On the night of May 9, 1996, three groups of climbers departed camp four on route to

the 29,028-foot summit of Mt. Everest. For the next two days, the three groups
experienced oxygen deprivation, freezing conditions, psychological pain and death.
The tragedy raised many questions. Why did experienced climbers break their own
rules. Why did Sherpas (workers) fail to do important work? Why didn't climbers
retreat at first sign of changing weather? Why were inexperienced climbers allowed
on the mountain? With all the unanswered questions, one thing remains constant. The
probability of accidents increase when more people see the natural environment as
recreation.

At 11:35 p.m., with an inspiring view of Everest, Rob Hall (experienced Everest
guide) and his group of fifteen climbers began their ascent. Jon Krakauer described,
"...enormous thunderheads drifted over Nepal, illuminating the heavens with surreal
bursts of orange and blue lightning." As the morning of May 10 approached, the
climbers had forgoten the view and concentrated on survival.

The three groups bottlenecked. Some places on the route are no more than a foot wide
with cliffs on either side. Clients found themselves waiting in line, which wasted
valuable time. Also, Sherpas failed to fix ropes before clients reached technical parts
of the climb, thus causing additional delay.

A person's body and mind rapidly shuts down above 25,000 feet because your body is
not receiving enough oxygen. Time can be the difference between living and dieing.
By 11:00 a.m. another bottleneck occurred on the Hillary step, at 28,700 feet. Clients
waited for an hour before continuing on. 3:30 p.m.-a violent storm quickly
approached the mountain, and for the next 16 hours everyone fought for their lives.
Climbers started battling deep snow, terrible visibility, 70-mph winds, and
temperatures exceeding 70 below zero.

A total of 11 men and women lost their lives. Guides Rob Hall and Scott Fischer were
among the dead. Beck Weathers received severe frostbite and surgeons later
amputated his right hand. One climber said, "the cold was so painful, I just curled up
in a ball and hoped death would come quickly." The climbers are still experiencing
psychological pain. "I stood on top of Everest, and there hasn't been more than an
hour or two on any given day in which the loss of my companions hasn't monopolized
my thoughts," says Jon Krakauer. Neil Biedleman prevented the deaths of five clients,
even though he is haunted by the one he was unable to prevent.

The disaster on Mt. Everest is an example of the increased interaction between

humans and the natural environment. Historicly, climbing mountains, climbing rocks,
and skiing in the backcountry are a few of the sports done by a small number of
people (traditionalists). People who would dedicate a considerable amount of time and
passion for their sport. These people still exist but a new breed of recreationist has
emerged. A breed that flocks to recreational sights in great numbers and have very
little skills. These people learn in artifical environments like climbing gyms. They
think if they can climb in the artificial gyms, they can climb anywhere.

Before the climb began, Rob Hall knew about the possible bottlenecks and he knew
that some clients didn't have skills needed to climb the mountain. All of this
concerned him, but he planned for the bottlenecks and made sure his clients were
competent. However, Mr. Hall could only plan and control his own group, yet all the
groups depended on each other to get work done. With competing interests on the
mountain, work didn't get done, time was wasted, and people died. Climbers question
the events that lead up to the disastrous effects. Maybe the events happened because
of a uncontrollable situation interaction with the natural environment. When more and
more people are put in the path of danger-without the proper skills-disastrous
outcomes are more likely to occur.