The Alpine Club Spirit of Mountaineering Initiative
Of the behaviour of a large number of climbers who passed by a man in need of help on Mount Everest in 2006 - one of them later saying “I would have suffered a lack of self respect had I failed to reach the summit” - Sir Edmund Hillary said, “It is despicable. Human life is far more important than getting to the top of a mountain. I think the whole attitude towards climbing Mount Everest has become horrifying. They don’t give a damn for anybody who may be in distress. It would never happen in my day.”
As recently as 1989, in his book “Everest” (The Oxford Illustrated Press) Walt Unsworth was able to refer to an “automatic response to the age-old climbers’ code that help must be given at all costs.” How times have changed! With the advent of commercial expedition companies, some of whom are prepared to accept large sums of money to shepherd inexperienced clients up big mountains, there has emerged a new breed of “cheque-book” mountaineers, willing to pay to climb big, and usually famous, mountains. Often vulnerable to what mountaineers call “summit fever”, they are more likely than their counterparts who have served an apprenticeship to continue unwisely to a mountain top, to get into trouble and be less able to look after themselves, or be willing or able to assist others. Thus the traditional values of mountaineering are being eroded by people, many of whom have no real love of mountains, who treat them as obstacle courses on the way toa goal they can brag about to their friends.
In the past few years the media have reported the abandonment of sick, injured or exhausted climbers, left to die on high mountains, and some mountaineers have claimed that rescues at altitude, in the “death zone”, are impossible. Yet courageous, difficult rescues have been recorded too, when people have aborted their summit attempts to assist strangers, or risked their own safety on the descent to bring others down.
In 1977 on Everest, Sherpa Ang Phurba was above the Hillary Step, only five minutes from the summit, when he turned back on the prize to help his altitude-sick Korean companion down to the south summit, and next day, to the south col, thus saving his life. Sungdare Sherpa, in 1979, remained with Hannelore Schmatz below the south summit after she collapsed and finally died. As a consequence of this he lost most of his fingers and toes. The selflessness of a Royal Marines team who rescued a person with a broken leg high on Everest in 2003 deserves wide mention. The team, led by Lt. Col. Nick Arding, had succeeded in placing two members on the summit, when they met Conan Harrod, who had broken a leg at 8,500 metres. Abandoning further summit attempts the team rescued the casualty on a rope stretcher and helped down his snowblind and frostbitten companion, who was carried part way by Marine Darren Swift. In 2007 American David Hahn and Sherpa Phinjo Dorje came across a lone woman suffering from altitude sickness and unable to stand, at 8,300 metres on Everest. At considerable risk to themselves they spent twelve hours, with assistance in the later stages, to save the casualty. During this exhausting procedure Hahn gave his oxygen to the woman.
In this, the 150th anniversary year of the founding of the Alpine Club, one of the main initiatives to celebrate the milestone is the establishment of the Spirit of Mountaineering Initiative. The scheme will recognise and encourage examples of good practice, and consists of three elements: the award of commendations from the AC President for meritorious actions, promotion of a code of practice, and a book aimed at highlighting outstanding examples of rescues.
The Alpine Club was founded on 22nd December 1857.
For further information on the initiative contact:
Norman Croucher:
29 White Street
Topsham
Devon EX3 0AE
England
Tel: 01392 877910
email:
website: