OT: Dangerous Sport

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Posted By: davidcycleback

Just it worthy to note that the female climber killed by avalanche in the China mountaints was my parents' neighbor. She was probably the most famous female mountain climber. Most of the people in my dad's neighborhod are like accountaints and doctors, so the blonde mountain climber stood out. Interestingly, she was the second owner of a Seattle mountain climbing school, and the first owner died on Mount Everest in the infamous 1996 'Into Thin Air' expedition.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/12/27/china.climbersl.ap/index.html

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Sorry to hear it David. Did your folks know her?

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Posted By: steve f

Sorry to hear, though she died doing what she loved.

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Posted By: davidcycleback

My dad knew her well and said she was nice. They had things in common as they
were both from Wisconsin and engineering majors. I'd seen her a few times but didn't know her.

High end mountain climbing, like climbing Mount Everest or K2 is a dangerous vocation or
hobby, and death is not uncommon. I found out that most deaths on Mount Everest are not
on the ascent but the descent. This is due to falls, exhaustion, lack of oxygen, mountain sickness
(which isn't akin to car sickness but brain problems caused by lack of oxygen), losing consciousness,
freezing to death, etc. Many simply sit or lie down, can't get back up and die at the spot. From what
I understand, if you climb Mount Everest you will pass dead bodies, some from recent some
from years ago.

And to think people want poker to count as a sport.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Sorry to hear that David, that's an awful story. Mt. Hood was half the height of Everest or K2, just a 14,000 footer, but it still claimed three lives. All mountain climbing is dangerous. I don't know how anyone can do it.