Each climber is well aware that mountain peaks, whose height exceeds 8,000 meters, are fraught with mortal danger for their conquerors. Under conditions of rarefied air, the human body completely loses its ability to recover, which often causes a fatal outcome. The tragedy on Everest in May 1996 was a vivid confirmation of this.
Victims of the treacherous summit
By a fateful coincidence, the whole of 1996 entered a sad page in the history of the conquest of Everest. During the season, fifteen people lost their lives, storming this treacherous peak. Two commercial climbing groups “Mountain Madness” and “Adventure Consultants” did not pass by.
As the chronicle of the Everest tragedy of 1996 testifies, they included six experienced highly qualified guides, eight Sherpas - local residents hired as porters, and sixteen clients who paid sixty-five thousand dollars for the opportunity to play with death on the icy slopes. For five, the climb ended tragically.
How did the 1996 Everest tragedy begin?
In the early morning of May 10, when the sun's rays did not yet illuminate the tops of the mountains, thirty daredevils launched an assault on Mount Everest - a peak that rises to 8848 meters above sea level. The groups were headed by serious professionals Rob Hall and Scott Fisher. They knew that the entire area beyond 8000 meters was called the “death zone,” and they understood the need for thorough preparation of the climb participants and strict observance of the established rules, especially when it comes to treacherous peaks like Everest. The year 1996, the tragedy of which shocked sports fans, entered the history of world mountaineering as a black page.
As later witnessed those who were fortunate enough to stay alive, malfunctions arose from the very beginning of the assault. The climbing schedule, strictly regulating the time required to overcome each section of the slope, was immediately violated, as it turned out that the Sherpas could not cope with the installation of rope handrails in the group's path. When, finally, they reached the most important site, called the Hillary Step, then they lost more than an hour of precious time due to the accumulation of climbers from other groups.
Climbers have a rule that says: "Out of schedule, don't wait for trouble - come back!" Four clients of business groups Stuart Hutchinson, John Taske, Frank Fishback and Lou Kazishke followed this wise advice and remained alive. The remaining climbers continued on their way. By five in the morning they reached the next important milestone, located at an altitude of 8350 meters and called the "Balcony". There was a delay again, this time due to lack of insurance. But only 100 meters remained to the treasured peak. She beckoned, clearly looming against a perfect blue sky, and this closeness of purpose intoxicated and dulled a sense of danger.
On the top
Is a hundred meters a lot or a little? If you measure from home to the nearest cafe, it’s very close, but when it comes to an almost vertical slope, thin air and a temperature of –40 ° C, then in this case they can stretch into ice infinity. Therefore, each climber overcomes the last, most difficult part of the climb independently, choosing the speed depending on his own well-being and supply of strength.
Around one o'clock in the afternoon, Russian Anatoly Bukreev, an experienced climber, and an honored master of sports, climbed Mount Everest. He first stepped on this peak in 1991 and subsequently conquered another eleven eight-thousanders of the planet. Twice he was awarded for personal courage. He has accounted for many saved lives, including when climbing Mount Everest (tragedy 1996). Anatoly died a year later under an avalanche in the Himalayas.
Somewhat behind Bukreev, two more appeared at the top - the commercial client John Brackauer and the guide from the "Adventure Consultants" Andy Harris. Half an hour later they were joined by Mountain Madness guide Neil Beidleman and their client Martin Adams. The remaining participants in the ascent are far behind.
Belated descent
According to the schedule, the deadline for starting the descent was set at two in the afternoon, but by this time most of the climbers had not yet reached the top, and when, finally, they succeeded, people rejoiced and took pictures for too long. Thus, time was irretrievably lost. This was one of the reasons for the event, now known as the 1996 Everest tragedy.
Only about sixteen hours in the base camp received a message that all climbers are on top. The first to descend was Anatoly Bukreev, because of all those present, he spent the longest time at the maximum height and could no longer do without additional oxygen. His task was to return to Camp IV - the last parking place in front of the summit, to rest and return to the aid of others, taking with him oxygen cylinders and a thermos with hot tea.
In mountain captivity
The survivors of the 1996 tragedy on Everest then said that by the beginning of the descent of Anatolia the weather had deteriorated sharply, the wind rose, visibility worsened. It became impossible to stay further at the peak, and the rest of the team also reached down. Scott Fisher came down with one of the Sherpas named Lopsang.
Having reached the “Balcony” and at 8230 meters, they were forced to linger due to the extremely poor state of health of Fisher, who by that moment had severe cerebral edema - a phenomenon not uncommon at extreme heights. He sent Lopsang to continue the descent and, if possible, to bring help.
