We Need to Talk about Mount Everest [Season Wrap Up 2023]
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- Опубликовано: 21 май 2024
- Everest has slowly been losing respect in the climbing world since the 1980s but in 2023 in public opinion on Everest is plummeting - but most don't know how deep the corruption, greed and selfishness goes... here's an insight into the reality of the high altitude climbing scene in 2023.
If you're new here I'm Chase, I've been a climber & a mountaineer for most of my adult life, I've had 8 trips to Nepal in many forms on both sides of the economic coin and this is my opinion on Everest as it stands now.
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#trasheverest #everest #everest2023 
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Totally agree. Sherpa deaths on Everest should be treated as a workspace safety problem rather than a mountaineering problem.
The biggest contributor seems to be the Nepali government. They are so busy selling as many permits as possible to make as much money as possible safety and environment are set aside. Close Everest for a few years, clean it up, let it recover. Then limit permits moving forward.
I Agree alot are going the bragging rights in experience kills millions of people . I have no interest in climb😅ng yes it's beautiful too look at. People should be fined for Garbage Ok .
It's "theme park climbing" so i agree, the Sherpa deaths ARE workspace safety issues.
@@SilverLady52 no the failure is mostly with rich white men.
@@verityviolet Well not exactly. Firstly, race has nothing to do with it. Secondly, although rich people are paying crazy sums to simply get sherpas to do all their labour, it is mostly the system that is failing them. These climbing companies are paying the sherpas STUPID little pay for their work. It is also the government taking the money for themselves and not giving back to the climbers or their families.
I feel like some people “climb” Everest the same way some people go to Thailand to ride an elephant. As long as they get to say “I did it” and take a selfie on top they literally couldn’t care less about how it hurts the local people, communities, nature and wildlife. Very good video
It's hardly even an accomplishment. You pay someone else to do all the real work, then you just follow a group of zombies.
Hurts the people? You mean gives them a years wages?
I sort of count Everest, like when hunters travel to Africa so they can hire a guide and go shoot a lion.
@@mattk8810yeah, like the wages that some people gave these sherpas for saving their lives. If you atleast can't compensate the people who are doing the hardwork for your trophy expidition, just don't go.
That's just tourism, everyone has fun riding an animal, the locals make a good living and don't get killed or hurt in the process. I've paid to ride animals in the U.S., Canada, Europe and south America. We all pet and love animals and leave generous tips to the guides.
I've always wondered about this. Everytime i learn about Everest I'm always wondering about the Sherpas. They carry so much of the weight in that community, and you never hear climbers _really_ talking about them. These people set up the lines, feed climbers, guide them, they're the footman of most rescues, and so much more.
Yet it's ALWAYS the climbers that get all the attention and awards. Sherpas and equivalent lical guides are so completely overlooked by the climbing community its kind of crazy.
Lol now consider women
@@ManiyaVinasthis isn’t about you
@@ManiyaVinaswhat’s wrong with you?
@@ManiyaVinasnarcissist always making things about yourself, no one cares you made a sandwich with the crusts cut off and ironed a shirt.
Your award will come in the mail in 7-10 business days
This is not special. The people who do the actual work are never appreciated. When do the tailors of Dior ever get credit? Or the people that assemble the cars of Ferrari? The people that clean the locker room of the New York Yankees? It's the way our society has always been.
I'm appalled at the utter disregard for human life & the environment that occurs during these climbs. I was always taught to leave no trace when in the wilderness, let alone put someone's life at risk, and then leave their dead body behind if something happened. Thank you for raising awareness on these matters. Hopefully more & more people will join you in spreading the word about the disasters that accompany these expeditions.
Nepal should stop expeditions in that case.
Yes, can someone improve the conditions on Everest please. I means it’s too cold, too high, and has little oxygen. How is one expected to work in these communities
They want to travel light, even leaving people behind
While in most cases, the "leave no man behind" principle is a given, that goes out the window on these massive peaks, especially in the "death zone," where every minute counts and by stopping to pack up and carry down a dead body, you put everyone else in the party at risk of the same fate. If someone falls into a difficult-to-reach area or gets buried by an avalanche, it would be possible suicide to go after him. So while on lower peaks and trails, yes, do whatever is possible to save a person's life, but it's just not always possible on a 8,000er. I may not agree with it, but I understand it.
@@sluttymctits4496 maybe people should not be doing this then if it takes lives. Just why is it so important to them anyways. 2000 people just died in Afghanistan today with people digging their children out with bare hands. Perhaps they could lend their skills there for all the money they would save
Self sufficient groups of experienced climbers only under a strict permit scheme with a leave no trace policy. Sherpas could police the restrictions with pre and post climb inspections. We should never see anyone on the mountain with their crampons on the wrong feet again.
HEAR!! HEAR!!!
Exactly! 💯
100 percent agree, sadly the government will continue to issue way too many permits cause it’s $$$ for them
You forget that Nepal’s economy benefits on Everest expeditions. It's not only about high permit fees, but right now 1/3 of expedition companies belong to sherpas. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world and I don't think Westerners are in position to dictate what they should do with the mountain.
And destroy the main income of the Sherpa community in the process.
Appreciate that you're one of the only mountaineering channels I know of who seems to actually treat Sherpas as people and skilled workers. Seems like most of the people climbing see them as disposable as their equipment
Sherpas are adults. Stop ✋️ treating them like children , paternalistic racist.
@@richardcarroll9864 Amen, Richard!
@richardcarroll9864 the government gives out way too many permits for people who are in horrible shape and should not be allowed to climb.
I paid mine extra to kiss each other.
i wouldnt go that far. "disposable as their equipment" ?! Probably a few to some ppl do. I'd say most merely see them as a paid mountain porter and/or guide.
The spiritual aspect you mentioned, Sherpas praying for hours a day before the climbing season begins because of how spiritually damaging it can be to stand on top of the mountain, oof, that hit hard. You hit on lots of important sociocultural points - thank you. The best video I've seen on this topic.
