Life On The Edge

By rule, whoever had not reached the top by then should have turned around or they would be descending in the dark with low oxygen. However, Hall continued to encourage the ones still climbing, while Fischer brought up the rear and did reach the summit until around 3:45 P.M. Over ten thousand feet below the climbers, those left at Base Camp noticed a serious problem. Paula Viesturs "saw a bank of huge, bruise-colored clouds rolling up the mountain. Clouds that were almost certainly carrying a storm" (Kluger). The clouds turned into a murderous blizzard, stranding 19 climbers above Camp IV. During the night Hall, Fisher, and one of Hall's clients died somewhere below the summit. Nearly three thousand feet below them and just 300 horizontal yards from camp, a snow-blinded group of eleven climbers had veered off course and huddled behind a rock to try and stay alive (Krakauer 207). Despite their efforts, three of those climbers died in the frozen snow. Although no one knows what entirely happened on that fateful day, "the highest one day death toll" in the history of climbing Mt. Everest, many have asked why so many lives were lost (Roberts 84). Some blame the commercialization of Mt. Everest others criticize the number of inexperienced climbers, while yet others point to the guides themselves.
             In the spring of 1996, thirty different expeditions were on the flanks of Everest, at least ten of them organized as money-making ventures. Nepal, the southwest side of the mountain, recognized the crowds of climbers as a potential threat to the safety of others, culture of Nepal, and natural environment. In 1991 Nepalese ministers decided on a solution that would decrease the number of people trekking up the mountain while bringing cash into the poverty stricken country: just charge more for the climbing fees required to climb Everest. From 1991 to 1992 the price went from $2,300 for any number of people on a team, to $10,000 for a team of nine, with an additional $1,200 for each added climber.