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Image Above - Cindy Abbott of Irvine takes a break in 2010 at Camp Four on Mt. Everest. Oxygen bottles are in the background. Abbott went on to summit the highest mountain in the world.

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Image Above -Cindy Abbot at Mt. Everest Summit. Granulomatosis with polyangiltis and partially blind - Cindy Abbot - United States - May 23rd 2010.

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Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's granulomatosis)
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a rare condition in which the blood vessels become inflamed. It mainly affects the ears, nose, sinuses, kidneys and lungs.

Anyone can get it, including children, but it's most common in middle-aged or older people.
GPA can be very serious but, with medication, most people can keep it under control and live largely normal lives.
GPA used to be called Wegener's granulomatosis. 

Symptoms of GPA
GPA can cause a range of symptoms depending on which parts of the body are affected.

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Image Above - Model of Pathogenesis of Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody–Associated Vasculitis in Wegener Granulomatosis, Microscopic Polyangiitis, and Churg-Strauss Syndrome... 

It can cause:

general symptoms such as tiredness, a high temperature (fever), weakness, loss of appetite, weight loss and joint pain. 

Ear, nose and throat problems such as a blocked or runny nose, nosebleeds, crusts around the nostrils, face pain (sinusitis) earache, and hearing loss.

Lung problems such as a cough that doesn't go away, shortness of breath, wheezing and chest pains.

Kidney problems such as blood in urine, high blood pressure and inflammation of the kidneys (glomerulonephritis)

Skin problems such as rashes, lumps and small purple spots.

Eye problems such as irritated eyes (conjunctivitis), swollen eyelids and double vision. 

Gut problems such as tummy pain, diarrhoea and blood in waste. If it's not treated, GPA can cause permanent damage to some parts of the body. For example, it can change the shape of the nose or stop the kidneys working properly.

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Robert Hill conquers seven summits including Mount Everest

Nanaimo climber conquers seven summits, including Mount Everest

Rob Hill raises awareness about intestinal disease and is now featured in the movie in 40 Days at Base camp

A Nanaimo man who summited Mount Everest two years ago now features prominently in a new documentary currently being screened across Canada, the final peg in his Seven Summits bid. 

The climbing started for Hill after being diagnosed with Crohn’s at age 23. “For myself, when in life faced with an illness that really almost killed me, it was a struggle to get out of bed. … I basically couldn’t absorb any nutrients, and (my body) was eating muscle mass to stay alive. I was dying, basically,” he said.
After the drastic surgery that resulted in the loss of his organs, he started recuperating and feeling better.

In climbing, he found a way to revisit a struggle that reminded himself of how strong he could be, a sentiment similar to those espoused by athletes like Lance Armstrong.

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“The pain of climbing Everest or doing the Tour de France doesn’t compare to what you’ve gone through when you’ve had your health so jeopardized,” said Hill.
“For me, growing up with Terry Fox and his cancer, there was a gentleman who stepped outside his illness and did something about it.”
Hill started his Seven Summits with a climb of Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus region of Russia in 2001, the tallest mountain in Europe. He followed that up with ascents of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Aconcagua in Argentina, Mount McKinley/Denali in Alaska, the Vinson Massif in Antarctica, and the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia.
The number of people who have accomplished all of these climbs is still in the low hundreds.
He did all of this to raise awareness of the intestinal disease and raise funds for organizations dedicated to fighting it.

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Image Above - Rob Hill on top of Mount Everest

Robert Hill said this is what’s really kept him going climb after climb over the past decade.
“I’ve mentored a lot of kids with the same illness.

That’s a huge part of it. Watching the change in kids’ life when you explain to them or teem them into these environments and show them they can do it.”
Hill, who moved to Nanaimo two years ago to be closer to family, is now training in the city and planning for his next big adventure, although he notes he’s not pushing sponsors too hard in today’s economy.
For more information on Hill’s group or his climbs, visit nogutsknowglory or weneedideas Information on the film can be found at 40daysatbasecamp. com.

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Cancer survivor (Hodgkins disease and Askin's sarcoma) one lung - Sean Swarner - United States - May 16th 2002

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Blind- -summited Everest via North Col - Andy Holzer - Austria - May 21st - 2017

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First cancer patient - Summited everest - Ian Toothill - United Kingdom - May 27th 2017 - Ian Toothill on the top of Mount Everest - Ian Toothill, 47, from Sheffield, reached the top of the world’s highest mountain on Monday, and has raised over £31,500 for the cancer charity Macmillan. He believes he is the first person with cancer to reach the summit. In a tongue-in-cheek celebration of his achievement, the personal trainer and Sheffield Wednesday FC fan placed the flag of rival team Sheffield United at the top of the mountain for charity, to thank a friend who donated £1,000 to his cause. “For those who suffer daily because of cancer, I climb for you,” Toothill told followers on his Climbing Everest for Cancer Facebook page where he has documented his ascent. “For those who lost the battle with cancer, and the friends and families left to pick up the broken pieces, I climb for you. Sadly Mr Toothill died in Early 2018.