Can you imagine how damaging it is to have to walk away from the people who are begging for help and knowing you will die if you help these people and save their life or how the person paying your salary is more concerned with their summit to the top than they are with stopping to save another human being. . . . .Even for a person who is not the most spiritual that is some stuff that will haunt a person. Stepping over the people who perished on the mountain on a regular basis as part of your seasonal employment. . . . .I would be praying as well.
Last year I went to Nepal for the first time and made a conscious decision not to go to Everest. I went to Langtang instead, where tourism has been dead since the earthquake, while Everest is getting piled with trash. I was still appalled by the amount of trash people were leaving behind on the trail. Nepal is a sacred place, but sadly it's a cash cow for a government that just bleeds its own people dry. I've been to many poor countries before, and I couldn't believe how high the cost of living was, even for locals. A sad situation.
You are not complaining. You are using your social media power to bring awareness to a few very serious issues about the trashing of Everest and the life safety of the Sherpas. It’s not some grand hotel or theme park. Climbing is not my interest but I do care about exploitation and indifference. Thank you for doing this.
how many african miners where exploited for the precious metals in your electronics and just how indifferent to that are you ?
@@alanthomas8748 Are you saying that negates all of the issues talked about in this video? I seem to recall being taught as a young child that "two wrongs don't make a right".
@@Nightwishmaster I'm saying don't use a device built on the backs of exploited workers to say you care about exploitation. my comment wasn't on the video it was a reply to the original post where they state "climbing is not my interest but i do care about exploitation and indifference ".
As long as he is not calling e.g. for shutting down the mountain he is free to do.
You have to respect that there are reasons how mountaineering evolved and that alle the people are voluntarily participating!!!
I had an alumni at my high school come and do a presentation on his Everest trip, his buddy and himself gave up summit one day to help save a Sherpa while the rest of the climbers and Sherpas were saying to leave him. I definitely think it was a great thing to do but very dangerous. I’m glad that they had the thought to help a life, especially if it was the other way around then the Sherpa would try and help him.
I could not live with myself if I did not help anyway I would never be there in the first place if you want to know what life is about there are better ways to find that out, saving someone's life is sounds like a good start.
His fellow Sherpa "were saying to leave him"? That would be highly unusual.
The Sherpa are the first to go to another climbers aid.
They must have thought that he was beyond saving but still, for Sherpa to continue to the summit without rendering aid is quite disturbing to hear because that's entirely out of character for these people.
Exactly, every time I thought about that summit, I would have been thinking about the life it cost for me to get there. I could never live with myself for not stopping to help another human.
@@MedusasFeelinSalty In 2014 I climbed 40,000meters or 5 times Everest in the stair well of my 16 story apartment building as daily exercise to lose weight and fix my broken motivation for life it cost nothing no one died and I slept in the comfort of my own bed and it worked just as well.
It is way more noble and notable to save a human life than stand on a certain patch of the Earth. In fact, if people are stepping over injured workers in order to get to that patch of Earth, that is a kind of evil.
Briefly I thought “Well they are choosing to do that job.”, and then I realized that I hated my job, demanded a raise and got it, and now I can’t find anything that pays better and feel helplessly stuck where I am. I’m lucky my job won’t kill me. We need to find solutions to these problems.
What a humble brag, lmao. “Woe is me, my job pays so much I can’t leave it, bc I refuse to do poor man job, it’s so hard for me, I think im gonna cry”
@@max7971I think you got completely the wrong interpretation of that comment
@@db5094 Maybe he did, maybe he didnt. But I got a similar interpretation. He's basically saying that he doesn't want to take a pay cut - even a small one - to find a job he likes or environment he likes. Very few people get such a luxury in life - if the original commenter is living in America then he is probably talking about a job that puts him into the top 1% world wide. If you're someone who lives in a poor region of the world you can definitely read that in a negative way, it's basically someone complaining about first world problems not realizing how privileged they are. To his credit he realizes it a little, because he recognizes his job can't kill him. Although I would say it's just killing him slower over a long period of time instead of instantly on the mountain
@@MegasaurusifyIt's a good lesson in how everyone's words are subjectively interpreted. Everyone is going to put emphasis on different parts of what you say and how you say it. I understand both perspectives presented here and can read his text both ways
Population control might help alleviate the poverty.
Yeah, I was pretty naive as a kid but still recall the shocked surprise and almost disbelief when learning that (most) people who climbed Mt Everest did so AFTER sherpas went first, multiple times, to do everything from breaking trail, navigating the ice falls, setting ladders across crevasses and fixing lines. Now with carnival ride lines, it seems a hollow achievement that means less with each pay-for-play rich client virtually escorted to the summit.
I completely agree. It stopped being impressive when I learned that indigenous climbers actually do all of the work and set the expedition climbers up for success. The Sherpas are impressive, but not the foreign climbers who boast about “conquering Everest.”
I mean you just get rolled up like a taco and brought on the backs of Sherpas and then do your press tour. . . . . Good for those Sherpas for speaking out about the truth. You should be thrilled someone was there to save your butt and sending them thank you cards and gifts for as long as you live, you know what I mean? Especially when the people who do this are able to afford to outfit a Sherpa properly so they have less risk to their life and limb vs the second hand gear many Sherpas end up using from old expeditions and that people leave behind.
I LOVE that you focus more on the human lives at stake than on the trash piles, as disgusting as that is. Life is so precious and consumers value it so little.
You gotta focus on both tho because destruction of environment directly contributes to demise of humans... it must be all as all systems are interlinked
Those humans on everest are trash themselves, they go there dmto die in dumb way cause they have big egos, also Sherpas carry all their stuff and oxygen as they are to weak to do it themselves, ridiculous
@@borekstvorekbut caring about trash should be coming from caring about the people, there's no point having a clean world with no people in it. That's the point imo, people don't care about the trash mostly because they don't care about others.
