bet that co-worker that threw the magazine article of Everest on Michael's desk has some major guilt these days!! As innocent as it was. Things like THAT are hard to forgive yourself for. I hope he's doing okay now. Seems okay.
Sad and premature end to a young bloke. A hard lesson for any one intending to venture up there - 1. you are on your own, 2. always remember that for every 31 people reaching the summit, there are 2 persons dead and you could be one of those...!!! And, the odds are much worse while coming down...!!!
When your higher self wants to take you back, a way will be made to make it happen, there is no death, you are not your body, you are merely having a human experience, and then you move on from there!
Very sad story and such a young age only 22 years old Michael should have been looked after alot closer. Miss managment poor communications bad oxagion and tempers fairing over leadership. That whole team cold a have died up there due to all of these things. Michael's family was told a pack lies about his death on his climb to add insults and hurt to coverup to the truth. Very tragic indeed
So when Rodney wanted mike to support him to stay at base two,that’s ok ,but he didn’t care about mike on the summit day, he couldn’t even wait for him, or wondered where his tent mate was.
To me working it with a file (such as they described it) would have been an absolute cinch, but I still wouldnt have gone, just because I could do it down here doesnt mean I could do it up there.
I've written about these instances on Mount Everest so many times. Firstly, the naivete of these clients is shocking but not surprising. They apparently had neither the experience nor the knowledge to be climbing Everest. The rule of Everest: In the death zone, it is impossible to bring down climbers in trouble without losing one's own life -- that applies whether the individuals involved are client climbers, team leaders, or sherpas. This is what I have written before: Climbing on Everest needs to be highly regulated by the Government of Nepal, with highly trained and experienced guides only allowed and closely regulated supervision of the teams. With the Sherpas making the most money. That climbers, no matter what they are charged, must be properly certified and trained (not just with one much smaller summit just to make the grade). Only a small number of expeditions per year, properly spread out. Tight waiver agreements that stand up in court from clients. Responsibility to take all garbage and oxygen cans off the mountain at the end of the expedition, and where possible collection of the bodies.. Now about this instance: Blame is a useless pastime that never solves problems. We are each fully responsible for the circumstances we create for ourselves, whether by our decisions and actions along the way, or by how we respond to actions beyond our control. Mike Matthews made a decision to climb Everest, knowing he did not have sufficient experience. He made the decision to summit, after having been warned to turn back by the highly experienced Sherpa. His friend decided to stay in the team, knowing there were problems with the oxygen and being fully aware that leadership, supervision and discipline had broken down, he himself being culpable of going against the team by not returning to base camp with the others before the second summit trip. It all makes me very angry. Such needless waste of lives and environmental destruction of a beautiful area of our planet.
Were you asleep when you wrote this? Because youre dreaming lol. While youre at it, lets stop all of the war, death and hunger in the world!! Sounds like a piece of cake right???
Everyone is going in on the organizers and suppliers - as they should, because they ran a chaotic and irresponsible sh*t show and lied about it. Both incompetent and dishonest. Everyone is going in on Matthews himself -- as they should, because his blithe idiocy was only matched by his stubborness. He was a classic case of "insisting on dying", and even perfect guides can't do much about such people. But not many going in on this Dave Rodney character, despite the guy, who oozes with narcissism and psychopathy, contributing more than most to the disastrous result. It was he that insisted they remained at the higher camp when told to descend -- as he himself described. if they return to the lower camp, Matthews almost certainly never makes it back up and lives to tell the tale. It was he who cajoled and coached the guy into making the submitting attempt despite his already bad condition. A remotely normal tent partner would have been saying the precise opposite. It was he who was the most disruptive element in the expedition. Everest guides deal with arrogant nutjobs every trip -- it takes a special kind to drive them to flipping out and chasing them with a canister. He repeatedly made unilateral decisions on movement and equipment and ignored advice and instruction. The worst possible example of "I need guides to climb the mountain, but I want to be expedition leader too" Also, despite his acting, he is clearly ecstatic with how things turned out. Like so many, he went to Everest to get himself some tale to recite in the minor political and motivation speaking career he aspired to, and that's what he got. The guy has been dining off this incident for years.
Ace trader, but in treacherous Mt. Everest conditions, clearly out of his depths. Obviously, he wanted to reach the summit, which he did, to challenge himself to greater heights, but got caught out by icy winds and atrocious weather and not being adequately equipped with functioning oxygen masks, caused his certain death on his descent. Tragic loss for his parents.
Reaching the summit is not, in an of itself, the ultimate journey... bc it is only half the journey... you have to be able to make it back down again. Too many inexperienced ppl w more dollars than sense are allowed to do something that is inherently dangerous even for experienced climbers. The real heroes are the sherpas, whether climbers listen to them or not.
I have seen a lot of videos of Everest but first time I watched this one. Very sad!! I definitely think there is something suspicious about his death! Yes, Everest can be harsh and you put your life at risk but with the oxygen and attitudes I think he was left to die for sure. RIP Michael
A lot of people are not "left TO die" but left FOR dead because to take them down endangers the life of the rescuer. Is two dying somehow better than only one?
@@watchgoose I know that a lot of people are left for "dead" and that trying to get people down at those altitudes and in some of their conditions, risking 2, 3, 4 peoples lives, is not better than just losing one. But, the selfish actions of others can put others lives at risk with no second thoughts. People have left others behind to save their own hide. Please don't say it doesn't happen, it does!!
@@hikingadventures1017 not defending anyone, however, "selfish actions of others can put others lives at risk" - it's a two way lane though, Mike's actions (being inexperienced, tired after disobeying commands the days before, and still summiting despite a sherpa's strong advice to descent) put Mike Smith's life at risk too. I just ask myself why someone who's clearly exhausted will push for a summit when they clearly need all their strength left for the equally gruesome descent. He could've just communicated to Mike Smith his own bad condition and what the Sherpa had told him.
@@arenasification That is a very good point and I do agree; too many times we hear of someones selfish acts and someone gets hurt or killed by them. Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it!
I want to hear just one story where someone who was told to turn back by a Sherpa doesn’t, and then succeeds. I know we only hear about the ones that went wrong, But I genuinely want to hear of a story where it went okay after someone was told to turn back and didn’t.
Instead, I’d like to hear a story of a climber being told to return, then doing so, and being grateful for following the advice. You never hear of someone who has paid all the money, gone on the trek, and decided not to summit favoring their life instead, coming home and saying, “ you know what? Thank God I listened to those experts because I wouldn’t be here today.”
It's so sad and tragic. He was literally abandoned on the mountain by a bunch of incompetent assholes!...he should have listened to the sherpa. RIP.❣🙏🏽❣
I’ve watched this several times, and now wonder if he would have been in better shape if it he had listened to the guides about going down as a team instead of that dude blaming Kikas. It seems like everyone that listened to the experienced people of OTT, even if there were problems, survived. And the only person that died listened to the dude that was entirely insubordinate to the paid guides and everyone was “jealous” of. I def saw Kikas as the villain first couple of times I watched this. But, logic has taken over - even if the situation sucked, those that listened to the people with more experience lived.
When you don’t follow what the rest of your team is doing and then complain about organisation you have to understand you’re a big part of the issue as well. When they bought Tinker down it doesn’t sound like there was much compassion shown by some of the ‘team.’
![Yailin La Mas Viral, @kreizyk.official - Dale 2 (Remix) [Video Oficial]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JaYHBzgqz94/mqdefault.jpg)
I’m always enthralled by the stories of people who spend tens of thousands of dollars to live out the final weeks of their lives dying a slow death of cerebral/pulmonary edema and frost bite.
It does sound crazy but I would love to see that "Top of the World" view. Although minus all that death defying stuff would be great. I've been 14,000 feet up just hiking and the view was amaze-balls for whatever that's worth.
It's best it they're living a life of perfect luxury and ease and lying between satin sheets when that clarion call to Himalayan Adventure first pricks their awareness....
Yes odd
Because stupidity is bliss 🤣😆😂
Sadomasachist.