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Double leg amputee and cancer survivor (Lymphoma)  - Xia Boyu - China - May 14th 2018.

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Marc Kopp was the first disabled person to skydive over Mount Everest, in 2013; he suffers from multiple sclerosis.
Nations with most summits, U.K - 481 as of 2011

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Image Above for illustration purposes only, Fastest run from Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu - 63 hours 8 minutes - Sam Finch (Ashleworth) - United Kingdom - April 21st, 2013

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Image Above - EBC Tour for Kids (Everest Base Camp) Youngest person to trek to Everest Base Camp    Aged 3 years and 0 months    Lia Arizona de Cos - Tri citizens of Spain, Ukraine, United States - May 2018 - If you plan to take your kids with you to visit the Everest Base Camp, it is better to let them know something of the destination, such as how high the Mount Everest is, who the first climber is to reach the top of Everest, how cold it is in Mount Everest, Youngest person to ever be at the Base Camp    0 years and 11 months   (Ksenia de Cos)- May 2018

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Wimbledon brothers Tobin and James O'Donnell may be youngest ever siblings to climb Mount Everest after family holiday to Nepal | Wimbledon Times - Youngest brothers / siblings to trek to Everest Base Camp    Aged 6, 8, 11 years    James, Tobin and Aidan O'Donnell - United Kingdom - August 2016.

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First person with Down's Syndrome to Everest Base Camp 15 years old Eli Reimer - United States - 2013

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Youngest Australian to trek to Everest Base Camp 9 years old Oscar Squirrell - Australia - April 2017.

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First Person with Cerebral Palsy to trek to Everest Base Camp on horseback  Age: 27 Max Stainton - United Kingdom - April 2018

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Image Above - Max's first training day -  Max is a disabled finance professional who works in London. He has lived with Cerebral Palsy all his life and has ridden with RDA since aged 5.

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Worlds Highest Marathon - Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon (Official) Some Everest-related marathons that start at Base camp or near Everest include the Everest Marathon, Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon, and the Mount Everest Challenge Marathon.

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Dangerous-bridge-sky-walking-Mt-Nimbus - Sadly attempting to climb and summit mount Everest comes with great risk of personal injury or death, Even the best most professional climbers have succumbed to the inhospitable and deadly environment of the mountain, The weather can be extremely unpredictable at times and a high wind snow storms and avalanches are frequent and hard to avoid without the utmost research and careful gut feeling approach. Here is a list of some adventurers that sadly lost there lives on Mt Everest,  

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Six Nepali staff killed in the avalanche but more than 22 lost there lives. Clockwise from top left: Jangbu Sherpa lived at Taksindu Village Solukhumbu District. Maila Rai - Khumjung; Dawa Tsering Sherpa - Chaurikharka; Chhimi Dawa Sherpa - Khiruale, Bung; Pema Yishi Sherpa - Khiraule, Bung; Pemba Sherpa - Taksindu, Solukhumbu Photo: Supplied / RNZ - A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit at 11.56am and lasted for 50 seconds. The epicentre was near the Kathmandu valley, just 160kms northwest of Everest. (25-04-2015) The force of the ice cliffs collapsing shattered the rocks beneath them. The resulting avalanche was a deadly mix of snow, ice and razor-sharp shards of broken rock - and it hit Base Camp within seconds. Over 8000 people died in Nepal that day. More than 20,000 were injured and half a million homes destroyed. The earthquake was strong enough to literally move mountains, shifting Everest itself sideways by 3cm. A major aftershock the following month killed a further 200 people.

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The 1982 Canadian Mount Everest Expedition (sponsored by Air Canada) had taken five years to plan, $3 million to finance and required 27 tons of equipment to outfit the party. The expedition also experienced tragedy when four climbers perished in the Khumbu Icefall during setup of Camp I.

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Laurie Skreslet (born October 25, 1949) is a Canadian Moutaineer best known for his ascent of Mount Everest, On October 5, 1982 at 9:30am local time, Skreslet became the first Canadian to reach the summit of Mount Everest, via the southeast col route. He was part of the Canadian 1982 expedition team.

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Image Above - The 1924 British expedition to Mount Everest. Andrew Comyn "Sandy" Irvine (8 April 1902 – 8 or 9 June 1924) was an English mountaineer who took part in the 1924 British Everest Expedition, the third British expedition to the world's highest (8,848 m) mountain,Mount Everest.
While attempting the first ascent of Mount Everest, his climbing partner George Mallory and he disappeared somewhere high on the mountain's northeast ridge. The pair was last sighted only a few hundred metres from the summit, and if the pair reached the summit before they perished is unknown. Mallory's body was found in 1999, but Irvine's body has never been found.

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Andrew Comyn "Sandy" Irvine (8 April 1902 – 8 or 9 June 1924)

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George Herbert Leigh Mallory (18 June 1886 – 8 or 9 June 1924)

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Mallory's ultimate fate was unknown for 75 years, until his body was discovered on 1 May 1999 by an expedition that had set out to search for the climbers' remains. Whether Mallory and Irvine had reached the summit before they died remains a subject of speculation and continuing research.

