The sting in the tale of high drama in the 'death zone' of Everest
Despite the dangers, Mount Everest, also known as the Qomolangma, still attracts hundreds of mountaineers every year.
What is it like on Mount Everest? It appears there is a melodramatic element quite beyond the usual stories of mountaineering heroics.
Consider this tale that made global headlines and subsequently evoked heated discussion online in China.
On May 18, four climbers of the Hunan Mountaineering Team set off from Base Camp 4 on the last leg to climb the world's highest mountain. When they reached 8,450 meters, just about 400 meters shy of the top, they came across an unconscious woman, who was later identified only as Liu – a climber from the same team who had apparently tried a solo ascent. She was in serious trouble, with frostbitten hands turned black and face covered in ice.
Fan Jiangtao, leader of the Hunan team, decided to give up his dream of conquering the summit and try to rescue the woman in what is known as the mountain's "death zone."
He refilled the woman's oxygen cylinder from his own supply and gave her water, sugar and chocolate as she slowly regained consciousness.
When Fan saw that he couldn't rescue her by himself, he went back to base camp and enlisted the help of fellow climber Xie Ruxiang and a Sherpa guide. Xie promised the Sherpa guide that he would be given US$10,000 if he would carry the woman back to base camp. The rescue took four harrowing hours.
A story with a happy ending? Not quite. Once back at base camp and revived, Liu said she would pay the Sherpa only US$4,000, forcing Fan and Xie to make up the difference from their own pockets.
Once that fact was leaked online from a chat group, widespread criticism of Liu's ingratitude soon escalated to cyberbullying.
All kinds of rumors started to flood the Internet. Some said Liu wasn't qualified to ascend the peak. Some said she was booted off the Hunan team when it returned home.
Both Fan and Xie called on netizens to stop the cyberbullying.
"We didn't realize that our private conversations would be leaked to the public, and we hope that everything will end here," Xie wrote on his Weibo page. "We call for a halt to cyberbullying, including verbal attacks, insults and online stalking."
Xie Ruxiang, one of the climbers who came to Liu's rescue, called for people to stop the cyberbully attack on her.
The matter apparently was put to rest over the weekend, when Xinjiang Kaitu Outdoor Mountain Sports Co, organizer of Liu's expedition, said it paid the full US$10,000 fee and returned all supplies used in the rescue.
"We'd like to express our gratitude to Fan, Xie and the Sherpa guide who came to Liu's rescue," said the company's statement. "It's our responsibility that Liu became separated from her Sherpa guide during the expedition. We should be accountable for the mistake."
Beyond the drama on the peak, the incident evoked more general discussion about the obsession to conquer Everest and its consequences.
The mountain has just been through "one of the deadliest ascent seasons," according to Nepalese authorities. Twelve climbers died and five went missing.
In fact, on the day Liu was rescued, a climber named Chen Xuebin from southwestern China's Guizhou Province collapsed on his way up the southern slope and died.
Chen's team, managed by 8K Expedition of Nepal, said that the 52-year-old was changing his oxygen tanks when the incident happened.
Like Chen, most of the climbers who die on Everest lose their lives in the "death zone" between Base Camp 4 and the summit.
A climber who preferred to use her screenname "Namtso" told Shanghai Daily that the zone "stirs the soul" of those trying to reach the summit.
Namtso, born in Guizhou and now living in Beijing, reached the top of Everest in 2017, when she was 34 years old.
"The whole process of getting to the summit took me 53 days, and then another five days to descend," she said. "There were endless dangers along the way – the thin oxygen levels, the sudden changes in weather and the dangerous passageway conditions. I was hit by a falling rock in one instance and almost got lost in another."
Namtso on Mount Everest in 2017. She was the first Guizhou woman to conquer the world's highest mountain.
Every year, there are only two ascent seasons: one around May and the other around September. Most climbers choose May because weather conditions are generally better and there are less gale force.
"A mountaineer needs to be fully prepared," Namtso said. "High stamina, good gear, strong mental attitude and the money to afford the adventure."
Before Everest, Namtso had 10 years of experience in mountaineering, reaching the summits of 22 of snow mountains. Just one expedition to Everest can cost US$70,000-$80,000.
Climbing Everest requires special government certificates. The Chinese government maintains strict limits on those seeking to climb the mountain from the Tibetan side, so many climbers chose to apply for certificates costing US$11,000 in Nepal.
This year, the Nepalese government issued 463 certificates to climbers around the world.
The more popular Everest has become for wannabe adventurers, the higher the death toll on its slopes. There are an estimated 200 bodies too dangerous to retrieve from the mountain.
A gravestone on Mount Everest commemorates American mountaineer Marty Hoey (1951-82) who fell to her death over the Great Couloir of the north face of Everest. Her body has never been recovered.
Some of the bodies have become landmarks. One of the most famous is called "green boots" – the remains of a climber on the Northeast ridge route.
Although the body has never been officially identified, it is believed to be Indian mountaineer Tsewang Paljor, who died on Everest in 1996.
All the expeditions from the north side can see the body, wearing green boots and lying intact in a limestone alcove.
So many climbers have died in the "death zone," that conventional wisdom among the mountaineering fraternity is that no rescues should be attempted above 8,000 meters.
Fan, Xie and the Sherpa ignored that convention to rescue Liu, though they could have chosen not to help her and probably would have drawn no rebuke from the climbing community.
Namtso, however, disagrees.
"My experience tells me otherwise," she said. "We should always lend a hand to anyone in trouble. We must put all lives before our own summit dreams. Even if we are unable to carry an injured climber down, we can at least call for help and wait with them for that help to arrive."