@@adalon378 I agree
Pollution downstream from the trash is a problem for the locals too, though
my dad always told me "always leave an area better than it was when you found it"
My dad freaked out whet I left an orange peel in the snow.
raised right
in this case, even if you kept your campsite squeaky clean ur still morally corrupt for participating in this climb in the first place
@@annebritraaen2237 At least orange peels are natural and biodegradable.
@@BloodwyrmWildheart I tried to tell my dad just that, but he said they looked out of place and ugly.
Chase, much respect for sharing this information. The over use of Everest is heartbreaking. It is a symptom of what is happening in a lot of natural areas . I live in the Arkansas Ozarks in the USA, and the crowding on our Rivers and trails is overwhelming. Erosion, trash, theft… SAR being called out because a group didn’t check the weather forecast before camping on a gravel bar on the Buffalo National River, so the rescue folks risk life and limb during flash flooding. I am so proud of you for asking the questions! It truly is time to rethink the virtue of risking the lives of support groups. The trash issue is horrific also. Many of our hikers and climbers in the area practice Leave no Trace, but many do not.Areas that were pristine when I was a child are trashed every weekend now.
I think by speaking out, you and others in the public eye can create awareness …the pebble drooped in the still pool… the circle will expand. Blessings.
Too many dang people everywhere.
City & suburban folk who think it's "fun" to get out in nature with no respect for it, & the way they trash it like where they come from, well, it's a disgusting trend.
I am just a Paramedic in middle America, however I can't tell you how much I support the courage it took for you to post and state your honest thoughts. I feel that you are absolutely correct and we need to have honest oversight, unfortunately money talks louder. I support you and your courage. There has to be a way to protect the local people and the mountain, which is revered by locals to be sacred. It can be a very difficult task for someone to have the courage to stand up for what is wrong. But those who have the ability to act and make changes have the responsibility to act. Thank you for your honesty and courage. Do not give up. Lives are in the balance, even if it is just one Sherpa it is worth it.
Yes
Blah blah
I’m not a climber in the least but I watched every minute of your video as I heard about the trash and dead bodies issue on Everest through various channels.
Well done for speaking up for these Nepali guys… I’ve been working along side them in the Middle East for the last 33 years and I know how humble & dedicated they are when it comes to providing for their families.
I hope your voice and message is heard far and wide. Good luck, stay safe and thx for speaking up on behalf of the Sherpas.
There's so much I want to say and share, but I'll stick to the most important of them all: Thank you for this video. What is happening in Nepal is also happening in India (where I was born, raised, and introduced to the Himalayas), and it has brought literal tears to my eyes on multiple semi-high climbs to see what is going on in the name of "industry", "economics", and "development". Most local inhabitants hate it, but their younger generations have no choice but to give in to this destructive force imposed upon them by our so-called modernity.
Can you elaborate, I'm from the US but I have a great love for India and spend much time there. Would love to know more about the situation.
Thank you for writing about this; it has become a disgusting mess and something needs to be done. The deaths of the sherpas are not a joke; they are such hard workers and put their lives on the line ever single day up there. Thank you for using your social media for good ♥
Thank you for making this video. Not a climber, but a person who's seen people absolutely desecrate beautiful sacred nature with no sense of the horrors they're perpetrating. Extremely sad that people are being so inhumane to sherpas and other locals. This message is super important and i'm grateful you're speaking out.
as a former guide and tour operator, I have also walked away from this whole industry as well. I married a person from this area and saw the damage tourism has done (as well as some of the benefits...gray area) I just can't feel good about contributing to this whole situation
Oh boo hoo.
@@richardcarroll9864 yeah, imagine having a conscience, how lame!
Did you just comment this on a totally random comment? I don't even get what it means@@richardcarroll9864
One thing I've really taken on board recently is that it's great to be curious and great to set goals for ourselves but that doesn't mean we are owed everything. There are so many places I'd love to visit but think that me going there as a tourist would be completely unethical
Good on you, more people need to think this way. It's just so easy to book a flight and do this or do that... Things like sumitting Everest have taken on this massive cultural weight that it's essentially become something that the most privileged amongst us can tick off to gain respect from our fellow elites. It is not OK to be destroying the lives of Sherpa's, or any other poorer peoples lives for your own gain. I don't know how people have been able to go into an Everest climb with a good heart for years and years now. Like many other things, the illusion is finally starting to fall apart...
People are koolaided with the whole ''you can do it'' bs. It's good to have hope in life and try to do things, but when stupid people take this to heart, they end up with crazy delusions. Also the whole glorification of sportsmanship, as if it's the only thing in life that it takes a tremendous amount of effort and endurance...
The me generation.
I think this with North Korea. How ethical is it to pay the North Korean government 1000s of pounds and to put North Korean citizens at risk by trying to talk to them.
Also, then doing something stupid and your home government having to exmsentially pay a ransom to get you back.
I want to go from curiosity to see a nation cut off from the rest of the world. It doesn't take much research to realise they aren't cut off. They have a lot of the trappings of modern society, and a lot of their citizens work abroad.
Can u give some more samples of places that u would like to go to, but find unethical?
A friend at university tried to get me to sign up to climb Mt Kilimanjaro as part of an expedition. I first said no due to my lack of experience with mountaineering. He then told me that there would be a guide who could help carry my things. The thought of paying an experienced local climber (probably not a massive amount of money) to carry extra equipment so that an absolute liability on legs (me) can climb up a mountain for no other reason than it being a fun adventure didn't sit right with me.
Despite being dismissed as a boring killjoy at the time, I'm happy I followed my instinct and said no. I'll be sticking to camping and day hikes in safe areas where nobody will have to risk their life rescuing me.
I would love to hear from sherpas and what they think if they were to put a stop to climbing.