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How James and Spencer Matthews' brother Michael disappeared on Everest after becoming youngest Britain to scale peak.  

Spencer Matthews displayed his sensitive side on Loose Women this week as he discussed the untimely death of his brother Michael. 

Spencer, 26, visibly welled up as he opened up about his late sibling during a candid interview with the Loose Women on Friday. 

The MIC star’s elder brother was killed after he had reached the base camp of Mount Everest in May 1999 at the young age of 22. His untimely death came about after a bout of bad weather in Nepal. 

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Michael Matthews, (L) May 13, 1999, 23 years old.

Spencer was just 10 when he lost Michael and clearly, the grief has stayed with him. 

He explained: ‘When you lose someone, their memory lives on. It’s always nice to think about them.

‘I was 10, he was 22. He was the youngest to climb Everest.’ 

Spencer revealed that his parents and brother James, who is currently dating Pippa Middleton, pay tribute to Michael on his birthday every year. 

He also said that Michael’s memory lives on his his heart. 

‘Whenever you feel like giving up, you always think of them and it stops you,’ he said. 

‘Mike was a very tough person to live up. We try to treat every day like he did. He was very successful.’

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Several corpses are quite visibly in view on the mountain and have basically died right on the spot, There bodies have unfortunately not been brought down from the mountain because of the extremely high altitude that they rest. 

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Image Above - Hannelore Schmatz (16 February 1940 – 2 October 1979) - Hannelore was a German mountaineer. She collapsed and died as she was returning from summiting Mount Everest via the southern route, the first woman and first German citizen to die on the upper slopes of Everest. Schmatz was on an expedition via the South East Ridge route with her husband when she died at 8,300 metres (27,200 ft). 

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Gerhard Schmatz was the expedition leader, 50 years of age at the time and the oldest man to summit Everest. On the same expedition was the American Ray Genet, who also died while descending from the summit. Exhausted from the climb, they had stopped to bivouac as the night approached, despite the fact that their Sherpa guides had urged them not to. Ray Genet died later that night and both the Sherpa and Schmatz were distressed, but decided to continue their descent. At the height of 8,300m Schmatz sat down and said "Water, Water" to her Sherpa and died. Sungdare Sherpa,  one of the Sherpa guides, remained with her body, and as a result, lost most of his fingers and toes.

Gerhard Schmatz was the husband of Hannelore Schmatz.

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Ray Genet (L) and Cohick on McKinley

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Genet's body ultimately disappeared under the snow, but Schmatz's body was swept further down the mountain. For years, Schmatz's remains could be seen by anyone attempting to summit Everest by the southern route. Her body was frozen in a sitting position, leaning against her backpack with eyes open and hair blowing in the wind, about 100 metres above Camp IV. In 1984, police inspector Yogendra Bahadur Thapa and Sherpa Ang Dorje fell to their deaths while trying to recover Schmatz’s body on a Nepalese police expedition. Chris Bonington spotted Schmatz from a distance in 1985, and initially mistook her body for a tent until he got a closer look.

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Lene Gammelgaard, the first Scandinavian woman to reach the peak of Everest, quotes the Norwegian mountaineer and expedition leader Arne Naess, Jr, describing his encounter with Schmatz's remains, in her book Climbing High: A Woman's Account of Surviving the Everest Tragedy (1999), which recounts her own 1996 expedition. Næss' description is as follows:

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Scott Fischer and Lene Gammelgaard 1996 - "It's not far now. I can't escape the sinister guard. Approximately 100 meters above Camp IV she sits leaning against her pack, as if taking a short break. A woman with her eyes wide open and her hair waving in each gust of wind. It's the corpse of Hannelore Schmatz, the wife of the leader of a 1979 German expedition. She summited, but died descending. Yet it feels as if she follows me with her eyes as I pass by. Her presence reminds me that we are here on the conditions of the mountain." The wind eventually blew Schmatz's remains over the edge and down Kangshung Face.

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Stephen Venables, Everest Kangshung Face

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Image Above Tsewang Paljor- One body that every climber en route to the summit must pass is that of “Green Boots,” who was one of the eight people killed on the mountain during a blizzard in 1996.

The corpse, which received its name because of the neon green hiking boots it wears, lies curled up in a limestone cave on Mount Everest’s Northeast ridge route. Everyone who passes through is forced to step over his legs in a forceful reminder that the path is still treacherous, despite their proximity to the summit.

Green Boots is believed to be Tsewang Paljor (whether it is Paljor or one of his teammates is still up for debate), a member of a four-man climbing team from India who made their attempt at reaching the summit in May of 1996.

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28-year old Paljor was an officer with the Indo-Tibetan border police who grew up in the village of Sakti, which lies at the foot of the Himalayas. He was thrilled when he was selected to be part of the exclusive team that hoped to be the first Indians to reach the top of Everest from the North side.The team set off in a flurry of excitement, not realizing most of them would never leave the mountain. Despite Tsewang Paljor’s physical strength and enthusiasm, he and his teammates were completely unprepared for the perils they would face on the mountain.

