Headline, April18, 2013

'''THE SHAMING TRAGEDY BEHIND 

''THE MATHS'' TEACHER'S METAPHOR''​'

One death  -that of 34 year old Briton David Sharp in 2006,  -has come to highlight all that has gone wrong with conquering Everest. An experienced climber on a bare-bones package, which only covered him to base camp, ''the maths teacher'' had an obsession with scaling Everest, and this was his third attempt.

Climbing alone, without the benefit of Sherpas or radio assistance, he left his tent at High Camp just after midnight. Delirious from lack of oxygen, he froze to death in the cave that houses the corpse of a climber known as Green Boots. Sharp was just a few feet from the summit route, and as many as 40 climbers are thought to have passed him during the final hours.

In the 36 hours after Sharp left his tent, one team reported seeing him making pitifully slow progress towards the summit. Others say he was sitting upright in the snow and waving away help when it was offered. More and other  -various reasons were given later for the apparent lack of interest in Sharp. Those who did stop did so on theie way back down.

Much could have been done to save Sharp. High altitude drugs could have been administered. High flow oxygen could have got him going and Sharp was just an hour above the highest camps.And a few weeks later, an Australian Lincoln Hall survived after two  days on the mountain at even higher altitude. He, too, initially been left for dead.

Among old school mountaineers, there was an outrage. The unwritten mountain code states that if someone is in trouble, you drop everything. ''The whole attitude towards climbing mount Everest has becoming rather horrifying,'' said Sir Edmund Hillary.''People just want to get to the top, they don't give a damn for anybody else.''

To others, the responsibility lay with Sharp; at such extreme temperatures, it's every man for himself.  These two standpoints help explain why this case has been seen as a microcosm of human nature.

With respectful dedication to all the climbers who lost their lives in the conquest of Everest. 188 bodies stay frozen in time on the summit route.

The Everest Industry  -it seems, has turned into a circus.

Good Night & God Bless!

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voicelesss