Given the corruption in Nepal, it's going to take a change of perspective to stop people climbing this mountain in droves. As an Australian, you would know about Uluru - when I was a kid climbing Uluru was considered something to put on your bucketlist. Since the traditional owners have made their feelings about it being climbed known, most Australians wouldn't do it and would think less of someone who did.
A similar shift in thinking is needed here.
The gov. here is notorious for doing the literal bare minimum of what is their job. All the money from permits no doubt lines up some other pockets.
I agree a change in thinking is important. On the Uluru subject - I'm not in Austrlia and I have no plans to ever climb Uluru, even if I would find myself there one day. On the other hand - and as far as I understand - the problem is less about loss of life and trash building up, and more that Uluru is somehow sacred/ off limits from traditional owners' perpsective? I'm honestly not trying to be dismissive but I'm genuinely impressed if everyone backed off largely out of respect, rather than because of more 'concrete' issues? One could also see it the other way - if I don't have the same beliefs as someone, should I be prevented from something that is unlikely to do any concrete harm, just because they 'don't like it'? To reiterate - I'm genuinely impressed if this is the case, and not necessarily against this concept.
Here's a question for you: if the traditional owners (an incorrect term anyway, as indigenous Australians had no concept of land ownership before Europeans arrived. They believed that they belonged to the land and that the land owned them) of Australia came out tomorrow and said that they have long believed that beaches are sacred places, and from now on, no beaches in Australia are allowed to be walked on - would you agree, or not? And why / why not?
@@lornarettig3215 Hello, Aussie here. It's now illegal to climb Uluru as of 2019. This is mostly due to a big push from the local Indigenous population to respect their sacred site and banned out of respect for that. The cultural shift across Australia had turned against climbing the rock, it would get you socially shunned, and when the banned happened it mostly felt like 'about time'. There were secondary issues about tourists getting into danger and dying on it, and people damaging the rock and ecosystems by defecating, urinating and leaving rubbish on it.
I first visited Uluru as a kid in 2005 and we did an Indigenous guided walk around the base, which was fascinating, and I remember back then it being well known that climbing Uluru was disrespectful, selfish, dangerous and not a lot of fun (climbing up a massive rock in the stinking desert heat). There were signs everywhere asking you to please not climb it. I remember being shocked to see the line of people walking up it.
@@PointSoldiers Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience! Maybe we can achieve this similar ‘social shunning’ for being a jerk and littering and pooping (and dying) all over Everest, too! I think without such a change in thinking, there will always be selfish people who will justify their activities to themselves. Other People should be forbidden from climbing Everest, but for them it’s somehow an exception. You know what I mean 😖
I am not a climber of any capacity (just a backpacker) but even from a tangential perspective the way these famous climbs operate is disgusting and distasteful. Taking such advantage of local people and then mistreating both the people and the environment, showing no respect whatsoever for the place you are visiting, is just gross. These companies that are trying to make it "easy" to summit a mountain are doing a disservice to everyone other than the owners. It shouldn't be easy and rich people don't need to go up a mountain literally on the backs of poor hardworking folks just for a photo to share on instagram.
Same, and I totally agree. Its against all of the values of the outdoors community. The absolute hubris it takes to summit Everest and claim the accomplishment as your own and that of your sponsors when the path (how ever challenging in the residual effort) was paved for you at the cost of human life is mindblowing.
I’m just curious if that is the only job when Nepal has a population of 29,000,000. So if they want to be sherpas be sherpas if not don’t. Or am I missing something?
@@shaunheileman4394 Nepal has a population of 30M, but the sherpa ethnic group which is the one concerned about those jobs are not that many. Estimates are between 45k to 150k, so like an average city. Like in every society, there are a lot of inequality among them, so only the poorest need those jobs and are hired by those companies. For them there are not many choices.
@@dju-dju every time I see a Sherpa he has a big ass smile on his face and just this year I’ve seen video of Sherpas setting new lines while in the background you can hear other Sherpas laughing out loud having a great time.
My point again they want to be there there’s always another option in life.
I’m 19 years old and hope to climb Everest one day
@@shaunheileman4394 people smiling and seeming happy doesn’t make it ethical to exploit them. Do people need to look sad all the time for you to take their condition seriously ?
Plus, the problem here is not that they are enslaved, it is that they are put in great risks of death for rich people to get a disposable experience.
And dude, don’t climb Everest. You will participate in a problematic exploitative industry. Have you watched the video you just commented ?
Thank you for shining a light on the callous attitude toward the treatment of Sherpas and other local people. Also, it is appaling that, in order to accomplish what is basically an ego trip, people will climb the mountain with no concern about hiking past the dead bodies left there. To respectfully lay to rest our dead has been among the most important acts of humanity.
I'm not into mountaineering at all. I'm actually scared of heights, lol. However, I'm highly interested in nepali culture and sociology. Something I find absolutly ridiculous is that most climbers don't even appreciate their sherpas enough to learn their bloody names. They just call them sherpas. It's heartbreaking. Thanks for pointing out the issues!
I was in Nepal in 2014, travelling with friends who had previously lived in Kathmandu, and we were sightseeing in the Tarai and Kathmandu before taking a few days to gentle trekking up to Ghorepani and Poon Hill.
I have a couple of observations. The first is that I love Nepal. I fell in love with the country 15 minutes after we landed at Tribhuvan when a pair of the airport security began singing to my then girlfriend (now my wife). I love the endless rice you get with dal bhat, and sweet masala tea, and momo. I loved helping to celebrate Tihar - I helped light a pathway of candles for Lakshmi to come down to the world, high on a hill above Pokhara while Annapurna and Machapuchare sat in the distance and the eldest woman of the house gave out gifts for the girls and advice for the boys. I love the house band in the Purple Haze nightclub - it’s the best covers band I have ever seen. And I love the Nepali people - their generosity, and immeasurable strength.