Harbhajan Singh, the expedition’s sole survivor, recalled how he was forced to fall back due to the steadily worsening weather. Although he tried to signal to the others to return to the relative safety of the camp, they pushed on without him, consumed by summit fever.

Tsewang Paljor and his two teammates did indeed reach the summit, but as they made their descent they were caught up in the deadly blizzard. They were neither heard nor seen from again, until the first climbers seeking shelter in the limestone cave came upon Green Boots, huddled frozen in an eternal attempt to shield himself from the storm.

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Harbhajan Singh

Tsewang Paljor (10 April 1968 – 10 May 1996) was a member of the first Indian team to reach the summit of Mount Everest from the North Col, He was one of three Indians who died on the mountain during the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. While descending from the summit, he was trapped in a blizzard, and died due to exposure. It was reported but not confirmed that in 2014 "Green Boots" had been removed from Mount Everest, but in 2017 another expedition claimed to have covered the remains with stones.

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The Everest disaster of 1996 saw the deaths of eight climbers, which included five climbers from the Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness expeditions on the southeast route. A further three fatalities occurred on the northeast route. These were the climbers from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) expedition from India. The expedition was led by Commandant Mohinder Singh and is credited as the first Indian ascent of Everest from the East side.

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Mountain Madness Founder Scott Fischer (Third from Left) - On 10 May 1996, Subedar, Tsewang Samania, Lance Naik Dorje Morup, and Head Constable Tsewang Paljor were caught in the blizzard, just short of the summit. While three of the six-member team turned back down, Samanla, Morup, and Paljor decided to go for the summit. At around 15:45 Nepal Time, the three climbers radioed to their expedition leader that they had arrived, a claim that was subsequently disputed by Jon Krakauer, who based on an analysis of an interview given by a later Japanese team, believes they may have stopped 150 metres (492 ft) short of the topmost point but may have been confused by poor visibility. They left an offering of prayer flags, khatas, and pitons. Here, the leader Samanla decided to spend extra time for religious ceremonies and instructed the other two to move down.

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There was no radio contact after that. Back at the camps below, team members saw two headlamps moving slightly above the second step, at 8,570 metres (28,117 ft). None of the three managed to come back to high camp at 8,300 metres (27,231 ft).

Everest - Mountain Madness Team 1996

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Shortly after midnight on 10 May 1996, the Adventure Consultants expedition began a summit attempt from Camp IV, atop the South Col (7,900 m or 25,900 ft). They were joined by six client climbers, three guides, and sherpas from Scott Fischer's Mountain Madness company, as well as an expedition sponsored by the government of Taiwan. The expeditions quickly encountered delays. The climbing Sherpas and guides had not set the fixed ropes by the time the team reached the Balcony (8,350 m or 27,400 ft), and this cost the climbers almost an hour. There is some question as to the cause of this failure, which cannot now be resolved as the expedition leaders perished.

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Family remembers Mountain Madness' Scott Fischer ahead of big 'Everest' movie release based on his last climb - Upon reaching the Hillary Step (8,760 m or 28,740 ft), the climbers again discovered that no fixed line  had been placed, and they were forced to wait an hour while the guides installed the ropes. Because some 33 climbers were attempting the summit on the same day, and Hall and Fischer had asked their climbers to stay within 150 m (500 ft) of each other, there was a bottleneck at the single fixed line at the Hillary Step. Hutchison, Kasischke and Taske returned towards Camp IV as they feared they would run out of supplementary oxygen due to the delays.

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Rob Hall - the "Mountain Goat" Jurgen Staudtner

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Climbing without supplemental oxygen, guide Boukreev from the Mountain Madness team reached the summit (8,848 m or 29,029 ft) first at 13:07. Many of the climbers had not yet reached the summit by 14:00, the last safe time to turn around to reach Camp IV before nightfall. Boukreev began his descent to Camp IV at 14:30, having spent nearly 1.5 hours at or near the summit helping others complete their climb. By that time, Hall, Krakauer, Harris, Beidleman, Namba and Mountain Madness clients Martin Adams and Klev Schoening had reached the summit, and the remaining four Mountain Madness clients had arrived. After this time, Krakauer noted that the weather did not look so benign. At 15:00 snow started to fall, and the light was diminishing.

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Hall's Sirdar, Ang Dorje Sherpa, and other climbing Sherpas waited at the summit for the clients. Near 15:00, they began their descent. On the way down, Ang Dorje encountered client Doug Hansen above the Hillary Step and ordered him to descend. Hansen did not respond verbally, but shook his head and pointed upward, toward the summit. When Hall arrived at the scene, the Sherpas offered to take Hansen to the summit, but Hall sent the Sherpas down to assist the other clients, and instructed them to stash oxygen canisters on the route. Hall said he would remain to help Hansen, who had run out of supplementary Oxygen. Scott Fischer did not summit until 15:45. He was exhausted from the ascent and becoming increasingly ill, possibly suffering from HAPE, HACE, or a combination of both. Others, including Doug Hansen and Makalu Gau, reached the summit even later.