When the sherpas reached Camp IV, the people in it were not ready to leave the tents and again to be on the mountainside among the snowstorm that had risen by that time. The last hope was assigned to Bukreev, but at that time he was removing three people from the snow captivity - Sandy Pittman, Charlotte Fox and Tim Madsen. Only in the middle of the next day managed to rise to Fisher, but he was already dead. His body could not be delivered down, so they simply littered with stones on the hillside. Monument to Scott was the conquered by him Everest (1996). The tragedy continued its gloomy harvest.
By this time, the wind was still stronger, and the snow he raised limited his visibility literally to the distance of his outstretched arm. In this difficult situation, a group of climbers from the "Adventure Consultants" detachment got lost, completely losing their orientation. They tried to find a way to Camp IV and walked blindly until they fell exhausted at the very edge of the abyss, fortunately, not reaching it a few meters.
The same Bukreev saved them from certain death. In an impenetrable snow mess, he managed to find freezing climbers and, one by one, drag him to his camp. This episode was subsequently described in detail by Neil Beidleman, one of those who were fortunate enough to avoid death by conquering Everest (1996).
Tragedy
Anatoly did everything in his power. He couldn’t help only two: by that time, Japanese Yasuka Namba was already in a hopeless state, and another member of the group, Withers, was lost in a blizzard and could not be found. The next morning, he himself reached the camp, but was so frostbite that no one hoped for a successful outcome. He survived, but when he was taken to the hospital by helicopter, the doctors had to amputate his right hand, all fingers with his left and nose. That’s such a misfortune for him to climb Mount Everest (1996).
The tragedy that took place on May 11, fully continued the next day. When the last climbers left the summit, two people closed the chain: Rob Hall and his friend Dag Hansen. After some time, Rob received an alarming message that Doug had lost consciousness. Oxygen was urgently needed, and the "Adventure Consultants" guide Andy Harris headed for them with a balloon.
When he succeeded, Hansen was still alive, but was in critical condition. The situation was complicated by the fact that at Rob himself the oxygen cylinder regulator iced up, and he could not be connected to the mask. After some time, Harris, who came to the rescue, suddenly disappeared into the snow.
During the last radio session Rob Hall said that both climbers with him were dead, and that he was practically hopeless due to severe frostbite. The man asked to connect him with his pregnant wife, Jan Arnold, who remained in New Zealand. Having told her a few words of consolation, Rob turned the radio off forever. The tragedy on Everest in 1996 cut short the life of this man. It was not possible to save him, and only after twelve days the participants of another expedition found a petrified body in the cold.
The tragedy on Mount Everest in 1996 had a sad result. The Mountain Madness group suffered smaller losses, but its descent, Scott Fisher, died during the descent from the top. The second team - “Adventure Consultants” - lost four people at once. These were: the leader Rod Hall, his regular client Dag Hansen, mountaineer-instructor Andy Harris and the Japanese athlete Yasuko Namba, who did not quite reach Camp IV.
Causes of the disaster
Today, after many years have passed since the sad events, analyzing the causes of this most large-scale tragedy in the Himalayas, experts come to the conclusion that there were several of them. Conquering mountain heights exceeding the mark of eight thousand meters is always associated with risk, but its degree largely depends on how rigorously the requirements for the participants of ascents are met.
Among the reasons that led to the tragedy on Everest (May 1996), first of all, there are violations associated with the schedule of the ascent. In accordance with the previously outlined plan, both groups, having started climbing at midnight on May 10, had to reach the mountain range at dawn, and at 10 a.m. on May 11 they should be on the Southern Summit.
The final ascent point - Everest - was supposed to rise at noon. This plan remained unfulfilled, and the rise lasted up to 16 hours. Violations provoked a series of fatal events that led to the death of people. The rule "Out of schedule, do not expect trouble - come back!" was ignored.
One of the reasons why the Everest tragedy occurred in May 1996, the researchers called a number of delays during the ascent. In terms of climbing, it was assumed that Sherpas Lapsang and Rob would leave the camp earlier than the rest of the team and set up a rope railing near the South Summit for the sake of climbers' safety. They did not do this because of an attack of mountain sickness in one of them. This work had to be done by the guides Bukreev and Beidlman, which entailed an additional delay.
Security Violations
In addition, the climb organizers committed a gross violation of safety rules that day. The fact is that on May 11, three groups went at once to storm Everest. The tragedy of 1996 occurred largely because there were an excessive number of climbers on the slope that day, and there was a traffic jam before the last, most difficult part of the climb.
As a result, at an altitude of 8500 meters, in conditions of thin air and severe frost, tired people were forced to wait their turn, standing in a piercing wind. Subsequently, analyzing the reasons that resulted in the tragedy on Everest in 1996, the organizers of the ascent were justified by the hopes that a large number of climbers would help them more easily cope with the deep snow and other difficulties of the route.
