/24-7PressRelease/ - Efate, Vanuatu, August 26, 2008 - Congratulations to all Olympian athletes who were awarded with gold. Particularly for those who aspire from lesser known tropical island nations of the South Pacific, such as Vanuatu and Samoa, or Tonga. You get there only through a lot of hard work and self-discipline.
Yet there may be an even much harder adventure, sport than winning Olympian gold. Some say to try and climb the highest peaks of the world is the most demanding of all.
Having climbed the podium received the gold medal, been applauded by millions, it is an easy step down, for the Olympian to relax and enjoy the post-game parties.
It is quite different for the sports person who desires to conquer the world's great mountains. There is no thunderous round of applause. Only the long agonizing descent back to base camp. No easy trips off the mountain, unless the climber wishes to end up in a body bag.
In the Death Zone, anything above 22,950 feet, a human body can no longer acclimatize. Body functions, such as food digestion, close down. Sleep is impossible. Deterioration in body function, loss of consciousness and ultimately results in death if the climber stays for very long at the top. If something goes wrong, rescue missions are non-existent.
The locals call Mt Everest the remorseless goddess of the sky. She has claimed around 210 lives and more than 120 corpses still lie on the icy slope. Many still laying in plain sight of other climbers. The locals say the goddess punishes zealously any illicit sex performed on her slopes. Not always the perpetrators are the ones who die.
A 76 year old Nepalese climbed Mt Everest this season. He thinks he will be back for some more. But then the Nepalese have been climbing their jealous god for ever. Without the aid of oxygen, Appa Sherpa has been up 11 times and Ang Rita Sherpa and Babi Chiri Sherpa have both climbed 10 times.
However, Mt Everest has a much more dangerous sister, K2, nicknamed "The Mountain that invites death." Recently K2 witnessed the worst climbing incident in the history of the mountains, since 13 lives were lost over a two week period in 1986. Eleven lives were lost on K2's treacherous slopes, in a recent expedition.
Cries of lack of training and preparation are rolling around the sacred halls of mountaineering. The same sounds as heard after 1986, as told in Jon Krakauer's compelling book, 'Into Thin Air'.
Who is to blame for the deaths? The climber's determination, driving ambition, endurance and belief in themselves? Or is it just the deadly nature of the mountains?
As long as there are mountains, people will continue to climb them, in spite of the huge fees imposed by the Nepalese government. $US 25,000 are for every would-be climber.
Killer mountains or not, climbers line up every season for the chance to gain icy glory. They huddle for months at the base camp at 16,000 feet, just waiting their chance to tackle the killer slopes. Be it Olympian gold or snow mountain peaks, mankind needs a challenge, but only a few step into the opportunity when it presents itself.
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