When you have the expedition leader running around trying to hit clients over the head with an air tank it's a good sign the mission has gone off the rails.
bindlepig80 LOL. Loved your comment
bindlepig80 What? Really?? I would've thought this was standard practice 😂😂
And from what was presented, he didn't even seem to be suffering from hypoxia, so there was no excuse.
bindlepig80 You can't make this shit up.....
That incident didn't happen.Matthews was too slow and caused his own death
Bless the sherpas. That was very thoughtful of them to build Michael a memorial. Sad that his death could’ve been avoided, so many things went wrong that could go wrong. All that I’ve read and watched and researched about Everest climb is that if I were too attempt the climb, which I never would, I would most definitely listen to the sherpas. They know more than anyone.
Sherpas are not something special.'
They are just uneducated backwarts uncivilized tourist guides#
They do that because there afraid 😱 of the spirit so it won't hurt them !
If you want to see something sad but great to finish this story...Michael's brother went looking for his body and made a documentary about it. He meets a sherpa's family while he's there, the sherpa had also died on the mountain and his family were in a similar situation. The documentary was really great and the ending is a lovely tearjerker. It's on hulu if you have that. It's called Finding Michael
@@GelatoAndMelatonin That was Spencer Matthews who was on reality show Made in Chelsea
Sometimes it takes more courage to call it off then continue on.
Yesssss
Yes it does, because pride is seductive, and it can kill you as quickly as almost anything else.
Sure it does. Ed Viesturs, one of the U.S.'s best ever high altitude climbers definitely listened to his gut instincts while he was climbing, and if something felt even a bit off to him, he went down. Probably a good reason why he is still alive after summiting all fourteen 8000m peaks, plus quite a few others that were below 8000m, but still dangerous on their own. He never took any mountain for granted. The one time that he DIDN'T listen was kind of early in his career when he was climbing K2 with Scott Fischer (who died on Everest in 1996). His instincts were telling him that the route wasn't safe, but because Scott wanted to keep going, Ed ignored his gut, and sure enough, an avalanche broke lose right underneath them that somehow didn't kill either him or Scott. He said after that, no matter what, he would listen to his gut instincts and what the mountain was telling him.
@@JokersWild70 - Gut instinct is the life jacket we were all supplied with before birth. It's amazing how many people never act on it, never listen to it, completely disregard it. I think some (many?) of these Everest climbers are so determined to summit that they'd ignore a 9.0 quake on the Richter scale to continue climbing. I've always been fascinated by Everest but would chew my own leg off before I'd attempt it. The Michael Matthews situation is still so controversial after 20 years, with Everest News and many organizations fiercely defending the OTT group as having done nothing wrong, but the majority of the OTT team itself that year claiming that Michael was abandoned by his guide and left to a certain death on the mountain. I guess we'll never know the truth - the egos involved are far too large for any guilty party to stand up and admit what actually happened.
It takes more than courage to walk away and leave your client in a storm too. How is it that they were able to continue to operate on Everest, albeit with a different name? Why was there no inquiry into Michael's death? I KNOW that shit happens on the Mountain - but .. He was simply abandoned!
1. Poorly organized expedition
2. Faulty oxygen cylinders
3. Insubordinate climbers
4. Psychotic guide
5. Sherpa's advice overruled by guide
6. Terrible weather
It's a wonder that there was only one fatality!
i hope somebody paid for this death, a very avoidable one.Who organized it that way is a criminal
and these were the positives regarding the expedition
You're not far off, i think. But most likely a lot of expeditions have varying degrees of preparedness for the worst scenario. I bet if that storm hit all everest expeditions the number of deads would be double or triple or quadruple. But for this expedition a post expertise should be done to verify if mixing separate bottles and connectors from different manufacturers violated those manufacturers product term of use. And if it didn't then whether testing the operation of the composite bottles was sufficient well done for a life and death expedition. The dead young man disregarded the advice of the expedition's professional sherpa to turn back. It should be written in the contract that if any climber receive that word and refuses then no liability is assumed.
The young man was already showing early signs of AS way before he even climbed the summit. Even without the storm it is questionable that he would have made it back down alive. But to answer these questions, the expertise on the bottles is crucial. If he had a faulty bottle adapter from the start then the blame is 100% that company or manufacturer.
@@micheladerry5681 I think that will never be known for sure without a post expertise is done on the composite oxygen bottles and adapters from separate manufacturers. It is unclear if that was violation of the products term of use and if not, then it's faulty product, and if so what's the responsibility for the expedition not to have tested the combination ahead of time. There is a serie of technical expertise work that needs to be done in this case to determine responsibilities.
jaelzion Insubordinate climbers, psychotic guide and sherpas advice being overruled by psychotic guide is the main reason Michael Matthews was left to die on that mountain. He was ordered to turn around, why was he told to advance by a guide that would not stay with him, at least to be able to definitively say what happened to him. The guide was simply careless and selfish.
*Moral of the story:* If a Sherpa’s salary depends on whether or not you summit, and he’s *still* screaming in your face to turn around….maybe listen.
And then pay him a bonus for saving your life with good advice
So accurate
I am not a climber but from what I know trekking to Everest, that guide who took the responsibility to take Mike to the summit had complete responsibility to bring him back down. Mike Smith should have short roped Mike if he was leading him and never gone so far ahead he couldn't see him even in a storm.
Mike Smith's behaviour was shameful. Rob Hall lost his life because he wouldn't leave his client even though he had completely collapsed.
He sure did stay up there w Doug til they both were too weak to come down. I believe Rob was suffering from hypoxia too. There's no way he wasn't he was at the south summit for over 12 hours before he called in and said he hadn't moved. At least he got to talk to his wife. It's just such risky business.
"Let's not mention the oxygen-problem to Michael's family...it will only upset them"...that says it all.
Worse is people actually didn't disclose that 2 the family. Supposedly they were "friends "... Luckily there was an annymous leaked and he spilled the beans.
@Definitely a George Soros funded bot Your username is hilarious!!
I thought the issue was that they were Russian & American - made parts that didn't fit together properly? I didn't think the problem was with canisters made in Britain but with the bottles connecting to the rest of the apparatus.
It certainly sounds like they wanted to hide their culpability, which in effect is an admission of guilt.
Upset the family cause your oxygen bottles that you supplied killed mike
Why do you say that? Do you work for the OTT? From Mike picture that was taken immediately after he reached the top of the mountain he looked kind of sick even then. He might slowed down because of low oxygen bottle. Why the guide didn’t watch him and make sure to remain closer to him? Did he see him dead and pretended to not see him at all blaming the wind? Maybe he didn’t want the company or him to be blamed?
What gets me is these guides can make $30k a climb and the Sherpas doing all the work making dozens of climbs and setting everything up make maybe $700? I think Nepal should make it mandatory that Sherpas make a minimum of what the guides make, plus an extra $1000 for every extra climb from camp to camp carrying everything. And, the company should be required to provide a $150k life insurance policy for each Sherpa they employ. That’s at the least.
I agree. They should also require some type of gratuity. They deserve a nice tip for risking their lives to haul them to the top. Especially hearing that some of them literally help carry them to the top. That’s ridiculous!!!
sadly, not sure the sherpas would ever be insured
They do live at that height and it isn’t hers from them but the mountain can always take you . They get bonuses for making it etc .
It cost anywhere from $5k-$30k to climb Everest depending on which climbing company you use but that cost is to cover the necessary cost of food,oxygen,gear for the duration of the trip that could last weeks. Sherpas should get paid a type of royalty that helps them even when the climbing seasons are quite especially since they maintain the routes over the summer periods
The average income in Nepal is 250 dollars a year....the sherpas charge 300 for each ox rented...100 for hay for each ox...the sherpas make about 3000 dollars for 2 months work out of the year....not to mention everest dosent effect them like it dose white people....if you paid the sherpas 30k....they would retire for life rich men
These guys all brag they've climbed Everest... meanwhile the Sherpas are climbing up and down continuously carrying all their bags and oxygen, setting up camps and fixing ropes/ladders, while guiding the men to the top 🤣🤣 all hail the brave Sherpas
Without the Sherpas no one would be able to climb Everest all alone.
