Describes the adventure of climing Mt. Everst. Concludes that it is expensive for an average person and mentally unhealthy for absolutely anyone.
How often do you hear of catastrophes that leave people injured for the rest of their lives? How often do people die in all types of accidents? Unfortunately, that happens too often. So why allow commercial expeditions to climb Mountain Everest? It's a pity that anyone could even think of considering that; and not only it is extremely dangerous for climbers, it's also awfully expensive for an average person and mentally not healthy for absolutely anyone.
It's oblivious that mountain climbing is unsafe. But Everest isn't just a regular mountain, it's "an apparent death trap" (5). Rob Hall, who had climbed seven of the largest mountains, including Everest, died on top of it. In addition to that, Rob Hall was very skilled and organized climber. So if Hall was one of the professional climbers, what could happen to less experienced and trained? 130 people died while trying to reach the top of Everest since 1921 (30). And even if a person gets injured and would need to be evacuated, chances are they won't get the help they require to get. The helicopter could simply crash like it had already happened before. Besides, it could only take one person; otherwise both the pilot and an injured climber won't make it because the helicopter can't take too much weight.
Climbing Mountain Everest has a great impact on government. There are going to be accidents and nobody can avoid that, therefore rescue mission will be needed. As it was mentioned before, it's risky to save climbers on the helicopter, but not only it's risky, it's expensive as well. What could be avoided is letting people go on deadly missions to climb Everest to boost their adrenaline. That "fun adventure" that could cost innocent people's lives cost $70,000 for a 7 men team (6). Expedition climbing is a huge project that is costly. Basically, climbers are paying to risk their own lives. The sad thing is that there are plenty of "inexperienced amateurs - each of whom had paid as much as $65,000 to be taken safely up Everest" (5), and they aren't promised tomorrow. That certainly isn't worth it.
And in addition to everything else, climbing Everest might not only cause physical damage, but physiological damage as well. There is a great possibility that people will die and the rest climbers would have to face it, live with it for the rest of their lives. And it won't matter why people were left behind; was it because of somebody's coward ness or helplessness. Or maybe they would just have no choice but to leave some people behind because, as Jon Krakauer stated, you will be "concerned only with [your] own safety" (352). After going through so much stress, the stain that will be on one's psyche won't let them sleep well and possibly even drive them crazy. And even though "no one intended harm for one another" (370), some are going to be dead and that's not something that erases from person's memory easily. Some will be able to live with it, and some won't...
Permitting commercial expeditions is a ridiculous idea and there should be no doubt that it may not be allowed. There is nothing positive about climbing Mountain Everest money wise, safety wise and physiologically wise. It is nothing heroic as well, and people die for no apparent reason. There could not be any reasonable arguments for climbing Everest because these are human lives we dealing with and that is no joke. In 1996, there were five commercial expedition leaders that first climbed Everest, and there is only one that is still alive today. That's a sad, but true fact. (www.mounteverest.net/expguide/commercial.htm)
This is the complete article, containing 610 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
