Category: great outdoors

The World’s highest peak that is mount Everest is a mere 29,029 feet, but what is even more important is the death zone of that mountain, the zone where you need to be prepared and totally know of what you are doing is 26,000 feet, at the death zone elevation is where anything can happen and you need to be hyper-vigilant of your surroundings at all times, not too mention what is happening to yourself in the way of elevation changes as well. There is no messing around hiking this mountain and at no time, should this mountain be used as a conversation piece to brag to others that, ” I have done something you haven’t”. even those in the most tip top shape have struggled hiking this mountain, simply because the elevation is the biggest factor in being totally prepared to hike this mountain.

Hiking this mountain and being above the 26,000 elevation mark is, kind of like a diver in the ocean going below a certain depth, the diver gets what is known as the Bends, when he surfaces he then has to get within a decompression chamber to decompress from the ” decompression sickness”, from ascending to quickly, even with the oxygen or the nitrogen in their tanks they still get this sickness, which is something that nobody climbing mount Everest even thinks about when they climb the worlds highest peak.

Right now the deaths on mount Everest is at an all time high and the Government of Nepal is not even thinking of making any changes to the rules? Right now if you show up with the $11,000 they will issue a permit to you, without even checking your mountaineering skills, or even the health condition of your present self, it is like all things today and about the money, especially for the small country of Nepal looking to survive within today’s world.

I put the blame squarely on all the social media platforms out there and the fact that people hike within areas without being totally prepared, just to gain a bigger presence on these platforms with more followers. Let’s look at a page on Facebook for instance, this page is called I hiked the 4,000 footers club in New Hampshire, this page has people posting pictures and bragging of their hike, with a lot of these hikers, not wearing the proper foot gear, or even carrying the proper equipment to be ready for whatever they may encounter, let’s go one step further here and the fact that, there is not enough adequate parking for all, so they park on the side of an interstate highway, just so they can put pictures up on their Facebook page or whatever social media platform they are using. Hiking anywhere within the white mountains of New Hampshire you need to be prepared for anything, especially the sudden changes in the weather, it can and will snow on the top of mount Washington in the summer and when you can’t find the trail because of the snow, then you need maybe a compass and even be able to see where you are just by looking at the sky, or just maybe remember your surroundings for the return trip. I noticed on my hikes a lot of times, people are looking in front of them for a trail marker and not looking at what is around them? What happens if that marker is not there for whatever reason? What do you do then? When you are above the tree line you see a pile of rocks, what are they? And what are they called? They are Carns and they mark the trail for you to follow.

This picture of the people climbing mount Everest, what is the biggest problem of this picture? If you said the line of people and being way to close to each other, you are 100% correct, because if one of them misstep and fall, now you have a domino effect of all going down and with the cliffs on both sides……………. Well with common sense you can see what is going to happen there. Even with the oxygen they are breathing from the tanks on their backs, that is still not enough at the altitude they are in, then you add in the fact that, when these people get to the top they want to take a ” selfie” and most definitely, they want people to see who they are in the picture, so they then take off the mask of oxygen for the picture, but they don’t realize that, even the seconds that the mask is off, is seconds to long at that elevation. Your body at that elevation is already changing and parts of the body is shutting down, because we are not cut out for this type of rigorous endeavor, no matter how much in shape you think you are? Just like all the deaths happening on mount Everest, there are deaths happening in the white mountains of New Hampshire, simply because people are embarking on these hikes without being properly prepared, for what ever might cross their paths, whether it’s the proper foot gear, to enough water to stay hydrated, or even the proper snacks for protein, or even carrying the right gear in the pack, just in case your stuck in a weather condition that changes drastically, no matter what the hike, you need to be well prepared and ready for anything that you may encounter along your path, of any journey you embark on.

” Be prepared is the biggest of the Boy Scout’s motto and something we all need to adhere to within the journey of life”

” A traffic jam of people on the worlds tallest peak, is something that should never be and dangerous for all stuck within the traffic jam”

” Just because you have $11,000 should never be all it takes to hike the worlds tallest peak”

” Social media platforms are being used in a way they were never designed to be used, because we the people misuse everything we touch without thinking through the ramifications of our actions”