@That Flippin Guy Thank you 🙏 for the information.
The will to live for others is the strongest motivation to survive. Those men still alive and exist because of their mission to fulfill in this world.
I couldn’t say it any better- PERFECTLY STATED. The sherpas do all the grunt work and take all the risks, (whereas a climber might go up and, hopefully down, once) going up and down 20+ plus times per climb setting lines, carrying supplies, readying camps, etc.)
You guys are so salty about something that will literally never affect you or the vast majority of the world.
I'm big on the process of making high quality decisions. There is a huge lesson to be learned from this story as a guide told Michael he should go to the summit while a Sherpa yelled he must go back down. Guides tend to have a daredevil mentality, while the Sherpa would likely have the mindset to make it back safely at the end of the climb because, the Sherpa are native to the region, they go on all the expeditions, and have family waiting at the bottom they absolutely want to see again. Furthermore, a client climber should put more weight in the directions from a Sherpa than guide when those directions differ in a deadly situation like climbing in the death zone.
I might edit that to say that a guide has not a "Daredevil Mentality" but rather a mentality that for self-promotion wants as many of his clients as possible to summit. It is good for his personal Public Relations.
The guide might have been suffering from high altitude impaired judgement but with the high altitude gene adaptation the sherpa did not and was yelling the right choice.
Michael Mathews was clearly a poor decision maker, unfortunately. He definitely disappointed his family and parents.
@@JamieTransNyc True, that makes them less daredevil and more sociopath
The guide should have known that Micheal didn’t have the physical strength to go on.
When these people realized that they had paid a lot of money for a guided tour and the oxygen bottles were incompatible with the fittings, they should have gone down, gone to the office of the they guided tour company, and demanded their money back
Except there is no "office" to go to. They would have to telephone the company and try to get a refund... of course the company will refuse and say they are exaggerating.
Who want to walk passed bodies of frozen climbers all the way to the top.
That mountain has gone from being a huge challenge to a big graveyard.
Gas man Gas man : I believe so too and not only that but every dead body in their way should be a warning to stop and go back canceling the expedition trip for good. This people are probably feeding their ego and look like they do not have something more important to do. Should be a law that prohibit this kind of propaganda trips. A Ban. no more expedition to this and any other dangerous zone in earth. Like the list of prohibited Island that we are not allow to go.
Have y ben there I was told the bodies including greenboots were moved to the side basically hidden but y are write there is 300 dead people somewhere
I think climbing mountains like The Matterhorn are the ideal way to challenge your love for mountain climbing with just enough hair-raising moments to keep you from being distracted or unable to stay sharp and alert and focused. I believe the often hellish conditions and uncomprimising demands on the human body on mountains lilke K2 and Everest are the product of ego and delusions of grandeur. Once everyone and their grandmother has climbed them the thrill of victory surely can't be as exciting as when you are the first to go where no one has gone before.
google Rainbow Valley, Everest. Wild wild stuff but at least these people died doing something they love.
@@craigroberts1670 You are a walking contradiction. Stay safe and be grateful for all of these nice new outdoor layers we have today because of people who are brave. and crazy, enough to live there life outside their comfort zone.
There shouldn't be tourist climbing on Everest or K2. Only very experienced climbers who fully understand the risks, and when to climb or abort.
Mike ODonovan My husband and I just said the same thing. Everest is more or less shut down right now thankfully
Money talks and ya'll know the other half.
@@pentfold6534 Here is hoping that it stays that way.
There isn't and never has been any tourist climbing on K2!
@@shahbazkhan2428 do u know why?
Everest is 5.5 miles high. I wouldn’t want to walk 5.5 miles on a flat road in a blizzard...
Yea for real!! Just looking at the footage on a perfectly clear blue sky day seeing how narrow some of the route they follow is makes it truly Unbelievable knowing people have made it back to safety!! Some of the "route" is barely shoulder width apart and they say the winds in this storm and others were over 100 miles per hour!!!! How in the fu** is that possible??! LITERALLY asking HOW tf is that possible when trying to walk in 100mph winds on dry flat ground is virtually impossible!! Lmao I honestly don't understand that and most likely never will if I am to remain being honest with myself!! Lol
Or think of it another way. The summit is in the jet stream.
@@kevinkelly5569 its not stormy all the time...thats why summit windows are chosen with utmost care. There are a Lot of other 8000s which are exponentially more difficult to climb than Everest.
Everest is most popular (because its highest) hence a Lot of people are attracted to it...in the last decade more inexperienced climbers. Hence the death toll is high...still it is just 4%.
In comparison Annapurna and K2 has death toll of 29-30%. But lower number of deaths in comparison...as inexperienced climbers don't attempt them.
Very sad. It's basically an expensive suicide. Same thing happened years ago to a Canadian woman, she went to the top but died on her way down after being told by sherpas that she shouldn't go. These documentaries are definitely eye opening, thanks for sharing.
Very good book by Jeffrey Archer about a man climbing Evert just letting you maybe share. Can't remember the name of the book but s brilliant men and a few women including me read and enjoyed
Ol green boots lost his life just three years before this guy
I want to watch films of them going DOWN, where 80% of injuries and deaths occur. Hey, if they are going to do something this stup...errrrrrrrr I mean dangerous, we want to see all of it
Expensive suicide! Spot on comment.
Fran Arseniev… her Russian husband also died
Leave that mountain alone and everybody will be fine.
I wish these 8,000ers had a ban. Only climb to clean. When it's clean...start again with a plan. Sherpas who are there each year should have final say imo.
We have to respect the nature.
diatonix2 a fool and his life are soon parted, leave that mountain alone
@@M1cko33 His boyfriend (top) clearly died on everest..don't mock him anymore!
@@TierNone_LarperatoR what a negative and short sighted thing to say, you have no idea " what it's all about", how about challenging yourself to be more than an ignorant, negative critic. Have a nice day.
This was doomed from the beginning by not making a firm team of everyone. You should all be known to each other, to know that you are doing this as a team, and if 1 is down, all are down. You don't get so much rebellion when you feel more part of a bigger picture! When you are off to do something that could take your life, you make a bond with everyone involved, or it won't work!
I know! It's crazy to see these climbers who have these single-minded egos and disorganized teams of amateur strangers lining up. Something like everest should be a humbling personally rich experience. Not a throw down tourist go.
My husband and father were both military, both deployed to wars. They were, of course, with very diverse teams. But they WERE teams, and had common purpose and watched out for each other. This OTT exhibition seems it was a $hit show from Day 1. I'm saddened that this young man died needlessly and there was zero accountability. I pray his loved ones have found some piece.
A shocking tale of deceit and desertion! Out There Trekking (OTT) completely failed in its duty to provide and care for its clients. Leadership was insufficient, equipment was faulty, and guides abandoned clients.
1) Following the leader, Jonathan Tinker's stroke and departure from the mountain, there was insufficient leadership and planning. There was no group cohesion. Communication was non-existent. Organization was horrendous. First the replacement leader announced that the weather was too poor to ascend in the next 5 days. Then, he reversed his decision, sending climbers into -40 degree temperatures with 100mph winds. The most telling sign that the replacement leader was in over his head was the fact that he attempted to assault his client on the mountain!
2) The oxygen bottles were faulty. In an attempt to cut-costs, Tinker chose to purchase used, second-hand oxygen bottles. No fewer than 6 climbers reported having problems with the oxygen. If a climber's oxygen cuts out at 29,000 feet, it's a death sentence.
3) The guide, Mike Smith was derelict in his duty. His story that he simply went too fast and lost sight of his client is unacceptable. Obviously if his client had become incapacitated, the guide would have no responsibility to carry him down the mountain... but that's not what happened. The guide simply abandoned his client. While that's not exactly murder, it's damn close. Frankly, I don't believe the guide's story. I believe he fabricated parts of it to make himself seem less dastardly, and even his altered story sounds bad. If the guide's edited version of events sounds as bad as it did, I can't imagine what the true story was. Did he steal the climber's oxygen?
