An avalanche on Mount Manaslu in Nepal this past weekend killed 8 climbers and and injured scores of others. Many had to be airlifted to safety after the avalanche buried 25 tents and washed climbers hundreds of feet down the mountain.
While this CNN article says that avalanches are just an objective risk of climbing large peaks, it also says that this avalanche has brought to light the idea that the sheer numbers of people trying to climb these Himalayan peaks are putting people in danger.
The article cites that "A total of 10 climbers died on Everest in April and May, making it the third deadliest spring season on record after 12 people perished in 1996 and 11 in 2006." Part of this danger was the weather but it was also partially the amount of people trying to summit at the same time was forcing people to wait in line, where while waiting people were much more likely to suffer from frost bite or run out of oxygen.
This inordinate amount of climbers is thought to be caused by inexperienced climbers getting cheap deals on peak climbing season packages and irresponsible tour companies who will take people to the peaks regardless of their experience level. This crush of people coupled with their inexperience creates an environment much more susceptible to hazards and death.
The case of climbers dying from hazards while trying to summit Mount Everest or other peaks is very different from casualties from other types of hazards. This is because the exposure to these hazards is voluntary, where as most other hazard deaths come from involuntary exposure. The avalanche on Mount Manaslu was an instance of voluntary exposure to an what CNN calls an "objective hazard -- a risk that you cannot control and one all climbers must accept."
Here is an article about how deaths can happen on Mount Everest and other Himalayan Peaks.
Here is a video from CNN about the rescue effort on Mount Manaslu.
No comments:
Post a Comment