Mountaineering

[Duff Paddy]

Speaking of Everest, what about that guy that they left to die - they reckon over 40 people walked past him as he was dying. They are letting way too many idiots onto that mountain - there's supposed to be part of the climb called the valley of rainbows due to the bright colours of all the jumpsuits of all the dead climbers.

[scotscor]

Speaking of Everest, what about that guy that they left to die - they reckon over 40 people walked past him as he was dying. They are letting way too many idiots onto that mountain - there's supposed to be part of the climb called the valley of rainbows due to the bright colours of all the jumpsuits of all the dead climbers.

beck weathers

[Oscar]

Sherpa Tenzing actually was first up.. but since he was, well a sherpa, Hillary got all the acclaim..

possible Mallory & Irvine made it before but we'll never know..

Hillary always made it clear that he and Tenzing Norgay got to the top together. Neither of them ever said which of them got to the top first. They remained very close friends until Tenzing's death.

Mallory and Irvine never got back down. They only did half the job. Whether they reached the summit or not is irrelevant.

[scotscor]

Mallory and Irvine never got back down. They only did half the job. Whether they reached the summit or not is irrelevant.

Dont think so, that was one of the criticisms of shackleton (and praises) was that he turned back when he could have been the first to make the south pole. He felt he wouldnt have safely returned. Now thats a man we should argue over, as to whether he was a Munster man from Clare or a Leinster man from Kildare.

[Oscar]

Speaking of Everest, what about that guy that they left to die - they reckon over 40 people walked past him as he was dying. They are letting way too many idiots onto that mountain - there's supposed to be part of the climb called the valley of rainbows due to the bright colours of all the jumpsuits of all the dead climbers.

beck weathers

Beck Weathers was on K2. And that was in the middle of some of the worst weather conditions on record in the area, and he had lapsed into a hypothermic coma, (from which he was the first man ever to recover), so it wasn't unreasonable for people desperately trying to save their own lives to not stop and pick up a man who was already, for all intents and purposes, dead.

[scotscor]

Speaking of Everest, what about that guy that they left to die - they reckon over 40 people walked past him as he was dying. They are letting way too many idiots onto that mountain - there's supposed to be part of the climb called the valley of rainbows due to the bright colours of all the jumpsuits of all the dead climbers.

beck weathers

Beck Weathers was on K2. And that was in the middle of some of the worst weather conditions on record in the area, and he had lapsed into a hypothermic coma, (from which he was the first man ever to recover), so it wasn't unreasonable for people desperately trying to save their own lives to not stop and pick up a man who was already, for all intents and purposes, dead.

Damn Tom Humphries he says Everest in booked

[Oscar]

Mallory and Irvine never got back down. They only did half the job. Whether they reached the summit or not is irrelevant.

Dont think so, that was one of the criticisms of shackleton (and praises) was that he turned back when he could have been the first to make the south pole. He felt he wouldnt have safely returned. Now thats a man we should argue over, as to whether he was a Munster man from Clare or a Leinster man from Kildare.

Shackleton had a big team to think about, not just his own skin, so it definitely made sense to turn back.

When Kennedy said he wanted to send a man to the moon, he also said "and return him safely to earth." It's a key part of exploration. No point achieving something if you can't return home and document it. Case in point, nobody knows for a fact whether the other blokes even made it to the top or not. Hillary and Tenzing got there, and took photos of themselves up there, and left a flag there for everybody to see. And came back down with the photos to base camp and told everyone they've been up there. That's why they're considered the first 2 to make it to the top.

[Oscar]

Damn Tom Humphries he says Everest in booked

Pretty sure it was K2...


...hang on, let me check...


b*%&!cks. It was Everest.

Still, rest of the point stands. He was in a condition that wasn't previously survivable, and there wasn't much chance of anyone getting off the mountain alive on their own, let alone carrying a corpse. Nothing wrong with leaving him there under the circumstances.

[scotscor]

Mallory and Irvine never got back down. They only did half the job. Whether they reached the summit or not is irrelevant.

Dont think so, that was one of the criticisms of shackleton (and praises) was that he turned back when he could have been the first to make the south pole. He felt he wouldnt have safely returned. Now thats a man we should argue over, as to whether he was a Munster man from Clare or a Leinster man from Kildare.

Shackleton had a big team to think about, not just his own skin, so it definitely made sense to turn back.

When Kennedy said he wanted to send a man to the moon, he also said "and return him safely to earth." It's a key part of exploration. No point achieving something if you can't return home and document it. Case in point, nobody knows for a fact whether the other blokes even made it to the top or not. Hillary and Tenzing got there, and took photos of themselves up there, and left a flag there for everybody to see. And came back down with the photos to base camp and told everyone they've been up there. That's why they're considered the first 2 to make it to the top.

I think shackleton was only with a three man team could have been four, certainly when Scott went he brought 5 (including himself).

[scotscor]

Damn Tom Humphries he says Everest in booked

Pretty sure it was K2...


...hang on, let me check...


b*%&!cks. It was Everest.

Still, rest of the point stands. He was in a condition that wasn't previously survivable, and there wasn't much chance of anyone getting off the mountain alive on their own, let alone carrying a corpse. Nothing wrong with leaving him there under the circumstances.

I'll get you a virtual pint for the admission anyway.