The easy part is getting clients to the summit of Everest. The hard part is getting them back down alive.
Actually, neither is easy. The issue is that people do not properly account for the descent: they get "summit fever" and do not realize that they aren't "safe" until they are back at Camp 4 from their summit. You expend as much energy going down as you do up when you're that tired... The level of fitness required to make the trip safely is also something that is not easily internalized. I know, because I was seriously pursuing this goal until I was talked out of it by a nice man named Rob Hall. Perhaps you've heard of him....
The really hard part is getting them down when they're dead.
@@karlchilders5420
Rings a bell ;-)
@@SueMead The man probably saved my life. He challenged the motivations I had, and basically made me stop and think before I went any further. It's not that he was discouraging me from climbing, on the contrary, he was making sure that for this particular challenge, that my eyes were wide open and that my motivations and the information I was receiving were pure and honest. He said specifically that to conquer Everest, you conquer yourself; your pride, ego, self-worth and even basic decency as a human are all tested on that climb and other challenges like it. In hindsight, I believe my desire to climb it was out of nothing more than pride, and placing my wife and kids in jeopardy of losing me was simply not worth it (in my particular calculus).
For others that follow through and do it, I have nothing but respect and admiration. Even back then in 1994, Rob was concerned about the growing number of climbers he saw that were not experienced enough. I could see after the tragedy the tension that existed in the businesses of these men between having funds to conduct expeditions, and ensuring safety while performing the work of guide, counselor, motivational speaker, and at times Drill Instructor to get their clients up and down the mountain safely. I'm sure his desire to save Doug is why Rob died: people can second guess all they want I suppose. He's dead and unable to defend himself. The man I spoke to though, he was conscientious, meticulous, and very humble and realistic about trekking on Everest. I hope he is at peace and that his widow and daughter are proud of him and what he stood for.
Don't pay them the full amount til they get back down alive.
Mike’s first mistake was not climbing Cho Oyu first, since it’s an easier technical 8k meter climb than Everest. He would have gained experience climbing in the death zone. Aconcagua is 6k meters and nowhere near the death zone. In fact, he’d have done better to climb Denali first, since it’s the tallest mountain on earth above sea level. Everest is the highest mountain. Google it.
His second mistake was going against Tinker when they were ordered to come down.
His third was not returning to base camp with the team. His body would have had time to build the red blood cells they needed to carry oxygen at altitude.
His fourth mistake was not short roping with the guide who made it back. Were he clipped to him, he wouldn’t have wandered off.
His fifth mistake was listening to Dave Rodney.
Pride goes before destruction.
I 100% agree w all of this. Ego. Pride. Etc.
In winds of that strength - a climber can simply be blown clean off their feet in a split second, and into the abyss. One of my friends died descending from the summit of K2 in that way. To blame guides for a client getting blown off the mountain is a bit rough. OTT sounds like a joke, and only crazy people would consider climbing anything more serious than a set of stairs with them. So many warning signs. So little sense.
Chris Davies I recall watching a mountain climbing video in which one guy came out of his tent without his boots on, had slippers on instead and as soon as he placed his foot on the frozen snow, went into a slide as all began screaming for him “don’t do it, get your boots.” He went over the ledge. This was just early in the ascent.
@@SignedOff402 Which movie was that?
Chris Davies : I hope that any person wishing to go to this mountain take this as a warning and cancel any trip to that awful place.
Chris Davies : In first time the place is too dangerous to go and no worth. Nothing that can be done for him, but please adventures be aware. Use that money for z better cause.
Awful place? Don't be stupid ….. The Khumbu is the most stunningly beautiful place I have ever seen and the Nepalise are the most friendly, helpful and happy I have ever met. Climbing Everest maybe too dangerous for you but there is nothing awful about it. @@lydiaaponte7868
One of the guys at the end says it best "you can't guide up there it's every man for himself"
I’ve seen many natural beauties on this planet but the top of Mt Everest happily won’t be one of them and I’m quite content with that! RIP to all the lost souls on that mountain
When the head guide became ill, and the issue with the O2 know, ott should had pulled the plug.
Yeah but Michael had O2 when he sumitted. Then his mountain guide got scared and abandoned his client on Everest in a stom and made a beeline for safety and the South Coll camp,
@@dianamincher6479 yep, and hes still alive and Mike is not. Mike should have listened to the sherpa. Its mike fault and mikes alone.
I don't care if I'm paying the big bucks like he said. Rude though. I'm making sure all my equipment is good to go.
@@TheGillenium not when the lead guide insisted he could get him to summit and back.
@@RogueCylon how did that work out for him?
I knew Michael as a child. He was a gorgeous looking boy. Such a waste. Our heart goes out to to the family.
Oh no...He was good looking??? Does that mean He Had a Lot of value? Damn now im sad :(
What these highly inexperienced climbers fail to realize is if you are lost or immobile in the death zone you will be left and no one will come to rescue you. That is the risk you take when you climb Everest, accept that or don’t climb.
Is this true? This should be on all magazine articles, and in the contract they sign with the company.
How is this OK. £40,000 to possibly just be abandoned to death on an icy, lonely mountain.
Not worth the risk. Just to say: oh yeah, I did that.
Or not 🙄
so they were right to give him improper oxygen?
No meetings that clarified this?
@sassi7966 this is a very well known and accepted reality of the Himalayas. If someone is going to climb Himalayas they should be experienced enough to know this otherwise they have no business even being at base camp. It's not a Disney land ride for christ sake. It's a life risking activity where you're at the mercy of nature, biology & physics.
i summitted a month ago and lost a dear friend up there. Its not worth the hype it used to be. its everybody for themselves up there, takes you to rather carnal times
Congratulations on summitting - but
also very sorry to hear of your loss, I can't imagine the pain you must feel.
It seems every year more & more operators are bringing too many clients, to the dangerous point of "logjams" where people are waiting for sometimes hours to move forward waiting for others in front to get past tough areas, leaving clients cold & exhausted.
This particular story is tragic, & shows how some operators are more concerned with the $$ than the climbers - the oxygen tank issue should have been a no-go from the start.
Congrats, but I'm very sorry for your loss.
I’m so sorry about your friend. Frankly I find you fascinating. I would go a long way to avoid going up there and I seek to understand the drive that gets people up there. And how it feels up there, what goes on in your mind.
Bitter sweet achievement, well done but also sorry for the loss of your friend...🙏
@@marilynsgirl01 I somewhat understand your point but if I had to condense it into it’s simplest form it would probably be ‘the fear of missing out’. Some people genuinely get anxious at the prospect of what if’s. 70/80/90 years is a finite amount of time.
Taking very rich, inexperienced people up Everest - what could possibly go wrong?
This was so very sad to watch, and must be devastating for Michael's family to see. This company had a responsibility, as did the climbers. The decision to stay at the camp against the instruction of the company is likely an important factor in the outcome. I can't quite fathom inexperienced climbers ignoring the instructions of the company responsible for guiding them in one of the most hostile places on earth, but this company had been a farce from day one so it's a lot easier to see how you'd come to that choice. It was clearly evident Michael was struggling when they returned to camp, and while they seemed to identify this, 'hoping' his natural strength would get him there is NOT the attitude to have on everest. He was clearly fatigued, and by the time they got back up to camp 3 clearly experiencing altitude sickness. The video they shoot inside their tent talking about how rough it was getting up there shows he is already short of breath at rest, and importantly, coughing. The company should have had experienced enough people to identify this and instruct people when it is no longer safe to continue, not leave the choice to a 22 year old, full of confidence, and with nowhere near the same understanding they should have of the risks of altitude sickness. I wouldn't be surprised if Michael made it to the top, and compounded with the oxygen problems, developed high altitude pulmonary oedema and this was the reason he slowed so drastically. The decision of the guide to take him up and then get too far ahead to keep contact with him proved fatal, and should never have happened had he properly assessed the situation. Getting to the top doesn't prove you can do it, it proves you can make it half way, but you still need the physical reserves to make it back to camp again. I can't imagine how heavily it weighs on the mind of Michael's family whether he could have made it back if the guide hadn't lost contact with him.