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Douglas J Hansen died on Mount Everest - Buried at Greenwood Memorial Park - Renton, King County, Washington, USA

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(Makalu Gau After Surviving the 1996 Everest Disaster.)

Boukreev recorded that he reached Camp IV by 17:00. The reasons for Boukreev's decision to descend ahead of his clients are disputed. Boukreev maintained that he wanted to be ready to assist struggling clients farther down the slope, and to retrieve hot tea and extra oxygen if necessary. Krakauer sharply criticized Boukreev's decision not to use bottled oxygen. Boukreev's supporters (who include G. Weston DeWalt, Boukreev's co-author of The Climb (1997)) state that using bottled oxygen gives a false sense of security. Krakauer and his supporters point out that, without bottled oxygen, Boukreev was unable to directly help his clients descend, and that Boukreev said that he was going down with client Martin Adams, but later descended faster and left Adams behind.

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Yasuko Namba (難波 康子 Nanba Yasuko, February 2, 1949 – May 11, 1996[1]) was the second Japanese woman (after Junko Tabei to reach all of the Seven Summits, Namba worked as a businesswoman for Federal Express in Japan, but her hobby of mountaineering took her all over the world, She first summited Kilimanjaro on New Year's Day in 1982, and summitted Aconcagua exactly two years later, She reached the summit of Denali on July 1, 1985, and the summit of Mount Elbrus on August 1, 1992, After summitting the Vinson Massif on December 29, 1993 and the Carstensz Pyramid on November 12, 1994, Namba's final summit to reach was Mount Everest. 

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While Beck Weathers survived against all expectations, and walked back to camp, Namba died from exhaustion and exposure. Jon Krakauer's book, Into Thin Air,  describes the anguish of Neal Beidleman, who felt guilty that he was unable to do anything more to save Namba. Boukreev's book The Climb expressed profound regret at her lonely death, saying that she was just a little 90-pound woman, and that someone should have dragged her back to camp so she could at least die among her companions. On a later expedition to Everest with the Indonesian National Team, Boukreev found Namba's body on April 28, 1997. He constructed a cairn around her to protect her from scavenging birds, and a few days later apologized to her widower for failing to save Namba's life. Later in 1997, her husband funded an operation that brought her body down the mountain.

Images above Beck Weathers, Beck was severly frostbitten and narrowly survived the 1996 disaster - Following his helicopter evacuation from the Western Cwm, his right arm was amputated halfway between the elbow and wrist, All five fingers on his left hand were amputated, as well as parts of both feet. His nose was amputated and reconstructed with tissue from his ear and forehead. In May 1996, Weathers was one of eight clients being guided on Mount Everest by Rob Hall of Adventure Consultants. Weathers, who had recently had radial keratotomy surgery, soon discovered that he was snow blinded by the effects of high altitude and overexposure to ultraviolet radiation, high altitude effects which had not been well documented at the time. On May 10, the day of the summit assault, Hall, after being told Weathers could not see, wanted him to descend to Camp IV immediately. He, however, believed his vision might improve when the sun came out, so Hall had advised him to wait on the Balcony (27,000 ft, on the 29,000 ft Everest) until Hall came back down to descend with him.

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Hall, while assisting another client to reach the summit, did not return, and later died further up on the mountain. Weathers eventually began descending with guide Michael Groom, who was short-roping him. When the blizzard struck, Weathers and 10 other climbers became disoriented in the storm, and could not find Camp IV. By the time there was a break in the storm several hours later, Weathers had been so weakened that he and four other men and women were left there so the others could summon help. Anatoli Boukreev, a guide on another expedition led by Scott Fischer, came and rescued several climbers, but during that time, Weathers had stood up and disappeared into the night. The next day, another client on Hall's team, Stuart Hutchison, and two Sherpas arrived to check on the status of Weathers and fellow client Yasuko Namba, Believing Weathers and Namba were both near death and would not make it off the mountain alive, Hutchison and the others left them and returned to Camp IV.

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Image Above Anatoli Boukreev - Weathers spent the night in an open bivouac,  in a blizzard, with his face and hands exposed. When he awakened, he managed to walk down to Camp IV under his own power. His fellow climbers said that his frozen hand and nose looked and felt as if they were made of porcelain, and they did not expect him to survive. With that assumption, they only tried to make him comfortable until he died, but he survived another freezing night alone in a tent, unable to eat, drink, or keep himself covered with the sleeping bags he was provided with. His cries for help could not be heard above the blizzard, and his companions were surprised to find him alive and coherent the following day.

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Weathers was later helped to walk, on frozen feet, to a lower camp, where he was a subject of one of the highest altitude medical evacuations ever performed by a helicopter. Weathers published his book about his Everest experience and his life, Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest (2000), and continues to practice medicine and deliver motivational speeches. He lives in Dallas Texas.

