I’ve never quite understood the fascination with doing something dangerous. Thrill seeking or just the challenge is often the reason. Seems to me that borders on being just plain stupid. Bungee jumping and skydiving come to mind.
The ultimate stupidity is climbing Mt. Everest. This is the time of the year when climbing Mt. Everest is in full swing. And, no surprise, the mountain has claimed the first victims of 2016. Last week four climbers died.
On Thursday 25-year-old Phurba Sherpa, one of the natives of Nepal, fell to his death when he was about 500 feet from the summit.
On Friday Eric Arnold, 36, of the Netherlands, died at night after reaching the summit. Speculation is that Arnold had a heart attack resulting from the elevation. The elevation at Everest Base Camp is 17,590 feet, an altitude that decreases oxygen by about 50%.
On Saturday, 34-year-old Australian Maria Strydom, died from altitude sickness at Camp IV, the final camp before the summit. High-altitude cough and acute mountain sickness, which can mean headaches and shortness of breath, are common among Everest climbers.
On Sunday, Subash Paul, 44, died at Base Camp II from altitude sickness. Paul was part of a team (consisting of four Indian climbers and four Sherpas) that also saw two members — Paresh Chandra Nath and Goutam Ghosh — go missing Saturday night.
Since the 2016 climbing season opened on Everest, about 300 people have scaled, according to data from Everest Base Camp as of Saturday.
Obviously healthy, young and physically fit people dying on Everest. Stupid people doing stupid things.
Just one day more…