Rest in peace Michael. Forever at the very top of the world ❤
This Rodney guy sure seems to judge other people. Look in the mirror. You too had summit fever and behaved badly on that mountain.
I'm usually on the "sometimes horrible shit happen on dangerous mountains despite everyone's best efforts and you really don't get it unless you're there, and you can't be too hard on people in extraordinary circumstances", but this was a disaster waiting to happen. What a mess. Poor kid. Doesn't sound like he did anything wrong except to trust his guide, which he should have been able to do.
why should he have been able to trust his guide ? A bit of basic due diligence would have told him that in 1996, the two most experienced guides in the business, Scott Fischer and Rob Hall, driven by rivalry and financial need, both got themselves killed and decimated both their expeditions in the worst fiasco to date, such a big story it was the front cover of Time magazine. Even the film of that disaster, Into Thin Air, became a global phenomenon. No he died of ignorance, naivety and bad luck, that is all. ....who do so many adventurers lack all imagination ? Everest is such a tired cliche, isnt it ? And, yes, I have travelled throught the Tibetan plateau from Kathmandu to Llasa and experienced migraines diarrhorea and altitude sickness....I think Everest adventurers are all losers, sorry.
@@supergrahamg because if you know anything about guiding, you know the guide's first responsibility is the safety of their clients, and theres really no excuse for losing one (barring completely unforeseen freak accidents). My husband is a guide (not on Everest, but a guide who guides clients in potentially dangerous outdoor/wilderness situations), and the idea that a client should have to mistrust his guide would be entirely foreign to him. A guide's entire purpose is to be safe and knowledgeable enough to have people following him and trusting him. Anybody not able to do that should not have even gotten a guide license. The 1996 season was an unusual circumstance and, yes, the guides didnt do what they should have, but its suspected that the day of the climb, Fisher anyway was so ill with the effects of altitude that he probably was incapable of making any good decisions; he never really even participated in the actual guiding that day. So potentially Everest is just a place that guides cannot reliably operate as such, but it is their, the professionals, job to figure that out. And their clients should be able to trust them to do that.
@@FabricofTime but their naive clients clearly can't trust the judgment of their guides because so many of them die on the mountain; these trust fund adventurers have abdicated responsibility for their own welfare to people that are otherwise unemployable - you are in denial because you have financial 'skin in the game' - as your comment shows - you are married to a mountain guide. At least be honest about the whole charade.....there is nothing more ridiculous than an unfit pompous gin-and-tonic quaffing New York journalist 'correspondent' with a ton of audio equipment being short-roped to the top of an 8000m mountain and then squealing when it all goes horribly wrong. Guides' ethics are skewed by a financial imperative where what is at stake is life or death. That is where it is morally tendentious. I am a solicitor by training and I would never advise a client to bankrupt himself for a cause celebre and a day in court...just so I can put in a bill of costs. It's about integrity and judgment at the end of the day....just saying...With tourism mountaineering.it seems in short supply on both sides because both parties are in the grip of a mania. In my view, it is a contemporary folie a deux. You romanticise something that has no lustre....
I think this doc was pretty one sided. We didn’t hear anyone from the expedition tell their version of the story, just the versions from a few disgruntled clients. I think the critical failure came when Michael and Rodney refused to follow directions about returning to base camp with the team. There’s no evidence that the oxygen had anything to do with this. It sounded like everyone’s oxygen worked just fine. If the expedition was at fault anywhere, it was not kicking them off the team right after they refused to descend to base camp..twice. Clients are implicitly told and retold that they have to trust their leader’s expertise and follow their orders. They didn’t do this, and the result was Michael was clearly weakened from the summit push, combined with the storm and refusing an order to descend was one too many things going wrong in the death zone. Guides can only do so much.
Mike Carter oh Sweetheart.
Why not go for "lets stay at base camp and not climb" experience? You can thus without risk enjoy the discomforts and scenery.
Base Camp Treks are popular. :)
ya thats just as fun...................................................
There are also bodies (not counted) that are IN the mountain, people who have fallen down into crevasses, never to be seen again, covered by an avalanche, sometimes, sadly, whole parties of several people so there's no one left to account for them! And there are some who fell off trail and were unable to climb back up and froze to death but are NOT seen from the trails. He says 160, but I've read stats saying 200+, which sound more reasonable for the last almost 70 years that thousands of people have been climbing Everest, and we're referring to those who "climb Mt. Everest" not necessarily summit the mountain.
Ever st have over 30o death toll but I saw a documentary where half of the bodies were removed the other half was difficult to remove so they leave them
also, u forgot that 160 was AT THAT TIME, there are more bodies added.
did u even think before posting
My condolences to the family and friends. It is even more tragic if his death could have been prevented as for many possible reasons mentioned in the documentary.
But in general, it is to say that if one decides to climb Everest, he knows it is a dance with the death and that possibly makes it more adventurous and interesting for many climbers.
He was a smart man and he knew the statistics. Still, sorry for the loss. 😢
One of the reasons you pick team member so carefully, is when the medic says, one's down, the whole team has to turn back.
The guide will always be lambasted for leaving the client behind but at a point where the only way of getting down is yourself, you are beyond help. The reverse side of that story is Rob Hall, who died because he refused to leave a client behind.
And in his instance he should have left the client, rob left behind his pregnant wife and unborn daughter
@@PurplePandemonium but what a legacy to leave behind to die in a quest to save someone else because you coudlnt possibly leave them says alot about someone's heart he probably truly believed he could save them both 💔
Poor Rob x ❤
@@djfhfh Legacy means nothing, he is dead he doesn't know about a legacy lol.
@@Despond and if everyone thought that way we wouldn't have so many historical figures we have today , that's a real passionless way of thinking do you want to just die and that's it be gone and forgotten I dont
I wouldn't want someone to die trying to save me.
It seems like Mike was given a bad oxygen tank by his guide..... Since that's the case, yes risk your life
Should have called it off with the bad oxygen bottles
Agreed. In SCUBA you check and recheck your O2 canister and any other pieces of equipment before even looking at the Ocean. You always inspect/test your own canisters and your dive partner/other eyes should inspect yours. If it's bad, it's called off. If it's a life-and-death item, they shouldn't have continued to risk it.
:(
tree rat76 agreed; selfish people don’t care; they just want to summit; and they pay the ultimate price
Criminal organizations
As soon as...it should of been called off. Money refunded, great steak dinner and drink binge night before flying back( can't be a total waste). Worse case scenario if not refunded, rescheduled. I cannot believe they proceeded without the oxygen supply being absolute.
Yes the guy that owned the company they should have told him about the problem with the oxygen bottles.... and he should have immediately had the word put through to the clients that he will give them all refunds... that would have been the right thing to do
This is one of the craziest stories I’ve ever heard. How can sensible people find themselves in such a state. If you are reading this I implore you not to attempt this senseless climb. I’ll never understand.
And he understood hedging, stocks, bonds risk and then laid down $40k and his life which was priceless.
22 years old with 40k to spare just layin around. wtf is goin on man
Good point actually, that doesn't happen these days XD
High finance in the city, difficult to get into without strong family connections. Sad loss of life but hard to blame the average Englishman for not mourning.
😂
way more than 40k in today's money
He is successful and young. It is surely not unprecedented. The problem is the decision-making and maturity level before going to do such a task. The mountain does not take kindly to those that are unprepared. Pay to play is also completely wrong. Required (mental and physical) tests should be passed before you go to prevent this. The storm, poor guiding, O2 bottles and everything else can be blamed but it is on the person who is in the dead zone to have the proper training to get him down safely . You are half dead up there and dying and everyone seems to forget this. Tech does not always come through. If you are reading this and your whole goal in life is to be at the top of the highest mountain go to many other mountains first in British Columbia, Argentina and gradually develop your skill level. Also, watch the CBC documentary on the Nepali -Canadian lady that was adamant to go to the top of Everest and should bought all the shiny gear and had a great kit but....