This photo of Mr Groom was taken in 1991 at a camp on the Himalayan mountain

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Continued - Meanwhile, Stuart Hutchison, a client on Hall's team who had turned around before the summit on 10 May, launched a second search for Weathers and Namba. He found both alive, but barely responsive and severely frostbitten, and in no condition to move. After consulting with Lopsang he made the decision that they could not be saved by the hypoxic survivors at Camp IV nor evacuated in time, he left them for nature to take its course, which the other survivors soon agreed was the only choice.

Dr. Ken Kamler Treating Beck Weathers Frozen Hand - Later in the day however, Weathers regained consciousness and walked alone under his own power to the camp, surprising everyone there, though he was still suffering severe hypothermia and frostbite. Despite receiving oxygen and attempts to rewarm him, Weathers was practically abandoned again the next morning, 12 May, after a storm had collapsed his tent overnight, and the other survivors once again thought he had died. Krakauer discovered he was still conscious when the survivors in Camp IV prepared to evacuate. Despite his worsening condition, Weathers found he could still move mostly under his own power. A rescue team mobilized, hopeful of getting Weathers down the mountain alive. Over the next two days, Weathers was ushered down to Camp II with the assistance of eight healthy climbers from various expeditions, and was evacuated by a daring, high-altitude helicopter rescue. He survived and eventually recovered, but lost his nose, right hand, half his right forearm, and all the fingers on his left hand to frostbite.

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Jon Krakauer after the disaster in 1996

The climbing sherpas located Fischer and Gau on 11 May, but Fischer's condition had deteriorated so much that they were only able to give palliative care, before rescuing Gau. Boukreev made a subsequent rescue attempt but found Fischer's frozen body at around 19:00. Like Weathers, Gau was evacuated by helicopter. The disaster was caused by a combination of events including: The sudden arrival of a severe storm that caught the mountaineers by surprise.
Bottlenecks at the Balcony and Hillary Step caused an hour-and-a-half delay in summiting. These delays were in themselves caused by delays in securing fixed ropes and the sheer number of people arriving at the bottlenecks at the same time (34 climbers on 10 May).
The team leaders' decisions to exceed the normal turnaround time of 14:00 with many summiting after 14:30.
The sudden illness of two climbers at or near the summit after 15:00.
Several climbers ran out of oxygen with guides having to carry bottles up to stranded climbers as the storm approached.

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Jon Krakauer has suggested that the use of bottled oxygen and commercial guides, who personally accompanied and took care of all pathmaking, equipment, and important decisions, allowed otherwise unqualified climbers to attempt to summit—leading to dangerous situations and more deaths. In addition, he wrote that the competition between Hall and Fischer's guiding companies may have led to Hall's decision not to turn back on 10 May after the pre-decided time for summiting of 14:00; Krakauer also acknowledges that his own presence as a journalist for an important magazine for mountaineers may have added pressure to guide clients to the summit despite growing dangers. He proposed banning bottled oxygen except for emergency cases, arguing that this would both decrease the growing litter on Everest—many discarded bottles have accumulated on its slopes—and keep marginally qualified climbers off the mountain. He does point out, however, that climbing Everest has always been a highly dangerous endeavour even before the guided tours, with one fatality for every four climbers who reach the summit. Furthermore, he notes that many of the poor decisions made on 10 May were after two or more days of inadequate oxygen, nourishment, and rest (due to the effects of entering the death zone above 8,000 m or 26,000 ft). He concludes that decisions made in such circumstances should not be strongly criticized by the general population, who have not experienced such conditions.

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Base Camp from afar. Krakauer also elaborated on the statistical curiosities of fatality rates on Everest and how 1996 was "business as usual". The record number of 12 fatalities in the spring climbing season that year was 3% of the 398 climbers who had ascended above Base Camp—slightly below the historical average of 3.3% at that time. Additionally, 12 climbers had died that season, and 84 had reached the summit. This is a ratio of 1 in 7—significantly less than the historical average before 1996 of 1 in 4. Since the fatality rates on Everest have dropped considerably, accounting for the volume of climbers in 1996 compared with previous years, 1996 was statistically a safer-than-average year.

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Sandy Pittman breaks silence about 1996 Everest mountain disaster  - In May 2004, Kent Moore, a physicist, and John L. Semple, a surgeon, both researchers from the University of Toronto, told the New Scientist magazine that an analysis of weather conditions on 11 May suggested that oxygen levels fell by an additional 6%, resulting in a further 14% reduction in oxygen uptake. The use and non-use of supplementary oxygen was the focus of much discussion and analysis after the disaster with a guide and a sardar both being criticized by Jon Krakauer for not using supplementary oxygen while performing guide duties. Both men gave detailed written explanations as to why they preferred not to use oxygen but both carried a bottle on the summit day that could be used if it was needed in an emergency or extraordinary situation.

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There were several issues and problems surrounding radios and their use on summit day. Scott Fischer's sardar did not have a company issued radio, but did have a 'small yellow' radio that was owned by Sandy Pittman. Rob Hall's team also had an issue with a radio during a discussion over oxygen bottles that caused confusion. The following is a list of the other fatalities during the spring 1996 climbing season on Everest. These deaths were not directly related to the storm or the events of the 10–11 May 1996 Everest disaster.

