An Avoidable Tragedy 2016

Congratulation for your effort to analyses the reason of fact in “An Avoidable Tragedy” 2016.
My heartiest congratulation to those real climbers who had all realise life is more important rather than anything & extended their hand, sacrifices their whole effort of climbing mountain & took life risk   to save a life, so that at least one life was safe. This is the mountaineering fraternity.

I also appreciate Sunita’s effort, tenacity & mental strength which she has shown during her climb & Survival.

I truly believe if there is few more real climbers among them at that moment the whole tragedy could have avoid and rest of the climbers may survive.

Reports say one Climber was alieved 48hrs. (in camp III) he was died due to just leave him alone by the others, I think at that moments he may need some psychological support from his team members or fellow climbers that he could have survive.  Like as Sunita’s.

Yes it is true for every adventure lovers try to achieve something beyond of their imaginations.

And now a days Mt. Everest is one of the easy & best destinations.

We know in spite of several tragedies, still many people will be there again in 2017.

Now a days the way all the Himalayan high mountain expeditions are organising by the agencies/Sherpas or by the unprofessional team  (Nepal or India) and the peoples are enrolling their names with them as climbers either in group or individual, I think if it is continue for long time We have to be many more witness of such as incidents.

However there are few questions.

1. Is this people a team of climbers or individual expedition?
2. They have gone for climbing or just tourism?
3. If it’s a team then how the team does selected?
4. If it is a team then how many expeditions they have done together before they have gone for this venture?
5. Is there any leader of the team or Sherpa is the Leader?
6. If individual, is there any leadership quality of the individual’s to lead them?
7. Is this peoples have done any homework before they have gone for this huge venture?
8. Or only depend on Sherpa Oriented?
9. Or it’s just collect fees for venture/ tourism and pay to the travel agent and goes like this?
10. In other hands who all are the people will decide the success of the venture?
11. Travel Agent / The people sitting in city/lower camp/Base Camp/or trespasser/Sherpa /or Climber itself?
12. There is a picture showed in report peoples are moving on the extreme altitude just few meters away from the top, now who will confirmed whether they have reached into the top or miss it?
13. Who will decide the truth? Only the camera pix / or the people not with the team at that moments or climbers reports??? We have a very bitter experience in Camera Pix. Example in 2016 Everest expedition itself.
14. Note, in a big expedition Professional Sherpas are very essential but at the same time all  the Sherpa’s are not mountaineers.
15. The peoples those who all are setting in a position & guiding the Govt. dept. /administration/sponsors can ignore their responsibility to avoid the tragedy?

Many many doubts still there!!!

Just to conclude -

A quote from “White Limbo” page No.245

“High on Everest the line between success and tragic failure is very fine as it was three of our team of five climbed the mountain(Andy will not be recorded in the statistics of Summiteers but to our mind fifty meters from the top of the 8848-meters peak is good enough) and we all survived. The loss of Andy’s fingers seriously mars our triumph, and show again just how small are the margins between the completely unscathed, the incapacitated and the dead”.

by Lincoln Hall Manly (26th October 1984). Leader of 1981 Australian Everest Expedition.

Bivujit Mukhoty

bivujit@dofe.in