The problems at Everest have only worsened over the past 20 years. The Nepalese government and the expedition companies have more interest in making money versus creating and upholding safety requirements. Overall this puts much of the burden, risk and little of the profit into the hands of the Sherpa. It’s very sad to see such a great number of climbers, willing to pay upwards of 100,000 US dollars but are so inexperienced that they should be turned away.
Absolutely true!
The sherpas should benefit far more for their efforts versus the cure system. Ultimately a person is putting their life in their hands it seems to that they should be at the top of the pay scale if Everest is to remain commercialized. They are the only “heroes” if you will on Everest.
Reality Bytes I think China issues permits. Not sure but this is what one comment said.
@@diturner7247 only on the north side in tibet. on the south side permits are issued by Nepal
@@diturner7247 yes but what from what I heard they do not issue a lot of permits
when it comes to climbing mountains like this, everything has to go right. if things start going wrong, you just have to give it up & turn around.
@Gio: an hopefully get yor money back, after all $40.000 is not little.
@@sharegreats2157 $40k or risk dying
You don’t get a refund 😊
That you come from rich parents doesn't mean your capable of climbing mountains.
No drama when it goes wrong...just reap what you sow.
The main issue with this type is they've never been told 'no' & it stuck.
So when they're being told 'no' to save their clueless ass when adults they see it as a challenge rather than another human telling them they'll die.
True
@@ClickClack_Bam oh well it's on them
Those involved in the Oxygen problem should be in prison for not leveling with the climbers on the expedition !
I could have used a better explanation as to the guide chasing the other climber around trying to smash him with an oxygen tank.
Rodney is telling the truth, the man who chased him with the oxygen bottle basically “pleaded the 5th”, and simply lied and said that Rodney (and the doctor) made up the whole story.
I thought the same as you. What I speculate is that David Rodney (who I despise, based on this video) just took it upon himself to go digging through the oxygen tanks, just looking out for himself, as usual, potentially rendering even more of them useless. Of course, at that altitude, that oxygen was their lifeline. I think when that guide saw what he was up to, in addition to all his previous antics, sure, I think the guide may have just lost it. I mean, I wanted to bludgeon Rodney with an oxygen tank just sitting in my bed listening to him suggest that the rest of the "team" was jealous because they didn't share his genius decision to ignore the guide- whose leadership they were all paying for- and do their own thing. You would think that when conditions changed and it was time to go back up, the rest of the team having had like 5 days of rest and bonding, while he and his partner had to turn around and go right back up, you would think that he would get it, would understand the value of everyone staying together. Nope. Wow, I've really wandered off the subject- so yeah, I think the guide did try to kill him, but I'm ruling not guilty- justifiable homicide.
Out of control egos.
@@poutinedream5066 the guide should have said that instead of just saying "nope never happened at all everyone else is lying". And I agree to an extent, I'd be furious with the guy too, and I think most people would get him just losing it. But lying about it instead just makes him look bad.
kitrick42 my thoughts exactly! Not much of an explanation there.
Its crazy that people risk their lives to make it to the top of everest i feel a lot safer watching this at home
...we wouldn’t be watching from the safety of our homes if there were no mountaineers with the passion to climb!
21:35 The reason to climb and then descend before coming back up is to give the body a chance to get more O2 and warmth and recover before making the final climb. All the time doing nothing at Camp 2 they were just getting weaker, not stronger.
Who was running the show?... the clients or the guides? I would have told them.. the clients... your paying me to get you up and down the mountain safely.. There is no arguments...there is no democracy... either you do as I tell you to do...or you.. choose to continue on your own without my assistance....
I don't get that decision to stay at camp 2. That was a fatal disregard of authority.
i read that what those professional mountaineers do.. go back and forth until the body know it’s way to comply.
It's very sad Michael Matthews should never have died, they shouldn't have cut corners trying to get oxygen that was cheaper in my opinion it was a OTT fault. it's absolutely heartbreaking for his parents and other family members this should never have happened my heart goes out to them. RIP Michael.
This guide company killed this young man. Then turn around and change the name to Alpine guide company! Crazy!
While I do believe that ultimately Mike Matthews was responsible for his own death there's no denying that the negligence and other problems especially the situation with the oxygen bottles was of criminal proportions and so because they chose to cover up the truth about things that contributed to a young man's death I can't understand why there was no prosecution whatsoever... at least a minimal amount of jail time for the cover-up .
"Alpine Guide Company" s/b "Alpine Murderers and Criminal CoverUp Company". They need to go to prison.
that attitude is the problem to start with. Believing that a guide company is responsible for you in a dangerous place like Everest. They climbed with oxygen they knew was faulty, after all the organizational problems, after the expedition leader apparently tried to bash a client over the head with an oxygen tank. None of them took personal responsibility, they all had this false belief that they were on a trip to the zoo or something and the guides would keep them safe from any dangers. Even at the end, what did they expect the guide that was with him in the storm to do? Pick him up and carry him down from the summit? Freeze to death with him? There are clearly risks that can't be mitigated, it's absurd people do things like this believing that because they paid a company lots of money to take them that their guides will turn into superman if needed to keep them from dying.
I feel very sorry for Mike's parents. Too bad that they didn't or couldn't talk him out of this dangerous desire to climb Mt. Everest. Especially when things started going terribly wrong. Young people often feel they are invincible. Too bad we can't turn back the hands of time and give Mike a second chance to make a wiser decision.
But then you wouldn't have this documentary...
My friend's training to climb it 🙈
Sad....the friend that shoved that magazine article in Michael's face.
He was King of the stock markets and thought how else can I conquer the world 🌎 🥳
So sad.
I remember being 22, I thought I was virtually immortal and death was only for old people. I mean, I knew it was a fact that young people died.. but that never felt real 😔
Excellent viewing, thanks for sharing, mate! Sad story but when they turn Everest into a plaything for rich adventure tourists with little climbing experience and allow them to try and cheat the mountain and nature with bottled oxygen then these deaths will continue to happen...
and continue to leave rubbish, tents, oxygen tanks etc. good grief what an arrogant bunch who treat the Sherpas as bloody servants, putting their experienced lives at risk by ignorant stupid behaviour
@@boojay111 the sherpas get paid
@@watchgoose yeah they do. The climbers and trekkers bring much needed money to the area and I think it's not an easy task for a Sherpa to get a job on an expedition. Many of them apply but few are chosen. But I do agree about the highest rubbish dump in the world. They must do more to clean it up and practice leave no trace like the rest of us do in the lesser mountain ranges of the world.
I read, that theyre gonna temporarily close the mountain for climbers to do clean-up of all the rubbish left there over the decades, as well as try to bring down the many bodies. Dont remember if it was North side or South side tho.
@@dfuher968 that's great, it's about time they tried to do something about it!👍
I'm amazed that they would allow so much separation between group members, that's like saying you WANT something to go wrong.
Agreed-the separation creates an inference that they want something to go wrong-it bespeaks a carelessness or negligencee.
Thank you for making this video. So very sad, and it shows me money may get you up Mt. Everest but know guarantee to bring you back.
I hate the commercialism behind it but I have a slightly different reason: we are destroying nature with the flesh of the deceased and leaving behind litter, in the way of equipment and such, that is going to stay on Chomolungma forever. (Too cold to decay, too dangerous to retrieve). It's costing the minority group of Sherpas their lives (about 1/3 of deaths are Sherpas). I would love to see the top of the world as much as the next person but it's not worth potentially adding another body to the graveyard. Nature will always win. Always.
How is it destroying the mountain again? You think a mountain gives a fuck about some dead bodies and tents? It aint like you would even see any of it unless you went up there yourself. Please stop acting as if some oxygen tanks and sleeping bags are going to topple the mountain. Please...
@@TheGillenium Pick axes destroy the mountain. Loads of rubbish and human feces. Search the topic and you will find some disgusting videos of the damage that is being done to the mountain.
getting to camp one with a view of the mountain would be enough for me . thanks for posting
The desire to climb this mountain is intoxicating. The closer you get, the stronger the desire. Like moths to a flame.