The second observation is that the country is desperately poor. I’m a lab tech in a university here in the UK, and in this context, I am by no means wealthy, but after a few days in Nepal, I began to feel the weight of the extraordinary wealth I was carrying with me. From the perspective of someone living in Chitwan, I am as rich as a king. And this, I think is part of the problem.
I saw endless examples of people from the developed world thoughtlessly leveraging their wealth. The most obvious example of this is the way in which porters are encouraged to carry the most extraordinary loads. We were travelling light, and on the trek up to Ghorepani we hired a guide and a porter. There were three of us trekkers with two day-bags between us. I carried one and LP, our porter, carried the other . There was nothing in either but a couple of changes of cloths and a Kindle in mine. After a while we began to notice that the other porters, were kidding LP as we gently ambled along chatting. And this was because the other porters were all uniformly carrying the most extraordinarily heavy packs on head straps. These monster weights, made of multiple packs stuffed with who knows what and bound together with rope and cling-film must have approached 50kg each. There is a restriction 35kg per porter which is clearly unenforced even by some of the most reputable trekking companies. The lesson here is, hire another porter to split the load - don’t treat men like maltreated donkeys. If you can afford to fly 7000km across the planet for a holiday, you can afford the additional few dollars to make someone’s working day a touch easier and spread a bit of wealth.
We were in Nepal in October of 2014 at the same moment that a tropical storm had dropped two metres of snow on the Annapurna Circuit and Dhaulagiri. The unseasonal snow had triggered avalanches and blocked passes, and 43 trekkers, climbers, and porters lost their lives. As we came down from Ghorepani, we began to hear stories of what had happened on the high passes from porters whose employers had moved them down to lower and safer routes. I am not going to rehearse those stories here as I was not a witness to the events of the 14th and 15th October 2014, other than to say that there was a significant discrepancy between the accounts being given by trekkers and later the western media, and the accounts that our guide privately relayed to us from the porters - accounts of demanding clients and money overriding common sense.
I guess what I’m saying is that wealth seems to engender a cavalier attitude in the treatment of the people tasked with our wellbeing - a notional understanding that the privations and risks we cause for locals are worth it to them simply because we’re paying them what we think is an acceptable wage for their circumstances. I have never before felt both powerful and wealthy, never had my privilege as a European man so starkly presented to me. It was a disturbing experience.
The lesson Nepal taught me is that a traveller is a guest, with all the duties and expectations of a guest, but a tourist is a client paying for an experience. If we treat the wild places of the world and communities in developing countries as tourist destinations - places to gawk at and demand services we think have paid for - then these stories will endlessly repeat. We will continue to expect a service which requires that people risk everything - their health, the wellbeing of their families, the environment they live in - everything.
As an addendum to my already long post, can I recommend Buried in the Sky by Peter Zuckerman & Amanda Padoan.
Well said! I’ve not traveled to Himalaya, but your words ring true for me. 🙏
Just left Bali and I can relate. I have never in my life felt wealthy and powerful and it was truly disconcerting. I enjoyed the experience but felt so uncomfortable being served, especially for such cheap cost
What a beautifully worded response. I can't agree more. I've never been on the mountains, but I have travelled to places where I'm considered 'wealthy', and I'm so uncomfortable.
One of the worst experiences I ever had was a commercial tour whilst staying in Dominican Republic. It was supposed to be a much needed week's break from our work, and for ease we plonked ourselves in an all-inclusing resort (which I would normally detest, but it was convenient). We went off on this little day trip on a big amphibian truck, to visit villages in the hills and try coffee and the cocoa beans straight from the tree. That part was lovely.
Then they took us to a Haitian sugar cane plantation workers village. Oh. My. God. It was awful. It was as though clouds covered the sun even though it was hot and bright. It felt 'grey'. It felt desperate. Tin huts, barely huts, just corrugated iron propped up, and the children all running and following our vehicle, smiling and laughing as children do. We had taken sweets and we threw everything we had to them (the truck didn't stop, just did a slow pass through the village).
My heart was already breaking, when I overheard a US lady behind us telling her husband to throw his sweets to the kids. His reply? 'No, I might want them on the way back'. My partner and I just died inside that day. There was no enjoyment from being paraded round someone elses' poverty. Different story setting I know, but as 'tourists' (not travellers), so many of us do this all the time and without any care for the people or the environment.
Thank you for speaking up. Things are getting out of hand on Everest. I have read many articles and seen a few videos. Something needs to be done
Thank you for sharing your experience ❤
I never pursued mountaineering, but I did spend a number of years as a whitewater kayaking guide in the late 80s and 90s. I remember the customers that had no idea of the danger they were in, nor the danger they were putting me in to rescue them if they lacked the proper skills. I can imagine that the Sherpa face the same issues, but for much more extended windows. Since those times, I have had conversations with several "normal" people trying to explain why/how sports that are inherently deadly require a very different mindset and change your entire perspective on life (if you are wise enough to see it). It's something that is just fundamentally understood by people that have faced those levels of risk and loss chasing a sport. Since that time of my life as a kayak guide, I've worked hard and traveled the world, when I do use guiding services I completely respect the guides and tip heavily. Sometimes the guides will try to refuse, but then I tell them about my own past and they understand why. I don't have any scientific data but my estimate back then of the percentage of clueless was over 75%, and I feel that has only gone up with the amount of visibility that some of the most dangerous sports have gotten with action cameras and social media. The clueless think deadly sports are an amusement park ride.
Literally! As a raft guide in the early 90's people would ask if we were going to get off the river at the same spot we got on 😮😂 And they wanted me to promise them their hair wouldnt get wet or their make up splattered 🤣
Omg! I can so relate. I worked as a sea kayak guide in Alaska and in CA. In AK, we would have people show up drunk or on opiates, barely able to sit up straight. It was crazy!