Image Left - The mountain climber Neal Beidleman stowing his gear for his first expedition to Mount Everest in 15 years. Credit Daniel Bayer for The New York Times

9 May – Chen Yu-Nan (陳玉男) – from the Taiwanese National Expedition, died after a fall down the Lhotse Face.
19 May – Reinhard Wlasich – Austrian climber, died from a combination of HAPE and HACE at 8,300 m (27,200 ft), on the Northeast Ridge.
25 May – Bruce Herrod – photojournalist with the South African team, was on the South Col during the 10–11 May storm and reached the summit two weeks later, but died descending the Southeast Ridge.
6 June – Ngawang Topche Sherpa – Nepalese Sherpa for Mountain Madness, developed a severe case of HAPE on 22 April while working above Base Camp; died in June in a Kathmandu hospital.

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Rob Halls body remains on the mountain close to the place where he died, just below the south summit: The picture has been taken from Göran Kropp’s book “Ultimate High: My Everest Odyssey”. Göran summited Mt Everest about twelve days after Rob Hall died.

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This image is of the body of Scott Fischer - The following fatalities occurred on Everest during the fall 1996 climbing season.
25 September – Yves Bouchon – French climber, died in an avalanche at 7,800 m (25,600 ft) on the southeast route below Camp IV, along with the two sherpas listed below.
25 September – Lopsang Jangbu Sherpa  – Nepalese Sherpa, the same climbing Sirdar on the Mountain Madness expedition involved in the May 1996 Everest disaster; died in avalanche
25 September – Dawa Sherpa – Nepalese sherpa; died in avalanche.

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Francys Arsentiev (January 18, 1958 – May 24, 1998) became the first woman from the United States to reach the summit of Mount Everest without the aid of bottled oxygen, on May 22, 1998. She subsequentely perished while making her descent down the mountain. Francys Yarbro Distefano-Arsentiev was born Francys Yarbro, on January 18, 1958, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to John Yarbro and his wife Marina Garrett. At age six, her father took her to the Colorado mountains. Growing up, she attended The American School in Switzerland and schools in the United States. Arsentiev attended Stephens College before ultimately graduating from the university of Louisville. She then received a Master's degree from the International School of Business Management in Phoenix. Arsentiev worked as an accountant in Telluride, Colarado during the 1980's.

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In 1992, Yarbro married Sergei Arsentiev. Together, they climbed many Russian peaks, including the first ascent of Peak 5800m, which they named Peak Goodwill, as well as Denali via the West Buttress. Arsentiev became the first U.S. woman to ski down Elbrus, and she summitted its east and west peaks. By this time, she had developed an interest in becoming the first U.S. woman to summit Everest without the use of supplemental oxygen.

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In May 1998, Francys and Sergei Arsentiev arrived at base camp, Mount Everest. On May 17, they ascended from Advance Base Camp to the North Col,  and the following day they reached 7700m (25,262 ft) as 21 other climbers reached the summit of Everest from the North. On May 19, they climbed to 8,200 meters (Camp 6). Sergei reported by radio that they were in good shape and were going to start their summit attempt on May 20 at 1:00am. On May 20, after spending the night at Camp 6, they started their summit attempt but turned around at the First Step when their headlamps failed, On May 21, they again stayed at Camp 6, after ascending only 50–100 meters before turning around.

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After these two aborted attempts on the summit, they began their final ascent on May 22. Due to the absence of oxygen supplementation at such high altitude, the two moved slowly and summitted dangerously late in the day. As a result, they were forced to spend yet another night above 8000 meters. During the course of the evening, the two became separated. Sergei made his way down to camp the following morning, only to find that his wife had not yet arrived. Realizing she had to be somewhere dangerously high upon the mountain, he set off to find her, carrying oxygen and medicine.

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Details of what happened next are uncertain, but the most plausible accounts suggest that on the morning of May 23, Francys Arsentiev was encountered by an Uzbek team who were climbing the final few hundred meters to the summit. She appeared to be half-conscious, affected by oxygen deprivation and frostbite.  As she was unable to move on her own, they attended to her with oxygen and carried her down as far as they could, until, depleted of their own oxygen, they became too fatigued to continue the effort. Francys was still alive. As the Uzbek climbers made their way down to camp that evening, they encountered Sergei Arsentiev on his way back up to her. This is the last time he was seen alive.

On the morning of May 24, Briton Ian Woodall, South African Cathy O'Dowd, and several more Uzbeks encountered Francys Arsentiev while on their way to the summit. She was found where she had been left the evening before. Sergei Arsentiev's ice axe and rope were identified nearby, but he was nowhere to be found. Both Woodall and O'Dowd called off their own summit attempts and tried to help Francys for more than an hour, but because of her poor condition, the perilous location, and freezing weather, they were forced to abandon her and descend to camp. She died as they found her, lying on her side, still clipped onto the guide rope. She was aged 40, with one son. Her corpse had the nickname "Sleeping Beauty".