A sad end to a young man of 22...rest in peace.🌹
No body noticed..a young "baer garylls" appeared in video right in begining around 18 sec. Nice to see him holding that much experience in climbing. He had already make all of us proud with man vs wild on discovery. Great Champ.
Shit !! Didn't notice it !
Thanks man 👍🏼
Oh crap so it is
I noticed
"That's what we pay them the big bucks for"
Yeah, just switch off your brain. because you paid someone.
well if they didn't do it up there they would have just done it huffing gasoline from a rag in a shed somewhere
Thanks Larry for posting this video on RUclips. Very sad story, but very interesting as well.
This is a strange one to me. Everest stories are full of people having to abandon others, knowing that if they stayed the only thing they would accomplish would be adding their own death to the toll. Many of the stories are gut-wrenching.The company may have sucked, but I can't fault the decision of the guide in those moments in a brutal storm on Everest.
Money makes people think they are invisible
Roger Dread You mean invincible?
Indivisible.
I am going to disagree with that whole 'abandoning' thing. It's already too late when 100 mph winds and -40 deg temperature hits. Nobody can babysit another in these conditions and should not be blamed for it at that point. The mistake and blame occur earlier by letting a slow climber with altitude sickness go on, and tell him he can do it.
Totally agree. Guides have some responsibility to intervene and try to help if someone is in trouble but if they don't listen and staying means the guides life will be sacrificed, the guide has every right to leave..... that is a very unfair job condition!
"Why wasn't Michael better taken care of?" Said one of the people being interviewed. Really? A Sherpa - an expert of the mountain - told him to go back down. He listened to some dipshit instead and it cost him his life.
Best explanation I heard this far.
He listened to a professional guide , who said he would do it with him . The guide was part of the outfit that he paid to get him to the summit and down . How was he to know that the guide wouldn't be looking after him like he should have . I believe he was abandoned and not just on accident. They were in whiteout conditions, why hadn't the guide tied a rope to Micheal and himself so they would not be separated? Why does it seem as though the guide just set a pace in the storm and didn't really care if Michael could match it. In his mind if Michael couldn't match it that was Michael's problem because he wasn't seriously risking his life to save somebody that could end up getting him killed too. Yes he made a bad choice but the outfit that those people paid to take screwed them all . When the problem arose with the oxygen they should have called it off , to ensure their customers lives . Even if that meant giving their money back, making their endeavor a total loss. Instead they risk all their live to a greater degree and then one of their guides leaves a young man, they all knew was having a hard time , on the mountain. By himself , in a storm , and so tired he had not one chance by himself to make it alive . Criminal is how I see the people of that organization.
@@ICE69ROG I agree with all of your points... except the fact that the guide was supposed to take care of the client and ensure his safety !
Although its a fact that the guide should never have taken a slow climber to summit past their scheduled turn around time....but once caught in the storm if the guide would have stuck around with him...he would have signed his own death sentence as well (very similar to Rob Hall).
Up in the death zone...every man is for himself...i know everyone finds it selfish and inhuman...but the conditions are such...that you kindness and conscience will not save your life. The party you are helping will surely be dead...and so will you.
@@7777igloo Yes it possibly/probably would have gotten him killed , but it is a matter of honor . When the sherpa was yelling at Micheal to turn around that guide interfered. Giving Micheal his word saying he would take him up to theee summit and bring him back down , if I remember right . Implying that they had time to do it and that he would be with him the whole way. By virtue of being paid to do this job safety was that outfit's responsibility, Micheal was their responsibility and that guide was a part of that outfit. I would agree with you if the guide had been just a companion. The truth is that they all had notice how Micheal was moving , the exhaustion that was over taking him in the thin air . Reality is that he should never have been on the fourth leg , he should have been down at base camp resting for the chance of another attempt. To many things had gone wrong and he was too depleted by the time they finally started that forth leg . That guide basically killed him when he told him he would go with him. He was in no shape to make it without a storm, with the storm he was doomed.
@@ICE69ROG The guide didn't know the sherpa had told Michael to turn back.
as someone who’s been to base camp I can say a lot more preparation went into getting to basecamp than these unprofessional tour organisers did for the summit. A shame
Ive been researching this. The villages seem cool.
Dying alone. And then being left because it’s too risky. Truly every mothers worst nightmare.
Would a good mother not appreciate the relief of the other mother, knowing that her child was sacrificed so a stronger, higher value individual could survive? It seems selfish to think a pissy, spoiled nonce like that deserved more than what could be done without risk to the stronger team members.
Id have been 'screw you guys, I'm going home' 😂
Yes and if they didn't offer a refund I would have sued them for a refund after I got home.... but first I would have gotten the names and phone numbers of all the other clients to corroborate the story about the oxygen bottles .
Sue people?? Really?
I'm a smoker! I probably wouldn't even make it to base camp!
Lol smokers have climbed it. They just might need extra oxygen. Lol
Not a smoker and wouldn't make it
scott fischer was apparently an avid pot smoker, as stated in the book "into thin air"
Maybe not but it would have it's lighter moments....
I have read stories about people smoking in their tents. I too am a smoker and don't see how you could smoke at that altitude, guess it depends on how much you smoke.
Amazing negligence on the side of OTT and the guides.
That guide Mike probably had oxygen problems too and knew he had to get down quickly. I reckon he left him there to die. As that other man said ;how can you get so far in front of your climber that you cant see him anymore'. Pure neglect and selfishness to leave him there alone. RIP Michael Mathews, you were too young to die.
Great doco though. Thank you so much.
Admire the positivity and great energy Matthew and his partner had despite the negative situation.
Listen when death is staring at you at the top of the mountain. I guess it's all man for himself.
Everytime I watch one of these videos I'm astonished by the poor decision making. Making those climbers come down 6000 ft only to head up 2 days later? The fact that the wrong oxygen bottles & adapters were provided? The fact they didn't have organized team meetings? Did they pay $40,000 for a professional service or a circus???
They didn't go down with the others. The weather can change fast up there. And you can't buy full service up to Everest.
I bet that co-worker that threw the magazine article of Everest on Michael's desk has some major guilt these days!! As innocent as it was. Things like THAT are hard to forgive yourself for. I hope he's doing okay now. Seems okay.
I don’t see any problem there. At all.
@@Celisar1 Really. You don't see how the coworker might blame himself.
Survivor's guilt 😔
He doesn't give a shit, mostly just glad he was so unfit as to never even earn the opportunity to die.
The poor Man at the end summed it up perfectly , it’s a Mugs game Rest in peace Mike 😢
Sad and premature end to a young bloke. A hard lesson for any one intending to venture up there - 1. you are on your own, 2. always remember that for every 31 people reaching the summit, there are 2 persons dead and you could be one of those...!!! And, the odds are much worse while coming down...!!!
Playground for the rich and stupid.
perfectlyjust it is without doubt the stupidest thing anyone would ever want to do.
True
Not everyone can understand the pull. But it is real, and insults won’t change it.
@@QuietBloom Not insults, just honesty
perfectlyjust Playground Of *DEATH* for the rich and the idiotic 😑
While I feel for the people who lost their lives on Everest, it comes down to the idle rich who are out of their element and soon find this out.
Your opinion is garbage
If you don't want to die, don't climb Mount Everest!
try K2 instead .....in the winter !
@@Vaginaninja Yes. Forever.
When your higher self wants to take you back, a way will be made to make it happen, there is no death, you are not your body, you are merely having a human experience, and then you move on from there!
Very sad story and such a young age only 22 years old Michael should have been looked after alot closer. Miss managment poor communications bad oxagion and tempers fairing over leadership. That whole team cold a have died up there due to all of these things. Michael's family was told a pack lies about his death on his climb to add insults and hurt to coverup to the truth. Very tragic indeed
Fumanchu1 5150 it’s called the death zone for a reason
What ever happened to being held responsible for your own choices?
How can someone who has never climbed ice before think "I should climb Everest?"
i believe one should have experiences in the new zealand alpines or swiss’ first.