Excellent video. I spent a lot of time in NW Nepal doing research for my Master's Degree in Geology, and my academic work is all in Himalayan Geology, so I have a deep physical, intellectual, and spiritual connection to these mountains, but it will always be tempered by my uneasy relationship with this exact topic. I'm so glad you brought up the colonial roots of climbing, and how the capitalist machine seems to crush the local folks and their physical/spiritual connection to their own land. I wish I had a better solution, but talking about it and raising the awareness level of the general public is the biggest and best first step, in my opinion. I hope this comment drives the YT algorithm to recommend this vid to even more people, it deserves millions of views.
Yes. Of course the general public. Most of us can barely cover our monthly bills. And most don't care about problems that guys like you are responsible for. As a matter of curiosity, do you carry out your own fecal matter?
Yes, more people need to see the reality of Everest and it's broad ranging impacts - awareness begets change. Such a well presented video.
This video was wonderful to stumble upon. You have a very empathetic and intelligent view on this tragic sitiation that has been Everest climbing season. It needs to stop, the mountain needs to be respected, and the locals deserve so much more then what they are currently being giving. The mountain and its people will hopefully get the respect they deserve soon. ❤
I've been screaming all this for years. Thank you. I feel like most people go into this having no idea how many people die just so they can say they did this. And the rest do know but their ego is more important than the lives of other humans. I don't have a solution, and who would listen to me anyway. But if one is ever suggested, I'm all in to help however I can.
Pay the Sherpas what you pay the western guides. That would cut down on the number. But that won't ever happen, because no matter what anyone that climbs that mountain says, they believe western and first world lives are worth more.
As a fellow Aussie you would know that we don't call it "shouting into the void" we call it "pissing into the wind". Much more apt. Sometimes you have to accept that if you speak up, something unwanted may blow back in your face. So good on you for speaking up. From little things, big things grow. I am an entitled Westerner who gets the shits by the behaviour of other entitled Westerners. Never give up.
This was so heartfelt ❤ Those Sherpas do good proud work (in Buddahs eyes) saving people when by our standards they shouldn't be there in the first place. It hurts that a culmination of inexperienced climbers, and I would say social media posting to "post that pic" has driven more people to this.
I believe you're right and they should shut down - at least THAT path up the mountain. That way other routes can be traversed by truly experienced climbers who want the technical challenge and mental aspect to push through.
Going forward, Sherpas could set a tour house at the bottom, and people would still have a whole day to trek there, spend time to camp maybe. Then could trek back and then drive money to further the economy into the small towns by actual TOURISM, not social media glory seeking.
Been waiting for somebody to put this out. I believe Everest should be treated as a serious alpine climb and not a commercial operation. If you want to climb Everest, go out and navigate the icefall yourself, lead the dangerous snow pitches, fix your own lines and take them out when you are done. I will respect an ascent done in that style but I will not respect an ascent in the fashion it’s being done now.
Thankyou for continuing to raise these issues. I’ve found the treatment of Sherpas and porters really upsetting - and the rubbish and despoiling of the beautiful environment is very depressing. You don’t sound like you’re whingeing and I know you’ve had some stick on Insta - but this is important stuff that the public need to know about. ❤
Even if it feels hopeless because the powers that be show no sign of changing their ways, I think it's still so so important that you're speaking up on this, keep raising awareness!
So glad I found you. Well done on a challenging issue. Subscribed ❤
Thank you so very, very much for being brave enough and of great ETHICAL morals to bring this more into the open!! Regular people also need to know and help change!
100% agreed. There needs to be a strict permitting policy where climbers are “approved” to climb Everest, are self sufficient, with a very limited numbers of permits per year. This isn’t an unusual model, it’s only adopted everywhere else in the world.
I am so glad to hear your generation bring up these difficult questions. You are right of course; and your courage in making this video is evident. We used to be motivated by honor more than glamor. Perhaps that can be the case again. I had the honor of knowing Tensing Norgay's family for many years. It will honor them to know you made this video.
Thank you for this video! Sincerely my heart is with you. ❤
Well said!! Thank you for all this information. Keep up the good work ❤
this was so well presented, and so so important. Thank you for raising these issues - while I already have awareness of some of the bad practices and had a generally negative feeling towards those who pay ridiculous amounts to “climb” the everest while entirely reliant on the perilous work of the sherpas and at the expense of these peoples’ lives, I learned a lot more from your video, and will definitely share. Thank you!!
Well done, man. I remember being kind of aghast when I heard years ago that people were being 'hand-held' to go up there. I remember wondering, "What is the cost!?", and meaning the human one, more than the money one. Much of what you shared here, though, I did not know. Thank you.
I am not a climber, but I have an enormous interest in climbing and intend on getting started with climbing. This video shows how you genuinely care for, not solely the sake and future of climbing, but truly you care for Nepal, its people and all that Everest means. This has helped shape my perspective on it actually.
Thank you for an excellent video.
fantastic video, thank you for posting this
Thank you so much for sharing!!!
I’m a avid hiker, to me there is NO achievement, certificate, award or bragging rights,worth the life of another..My prayers go out to the lost one’s and there family’s
I've been planning to climb ME after 3,5 years of intense training but for 3-4 months I've been hesitating and I'm more and more leaning to canceling the entire thing. I don't think that me paying every fee I owe to climb the mountain means that it's OK to do it...
You should take the money you would have spent and put it into a Sherpa fund instead.
Cancel it if you feel uneasy. It’s such unnecessary risk and death for nothing.
@@aysepersona4194 I have. I decided on this 2 weeks ago. I'm going to keep hiking as I used to, I don't need the Mount Everest trophy, not to say that all the people who climb it do it to show off their achievement, but I don't think I want it enough either.
kudos to you and enjoy your climbs! at the end of the day this is a hobby and it should be enjoyable instead of deadly.@@anthonyanthony2783
It's been known for years that people just want to say they climbed Mount Everest to say they did it. This is where the word "stupid" can be used .I realize hundreds of locals make a living helping climbers, but something needs to change.
