Friday, June 02, 2006

About That Mt. Everest Post....

Anyone who was interested in the Mt. Everest thing I posted a few days ago should go back and check out Brenda Coulter's recent comment. Her son is a climber, and he pointed out to her that conditions in Everest's "low-oxygen death zone" are so horrid, most people can only manage to put one foot in front of the other, and carrying someone down just isn't in the realm of possibility for most.

So perhaps my blanket rant (and those in many media outlets) about the 40 who passed the dying David Sharp was unfair, because several of them were likely incapable of rendering any meaningful assistance. However, seeing as experienced climbers like Sir Edmund Hilary and Dr. Phil Ainslie believe that helping Sharp was possible, and seeing that Sherpa Dawa did reportedly try, I do still wonder about all 40 walking past Sharp--especially when he was still on his feet but in need of help.

All in all, it's probably a good lesson for me not to pass judgment and let God/Goddess/Allah/the Universe handle this one.... I'm so snarky when I'm horrified.

2 comments:

Jennifer McKenzie said...

I was pretty snarky about it too. Maybe it's because it's a pattern we see elsewhere. That's a good point though. Low oxygen also means impaired judgement. I'd rather find some excuse for the 40 than condemn them.

Tracy Montoya said...

Jen, you are infinitely nicer than I am--you totally gave them all the benefit of the doubt in your initial comment. But thanks for trying to make me feel less snarky! : )

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Tracy Montoya writes romantic suspense for Harlequin Intrigue.

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