Theres 11 people this year who should of watched this......
freewilliam93 every year there will be more
So when Rodney wanted mike to support him to stay at base two,that’s ok ,but he didn’t care about mike on the summit day, he couldn’t even wait for him, or wondered where his tent mate was.
His friend meant more to him than life itself, but being chilly up there he couldn’t take the chance of losing a toe. 🤷🏽♂️
If I were told my oxygen would work in an "adapted" system last minute, I doubt I'd go, if I didn't know how to fix em.
To me working it with a file (such as they described it) would have been an absolute cinch, but I still wouldnt have gone, just because I could do it down here doesnt mean I could do it up there.
I've written about these instances on Mount Everest so many times. Firstly, the naivete of these clients is shocking but not surprising. They apparently had neither the experience nor the knowledge to be climbing Everest. The rule of Everest: In the death zone, it is impossible to bring down climbers in trouble without losing one's own life -- that applies whether the individuals involved are client climbers, team leaders, or sherpas.
This is what I have written before: Climbing on Everest needs to be highly regulated by the Government of Nepal, with highly trained and experienced guides only allowed and closely regulated supervision of the teams. With the Sherpas making the most money. That climbers, no matter what they are charged, must be properly certified and trained (not just with one much smaller summit just to make the grade). Only a small number of expeditions per year, properly spread out. Tight waiver agreements that stand up in court from clients. Responsibility to take all garbage and oxygen cans off the mountain at the end of the expedition, and where possible collection of the bodies..
Now about this instance: Blame is a useless pastime that never solves problems. We are each fully responsible for the circumstances we create for ourselves, whether by our decisions and actions along the way, or by how we respond to actions beyond our control. Mike Matthews made a decision to climb Everest, knowing he did not have sufficient experience. He made the decision to summit, after having been warned to turn back by the highly experienced Sherpa. His friend decided to stay in the team, knowing there were problems with the oxygen and being fully aware that leadership, supervision and discipline had broken down, he himself being culpable of going against the team by not returning to base camp with the others before the second summit trip.
It all makes me very angry. Such needless waste of lives and environmental destruction of a beautiful area of our planet.
Were you asleep when you wrote this? Because youre dreaming lol. While youre at it, lets stop all of the war, death and hunger in the world!! Sounds like a piece of cake right???
Norma Mimosa they didn't have the experience or the knowledge but they had $40,000 .
Everyone is going in on the organizers and suppliers - as they should, because they ran a chaotic and irresponsible sh*t show and lied about it. Both incompetent and dishonest.
Everyone is going in on Matthews himself -- as they should, because his blithe idiocy was only matched by his stubborness. He was a classic case of "insisting on dying", and even perfect guides can't do much about such people.
But not many going in on this Dave Rodney character, despite the guy, who oozes with narcissism and psychopathy, contributing more than most to the disastrous result.
It was he that insisted they remained at the higher camp when told to descend -- as he himself described. if they return to the lower camp, Matthews almost certainly never makes it back up and lives to tell the tale.
It was he who cajoled and coached the guy into making the submitting attempt despite his already bad condition. A remotely normal tent partner would have been saying the precise opposite.
It was he who was the most disruptive element in the expedition. Everest guides deal with arrogant nutjobs every trip -- it takes a special kind to drive them to flipping out and chasing them with a canister. He repeatedly made unilateral decisions on movement and equipment and ignored advice and instruction. The worst possible example of "I need guides to climb the mountain, but I want to be expedition leader too"
Also, despite his acting, he is clearly ecstatic with how things turned out. Like so many, he went to Everest to get himself some tale to recite in the minor political and motivation speaking career he aspired to, and that's what he got. The guy has been dining off this incident for years.
Godspeed Michael! They left u in distress!
Ace trader, but in treacherous Mt. Everest conditions, clearly out of his depths. Obviously, he wanted to reach the summit, which he did, to challenge himself to greater heights, but got caught out by icy winds and atrocious weather and not being adequately equipped with functioning oxygen masks, caused his certain death on his descent. Tragic loss for his parents.
Reaching the summit is not, in an of itself, the ultimate journey... bc it is only half the journey... you have to be able to make it back down again. Too many inexperienced ppl w more dollars than sense are allowed to do something that is inherently dangerous even for experienced climbers. The real heroes are the sherpas, whether climbers listen to them or not.
I have seen a lot of videos of Everest but first time I watched this one. Very sad!! I definitely think there is something suspicious about his death! Yes, Everest can be harsh and you put your life at risk but with the oxygen and attitudes I think he was left to die for sure. RIP Michael
A lot of people are not "left TO die" but left FOR dead because to take them down endangers the life of the rescuer. Is two dying somehow better than only one?
@@watchgoose I know that a lot of people are left for "dead" and that trying to get people down at those altitudes and in some of their conditions, risking 2, 3, 4 peoples lives, is not better than just losing one. But, the selfish actions of others can put others lives at risk with no second thoughts. People have left others behind to save their own hide. Please don't say it doesn't happen, it does!!
@@hikingadventures1017 not defending anyone, however, "selfish actions of others can put others lives at risk" - it's a two way lane though, Mike's actions (being inexperienced, tired after disobeying commands the days before, and still summiting despite a sherpa's strong advice to descent) put Mike Smith's life at risk too. I just ask myself why someone who's clearly exhausted will push for a summit when they clearly need all their strength left for the equally gruesome descent. He could've just communicated to Mike Smith his own bad condition and what the Sherpa had told him.
@@arenasification That is a very good point and I do agree; too many times we hear of someones selfish acts and someone gets hurt or killed by them. Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it!
@@hikingadventures1017 haha no problem!
Damn climbing some giant frozen rock,i dont even like walking up my driveway in the tennessee hills,especially in the snow and ice.
Jerry Marshall “Giant Frozen Rock”. Why can’t I stop laughing? 😂😂😂😂
I want to hear just one story where someone who was told to turn back by a Sherpa doesn’t, and then succeeds. I know we only hear about the ones that went wrong, But I genuinely want to hear of a story where it went okay after someone was told to turn back and didn’t.
It’s happened many many times, but that isn’t exciting. They don’t make documentaries about people who succeed, only those who die.
I don’t. That’ll just encourage more people to ignore the experts
@@kylemma33 why would people talk about this ? Straight up will promote killing more ignorant people..
Instead, I’d like to hear a story of a climber being told to return, then doing so, and being grateful for following the advice. You never hear of someone who has paid all the money, gone on the trek, and decided not to summit favoring their life instead, coming home and saying, “ you know what? Thank God I listened to those experts because I wouldn’t be here today.”
I was told not to summit by a Sherpa but I did it anyway and here I am now telling you the story
Just what you need in life threatening conditions...ego...
Lisa 11:11 and a tram
Sad ...... seems like a great lad. But 100mph winds in that cold is almost impossible to survive.
It's so sad and tragic. He was literally abandoned on the mountain by a bunch of incompetent assholes!...he should have listened to the sherpa. RIP.❣🙏🏽❣
I’ve watched this several times, and now wonder if he would have been in better shape if it he had listened to the guides about going down as a team instead of that dude blaming Kikas. It seems like everyone that listened to the experienced people of OTT, even if there were problems, survived. And the only person that died listened to the dude that was entirely insubordinate to the paid guides and everyone was “jealous” of.
I def saw Kikas as the villain first couple of times I watched this. But, logic has taken over - even if the situation sucked, those that listened to the people with more experience lived.
Absolutely agree.
💯💥
WTF was the fight between the 2 guys with the O2 bottles about? They don't really explain, the whole thing just sounds like a mess!
Can you actually run a race at camp 4? This is a BS story.
When you don’t follow what the rest of your team is doing and then complain about organisation you have to understand you’re a big part of the issue as well. When they bought Tinker down it doesn’t sound like there was much compassion shown by some of the ‘team.’
If I get lost up there, just leave me.. If anyone stumbles over my body... salvage any equipment you like...
"Wake up you lazy Sherpa." - Homer Simpson
W Bennett free pop tarts if your ticket stamped