Thanks for talking about these issues and making people aware of it. I will definitely be posting about this on my social media.
Thank you for sharing this Chase. I wish you all the best.
I became interested in the Everest climbs back in ‘95 as a colleague I was peripherally associated with prepared for the ‘96 season. He was one of the individuals involved in the disaster.
Having read most of what was written about that event, it resulted in a fascination about what drives people to attempt to summit Everest.
Even if all the western guides/companies pulled out, there are now companies guiding from many non western countries.
One of the recurring problems are individuals or lesser resourced guiding outfits who depend on (or pilfer from) the better run outfitters. How many times have poorly resourced individuals/ guides gotten into trouble? I can totally see why there is resentment when better equipped companies end up having to bail them out or suffer the recriminations if they don’t. Ethically they should, but realistically the poorly equipped and trained are a huge liability.
If there were a minimal standard for climbing experience prior to attempting Everest, some of the danger might be mitigated. There should also be an active practice of zero footprint with the climbers adhering to taking out what they bring up (or as close as possible).
There should also be a portion of the fees that go for reasonably compensating the Nepalese guides,porters, (and family), etc who are injured or lose their lives on Everest.
Best Everest video I’ve seen in a while and it parallels thoughts I’ve been having about other so called amazing feats in aviation and motorsport. The whole category of extreme sports deserves less idolization and more discussion about personal responsibility and regulation. “Shocking accidents” simply don’t happen year after year after year, and at some point people have to admit that there is a cost in human lives they expect and accept just to feel a thrill
An excellent, important and absolutely necessary message. Really appreciated your concern and candour.
Can only hope more and more people follow you in talking openly about these issues. Change is very much needed.
These mountains are used a business, without care for the sherpas and their families, or the mountains themselves.
I am so happy you shed light on this. I know someone who climbed this year, and i don't think they understand the price of that climb. Everest is nothing but the ego chase nowadays. Well done on publically speaking about this
thanks for speaking up and using your audience to help creating a more realistic picture of the world in our heads. mad respect.
I think the hike from Kathmandu to base camp is adventure enough and a possibly a safer way for the Sherpas to earn a living. Not only do you get to see all the beauty but also experience the culture and at the end see the mountains. That should be enough.
Thank you for using your platform to highlight these issues!
Thank you for helping bring awareness!
I very much appreciate your insight and compassionate approach to this subject Chase. You've earned the right to be heard, and I'm sure that this video will, at the very least, change the minds of some people who may have had the inclination to climb the high Himalayas. Changing minds always leads to wider change, even if it is never as quickly as we would like.
I agree with everything your saying, I can't comprehend how little experience people have climbing this mountain... I imagine a time when sherpas were excited to share that beautiful mountain with skilled climbers.. now they go to work and babysit grown children
Very well presented, unbiased & educational..... Thank You for providing a balanced insight to the reality of climbing Mt Everest.
Great video, thanks for posting.
As an old professional Climber and Rigger. Bring back no support. Just like the old days.
I’ve been following your channel for years, and truly appreciate your insight, opinions, and honest take on things. This however is by far the best video you have ever made, and I commend you. I have had very much the same opinion on this for over a decade, but this video brought to light how Thea situation is much more dire than I realized.
You are a caring, compassionate soul.🤍Thank you for sharing this important video and using your voice to spread awareness.🙏🏻
Thank you for putting this video out there. The world needs more people like you.
I'm a Malaysian, i'm deeply influenced by U in term of Solo hiking & everything about the hiking skill, thank you so much Chase! By the time i read our local news about our mountaineers who has lost in Mount Everest, they really don't mentioned a lot about the sherpa. And we don't get more news about this incident from our local news & government. After knowing the truth, i feel sorry & angry, not because of they forget to thanks the sherpa in the newspaper but the intention to get in there & do nothing to respect the nature.
Really great to hear some more depth into your thoughts that you have been sharing these weeks. This way you can reach more people I think.
The hope is for the government to wake up, but that is probably not going to happen.
I think its up to everyone to make this known and to create some insights and hopefully wake people op that way. Maybe if we do it loud enough, that way of mountaineering stops becoming cool and starts becoming appalling.
I trie to spread your word as far is I can in mine line of people
Thank you so much for doing this video!!
Thank you for using their names with their stories, and sharing your feelings as well.
Hi Chase, I9 totally agree with what you are saying. I think maybe one way to keep the mountain clean/cleaner is a levy or a tax. All teams are checked on the amount of kit they take up so if its 6 tents 40 bottles of O2 100 gas canisters. When they come back down they should be checked and the same amoput that they have taked up should now be there when they come down. If not say £1000 pet o2 bottle and so on for all the kit they dont bring down. I also think you should have to prove you have done at least several 6500/7000 meter peaks first so you have a more than basic knowledge of what to do.
your idea is so obvious it has already been implemented. you need to bring back down a set amount of weight in order to get back i think it was something like 4000$ dollars, that you payed in advance. it likely isn't enough, though.
I'm a hiker, not a climber, so I really had no idea about any of this. I am appalled. Thank you for illuminating this travesty
You are the one of my favorite kind of human. Well said and bravo for doing so publicly ❤
Thank you for posting this video.
I’m not a climber but have always been fascinated by The Himalayan Mountains and it’s people. Good job speaking out! This has really been awful over the years for me to watch what has been happening to Everest. The disrespect these non climbing people show to the people and their mountain is a disgrace. Again 👍
It's so depressing to see the trash that litters the base of Everest. And, worse, left by those that spend so much time outdoors hiking, camping, and possibly training to one day climb the mountain. I think it would kill the moment if my dream was to climb Everest and I made it to basecamp and saw the litter everywhere. I wonder how much better it would look If each climber took one piece of trash with them when they left.
don't focus on the trash, focus on the lives that are lost so tourists can "conquer the mountain"
I think every visitor should be required to carry down a full pack of garbage. Then eventually it might get cleared up.