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The frozen corpse of Francys Arsentiev - The mysterious disappearance of her husband was solved the following year when Jake Norton, a member of the 1999 "Mallory and Irvine" expedition, discovered Sergei's body lower on the mountain face, apparently dead from a fatal fall while attempting to rescue his wife. Woodall initiated and led an expedition in 2007, "The Tao of Everest", with the purpose of returning to the mountain to bury the bodies of Francys Arsentiev and an unidentified climber "Green Boots" both of whom were plainly visible from the nearby climbing route. Francys Arsentiev's body was visible to climbers for nine years, from her death, May 24, 1998, to May 23, 2007. On May 23, 2007, Woodall was able to locate Arsentiev's body, and after a brief ritual, dropped her to a lower location on the face, removing the body from view. "Green Boots" was not seen between 2014 and 2017, and was presumed to have been removed or buried. A body was discovered hanging alongside a tent and other debris on the side of a cliff-face in 2017, which some have speculated to be the transported body of "Green Boots".

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About Jake Norton, The mountains have long been my home – I started climbing in 1986, when I was 12 years old. And, the mountains have been incredibly good to me, providing endless challenge, insight, and inspiration. They’ve also been the foundation of my life in nearly all ways. I climbed Mount Rainier in Washington when I was 12, and was immediately hooked. That first climb led me down the mountain path that I’ve been on ever since. I began guiding professionally when I was 18, taking hundreds of clients up Mt. Rainier, Mt. McKinley, and other peaks around the world. Eventually I began guiding and climbing internationally, leading clients up peaks in the Peruvian Andes, Kilimanjaro in Africa, and Himalayan giants like Cho Oyu, the world's 6th highest peak, and Gurla Mandhata, a 25,500 foot, relatively unknown peak in remote western Tibet. 

When I was 25, I was invited on my first Everest expedition as a climber, photographer, and researcher. Our goal was not the summit, but rather history – we were trying to find answers to the 1924 disappearance of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine high on the mountain. With great luck and a bit of hard work, we managed to locate the remains of George Mallory  at 27,000 feet on May 1, 1999. I’ve returned to Everest six more times since then, most recently in Spring, 2012, when I led an attempt on the historic and rarely climbed West Ridge, pioneered by Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld on May 22, 1963. To this day, I continue to climb professionally, and guide clients on select, custom expeditions worldwide.

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Climbers will walk past dead people frequently but they are just left where they died because retrieval would be at great risk to the lives of the sherpa's and other climbers because of the low levels of oxygen freezing temperatures and frequent avalanches snow fall strong winds etc.
In my opinion these dead people should be covered over at best as a mark of respect, Green boots is now considered a marker or sign post for climbers to evaluate there position and the least you could do is to cover the man over with a sheet designed according to his country of Origin. 

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Dead corpses are also a silent reminder of how things can turn ugly for anyone on the mountain and that every second is valuable time to make your ascent and then to get back down, Another disturbing aspect to climbing the mountain is the mentality of many of the climbers who have paid thousands of pounds to make a summit attempt. If they have to stop for a sick climber this could jeopardise there ascent and they have to balance the decison to whether they should continue or assist the injured person. Many climbers have aborted there ascent to help someone in distress but this aspect of climbing Mount Everest will upset the programme the flow and the plan as finding a sick person on the mountain could destroy the success of reaching the summit. 

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Image Above - Goutam Ghosh perished on Mount Everest in 2016. Staying in the death zone for too long is very dangerous to the human body, (Human body is continously breaking down) If someone assists a hypothermic climber they can always attempt a summit the next day but this increases the time they spend in the death zone and they have to evaluate there own lives also a difficult decision no doubt for everyone. Sherpa's if available will always help as they are more like guides than climbers that want to summit.

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Ghosh was a 50-year-old police officer from Kolkata, part of a doomed eight-person expedition — four climbers from the Indian state of West Bengal and four Sherpa guides from Nepal — that ran out of time and oxygen near the top of Everest. The four Bengali climbers were eventually abandoned by their guides and left to die. Three did; only one, a 42-year-old woman named Sunita Hazra, survived, as did the guides. The last photograph of Ghosh taken with his camera appeared to be at the South Summit at 1:57 p.m. He wore an oxygen mask. He held flags and banners that he had carried in his backpack. A video recorder dangled around his neck. Ghosh turned it on.

Wind whipped through the camera’s microphone, but not enough to obscure the sound of Ghosh’s quick-paced breathing. It was as if Ghosh were checking himself in a mirror. With a bare hand, he lifted his sunglasses to his forehead. His eyes were bloodshot. He pulled his oxygen mask to his chin, briefly showing his teeth and his gray-speckled mustache.

“Goutam,” a voice said, and Ghosh glanced in its direction, put his mask on and reached to turn off the camera. It was the last record of him alive.

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From left, Sunita Hazra, Goutam Ghosh, Paresh Nath and Subhas Paul shortly before their summit attempt at Mount Everest in May 2016.

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