The impact of natural factors on climbers
Every climber, and even more so the one who organizes them, should know that at extreme heights the human body is subject to a number of negative influences. Among them there is a lack of oxygen caused by reduced air pressure, and frost, sometimes reaching a mark of –75 ° C.
Compounded by extreme fatigue as a result of climbing uphill, these factors lead to increased heart rate, respiration, and sometimes hypothermia and hypoxia. At such heights, the body completely loses its ability to recover, and increased physical activity leads to its utmost exhaustion. These are the dangers of Everest. The tragedy of 1996, played out on its slopes, became a vivid and sad confirmation of this.
As practice shows, among the causes of death of climbers at high altitudes, the most frequent is cerebral edema. It is a consequence of the low oxygen content in the air and leads to paralysis, coma and death. Another cause of death in rarefied air and low temperatures is called pulmonary edema. It often ends with inflammation, bronchitis and fracture of the ribs.
A lack of oxygen, exacerbated by high loads, often causes heart attacks, which in the absence of immediate medical attention can also lead to death. Blindness caused by the sparkle of snow in clear weather poses a considerable danger to a man who finds himself in the mountains. It leads to accidents witnessed by Everest. The tragedy (1996), whose photos illustrate this article, provided rich material for understanding its causes and developing security measures.
And finally, frostbite. As noted above, in eight-thousanders, the temperature often drops to -75 ° C. If we take into account that wind gusts reach 130 kilometers per hour here, it becomes clear what danger such extreme weather conditions pose to human life.
In addition to the extremely negative impact on the physical condition of a person, all of these factors significantly worsen his mental abilities. This affects short-term and long-term memory, clarity of mind, ability to adequately assess the situation and, as a result, makes it impossible to make the right decisions.
In order to stimulate the body's resistance to negative factors acting on it, acclimatization is practiced. However, in this case, her schedule was broken. The reason for this was the delay in the installation of high-altitude camps, as well as the low training of the climbers themselves. As can be seen from their recollections, many did not know how to distribute their forces correctly and, wanting to save them, showed unreasonable slowness on the rise.
Weather factor and lack of oxygen
Experienced climbers know that even the most thorough preparation of the expedition is not a guarantee of its success. A lot depends on whether you are lucky with the weather. Everest is an area where it is changing with astonishing speed. Within a short period of time, a transition from a clear sunny day to a snowy hurricane covering everything around the impenetrable mist is possible.
This is exactly what happened on that ill-fated day, May 11, 1996. The tragedy on Everest broke out also because when the climbers, barely surviving the enthusiasm of conquering the summit, began their descent, the weather deteriorated sharply. A blizzard and a snowstorm extremely limited visibility and hid marks indicating the path to Camp IV. As a result, a group of climbers got lost, having lost their landmarks.
A hurricane wind, the speed of which reached 130 kilometers per hour that day, and severe frost not only put people at risk of being swept into the abyss, but also led to a decrease in atmospheric pressure. As a result, the oxygen content in the air dropped. It reached 14%, which greatly aggravated the situation. This concentration required the immediate use of oxygen cylinders, which by then had been completely used up. As a result, a critical situation was created. There was a threat of loss of consciousness, pulmonary edema and inevitable death.
Shortage of balloons is the mistake of the organizers of the ascent, which Everest did not forgive them. The tragedy of 1996 also occurred because some of its participants were unprepared people who could not tolerate rarefied air. During acclimatization exits, they had to sleep with oxygen cylinders, which significantly increased their consumption. In addition, they were needed in large numbers to save Sherpa Ngawang, urgently evacuated from a height.
The danger lurking in a commercial approach to mountaineering
And another important factor that caused the sad events of May 11, 1996. The tragedy on Everest to some extent was the result of the commercialization of mountaineering, which began in the nineties. Then appeared and quickly developed the structure, aimed exclusively at making profit from the desire of customers to participate in the conquest of the peaks. For them, neither the level of training of these people, nor their age, nor physical condition played a role.
The main thing was that the required amount was paid. In the case of Mountain Madness and Adventure Consultants, she was sixty-five thousand dollars. The price included the services of professional guide guides, expenses for food, equipment, delivery to the base camp and escort to the peak of the mountain.
Subsequently, one of the guides admitted that the clients who were part of the Mountain Madness had chosen so unprepared for the climb that he was sure of a failure beforehand, and, nevertheless, led them to a height accessible only to experienced athletes. Thus, the lives of not only these tourists, but also everyone who went with them, were threatened. At a height, the mistake of one person can lead to the death of the entire group. This is partly what happened. The tragedy on Everest (1996), whose members became victims of commercial interests, is a vivid confirmation of this.