[Duff Paddy]

Speaking of Everest, what about that guy that they left to die - they reckon over 40 people walked past him as he was dying. They are letting way too many idiots onto that mountain - there's supposed to be part of the climb called the valley of rainbows due to the bright colours of all the jumpsuits of all the dead climbers.

beck weathers

No, I'm talking about the incident that only happened the other week - one of the guys who walked past him was the first ever bilateral amputee to scale Everest (you couldn't make it up).

[ckav]

As a matter of interest, continuing the hijack and with no bitter overtones, is anyone participating in the Four Peaks' Challenge in June? My brothers are all signed up, and spending their weekends running up and down the Sugarloaf, Lugnacoille, etc.

Madness. 4 mountains in a weekend.

[JoseFantastique]

As a matter of interest, continuing the hijack and with no bitter overtones, is anyone participating in the Four Peaks' Challenge in June? My brothers are all signed up, and spending their weekends running up and down the Sugarloaf, Lugnacoille, etc.

Madness. 4 mountains in a weekend.

Which peaks are involved?

[RobbieRockBoy]

As a matter of interest, continuing the hijack and with no bitter overtones, is anyone participating in the Four Peaks' Challenge in June? My brothers are all signed up, and spending their weekends running up and down the Sugarloaf, Lugnacoille, etc.

Madness. 4 mountains in a weekend.

Which peaks are involved?

The Four Peaks Challenge invites teams of between 3 and 5 walkers to climb the highest mountain in each of the four provinces:

* Carrauntoohil (Kerry),
* Mweelrea (Mayo),
* Slieve Donard (Down) and
* Lugnaquilla (Wicklow)

over a weekend and raise a minimum of €4,000 in sponsorship.

http://www.focusireland.ie/htm/how_you_ ... fourpeaks/

[Uncle Mort]

Whilst not doing the 4 peaks weekend - I did do some high level hiking this past weekend - well there was nothing on telly worth watching. I nipped across the Irish Sea (if that's possible with Mr O'Leary) and made a traverse of Bleaklow in the Peak District National Park (Derbyshire / South Yorkshire). I have found this description of Bleaklow

Bleaklow is the northern sister to Kinder, joined to it by a neck of high land over 500 metres above sea level, over which pass the Snake Road and the old Roman road of Doctor's Gate. It is an area of typical gritstone plateau.

Bleaklow inevitably invites comparison with its larger and better-known neighbour. Bleaklow is a larger area than Kinder in total, but includes less land over 600 metres above sea level. Bleaklow has a less well-pronounced series of gritstone edges around its circumference, and its contours are more rounded than Kinder's, but it is less accessible and more remote with fewer paths and fewer features which aid navigation.

Though Bleaklow has a smaller area covered in peat than Kinder, its peat bogs seem uniquely boggy and are criss-crossed with deep groughs which make traverses of them extremely hard work. Like Kinder, the edge of Bleaklow is studded with rocky outcrops and heavily eroded gritstone rocks.

On the southern side lie Shelf Stones, on the northern edge are Rollick Stones and Shining Clough - a high quality climbing edge - to the east are Bleaklow Stones, Grinah Stones and Barrow Stones, and below the high point of Bleaklow Head are Hern Stones and Wain Stones - often depicted as the 'kissing' stones because of their outline.

However, the Bleaklow plateau is cut by many more deep river valleys than the Kinder plateau, and many of these contain major streams. On the south eastern flank the Alport river forms a long deep-cut valley, as does the Westend river, while to the east of these the River Derwent rises on the extreme eastern edge of the plateau near Swains Greave. On the north-eastern flank there are the deep cuts of the three Black Clough streams and to their west, the similar features of Wildboar Clough and Torside Clough. On the western side Dowstone Clough forms a deep valley on its way down to Glossop.

Apart from the badly eroded (and now largely paved) route of the Pennine Way, which traverses from Doctor's Gate to Torside, via Hern Clough and Bleaklow Head, there are no real paths on Bleaklow. This makes this area a paradise for the connoisseur bog-trotter who enjoys the challenge of crossing a trackless wilderness, possibly in cloud, rain or snow - for the weather up here is usually wet and can be severe.

There are numerous aircraft wrecks up here, which attract enthusiasts who attempt to locate the remains - often a difficult task even though their location is quite well documented.

Not surprisingly, the most common ways to approach Bleaklow are along the Pennine Way, either from the north up Torside Clough or the south from Doctor's Gate. It is also quite easy to approach the western flanks from Old Glossop, but any approach from the east or north tends to be hard work and often a involves covering quite long distances.

Needless to say we traversed from the north east which meant a pathless, traverse of peat bog of about 8 miles in howling wind and rain. (when you add on the walk onto the moor and the walk off of the moor we did about 16 miles in total) Once I'd got back down to the Snake Pass Inn and was on my 3rd pint of Theakston's - I quite enjoyed it - but by then I'd started to dry out - and yes I was wearing my Leinster 2005-6 Home Jersey

[Duke Raoul]

Good article for you mountaineers:

"In 1959, Cesare Maestri scaled this forbidding Patagonian peak in what was hailed as 'the greatest climbing feat of all time'. The trouble is, his partner died on the way down and, in a sport where honesty and trust are crucial, no one else could verify his tale. Controversy simmered. Had Maestri reached the top or not? Late last year, one man set out to find the truth in the only way possible - by climbing the same dangerous route..."

Article continues at:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/stor ... 78,00.html