Point taken Hugo. There are so many things to do better on the mountain that I picked the easiest. The human element should be first, of course, but you're not going to stop people from around the world wanting to 'bag' the biggest mountain on the planet. The only way to slow it down is thru shaming the government into giving out fewer permits. That's a longer term proposition.
Dude, thankyou for making this video. I had the privilege of visiting Nepal and the everest region this year and it is truly such a magical place! I honestly fell in love with the heartwarming Sherpa people. They work so hard to provide us the opportunity to explore their home region and are so happy to welcome us foreigners into their homes with open arms. The thought of anyone taking advantage of these people makes me SICK 😢 They honestly deserve so much better. I am with you bro, something needs to change to make this more sustainable and provide better wages, working conditions for locals on the high peaks.
I have always been impressed with how hikers treat the Appalachian Trail. Leave NO Footprint! Everest needs to adopt that mantra and habit.
Fantastic video, you don't "sound like you are whinging" at all! I'm not a climber, but a winter sports and snow lover. I found myself binge watching Everest videos. At first it was wonderful, but pretty quickly the ugly side of filth, waste, lack of respect for both the local culture and people, and even fellow climbers became evident. I was waiting to see someone with experience voice this! It's so sad that a healthy sport and love of mountains has resulted in such a spectacle. If limits on permits and better protection for the mountain and local industry workers were in place, maybe the spectacle will end.
Thank you for speaking out about all of this. We cannot go on pretending this is all just okay.
Well done. I learned a lot from you. I appreciate it and it has given a different perspective. Thank you.
Thanks for the video
I applaud you for this video. You cover so many excellent points and aspects of the commercialization of these mountains which, in my opinion, should be off limits to humanity and respected and awed from afar. I, too, am appalled at the treatment of these cultures and the environments they live in. I hope your video goes viral and gets some attention on this issue.
How would you stop people from climbing mountains? People climb on the pyramids of Egypt even though they’re far, far smaller.
Mt. Everest is considered a sacred mountain by the people who live near it. You mentioned closing the mountain, at least for awhile. I think this is a good idea. Leave it be.
Thank you for bringing awareness.
Thanks for speaking about this!
thanks for this episode .. I was never thinking for a second to climb something like that for myself but I've spent with climbing all my young life and I was so privileged to climb with people like Mara Holecek (who is my friend for 20 years .. haha, and I was watching after and babysitting little Adam Ondra when he was 3-4 years old and his sis was on competition in isolation and I've already didn't pass through qualifying round) and simply this is what forms you .. I was actually formed by years of climbing so I would never think about such a venture and I personally don't know anybody whom I'd title climber and who would think about this kind of venture too .. so actually these people are different kind .. maybe some business men or other adventurers .. dunno, not climbers really .. so the solution would be to permit only climbers to climb these mountains .. amount of people on the mountain will decrease to less than 1% and things will slowly return back to where there are supposed to be .
Well said. Wherever natural wonders have been commercialized, we see mistreatment and disrespect of the environment by the touring masses. The deaths are tragic and sad. I hope a solution is found.
Brilliant vid. Subscribed.
I hope this video is shared far and wide, well, actually, it looks like it has been, but I hope it continues. Thank you for this excellent presentation, insightful, compassionate, and practical.
Eye opening what actually happens in high mountain work
Well done! More people in a position to make a genuine value judgement should be speaking out in the way you have. It's a brave stance to take in the face of the $$$$
Thank you for bringing this to light and I like so many agree
Couldn't be more spot on with your assessment. Great sharing and breakdown of this tragic decimation. Thank you
AMEN. I live in Alaska and know a few folks who climbed Denali-nearly as tall, possibley worse weather conditions (it really snows here). You have to get a permit to climb Denali at least 6 months in advance, pass fitness tests,etc. You haul your own everything. No sherpas. You pull everything and carry it on your back, No one cooks for you hands you O's and masks, Its just you. Sure you can buy a guide, but its harder work doing it all. I met a woman who climbed and summited Denali after graduating med school. And this was back then. Like 1990. Women were still fighting to be heard. That is amazing. Those climbers pack out their waste, they spend no time acclimating to thin air , they just do it. Its all rock in Denali,gaciers and snow. Everest got into the big $$$ business that can exploit people legally. As if summiting is the highest climax ever-looking into that vista and expanse-its being marred by elitist tourism. And the sherpas although well paid local" rock stars" are being trfficked.
Denali is just a touch over 6000m. There's no comparison to Everest.
Denali rock, snow and glaciers like every other peak above 6000m. There's no comparison man cmon lol
Wait whose exploiting people? Everest? Or you mean the people who setup business at Everest like the sherpas and guides? Just asking
When you do something like climb a high peak, you do it for no other reason than to achieve a milestone and create an impact on your own life. If doing that requires you to hurt others, it's simply not worth it. Sounds like there needs to be a new model for climbing Everest that either costs way more money to make sure everyone involved is properly compensated and supported or takes way more time to build up the individual expertise to do it without risking the lives of others, as with Killian's ascent. Thanks for sharing, it makes me ponder my own climbing goals.
"When you do something like climb a high peak, you do it for no other reason than to achieve a milestone and create an impact on your own life. If doing that requires you to hurt others, it's simply not worth it."
Exactly this.
@@ashmusing6118 ❤
Sherpas could get compensated with what these companies charge now 😂 the companies make the executive decision to pay them $3 per day with no equipment when they charge climbers $100k to make the summit. You “noble folk” are barking up the wrong hill when you criticize the climbers. They make no executive decisions except to provide those Sherpas with a job by creating demand.
Thanks for this video. I agree with EVERYTHING you mentioned there.
Thank you for this video.