K2 disaster
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- Mal
Some harrowing blog entries towards the bottom of the page from one of the climbers.
- 23kon0
nothing annoys me more than mountainclimbers getting themselves into difficulties and having to expect others to risk their lifes to come and save them and at the cost of taxpayers.
living in scotland, you get it on the news during the winter a LOT, folk going up the mountains (prepared/not prepared/experienced and not experienced) then getting into trouble or not being at a certain place at a certain time they told someone they would be there.
so a whole rescue mission is launched.
20 men and women
Dogs
Helicopters
day or night
risking their own lifes and taxpayers money.Personally i think that these folk if they want to go walking in the mountains should either have to pay for their rescue if they get into trouble (this could be thousands and thousands) which would probably put a lot of fuckwitts off actually going up there.
But the way that serious climbers would do it is to pay a healthy premium each year which would allow them to go up the mountains and if they got into trouble the policy theyd paid for would cover the rescue.
- there are worst things im suremoldero
- ok, maybe cyclists using the pavements. but i dont think its quite as serious23kon
- na f*ck those climbers. why should MY tax money go to save them doing something thats their choice?23kon
- lolmoldero
- +1 no compassion for them whatsoeverdrgs_not_hugs
- isn't that a ricky gervais sketchPromotionalUseOnly
- toe_knee0
I'm pretty sure the Sherpas get paid fairly well. Sad story. Sounds like the mountain was being a bitch this year
- moth0
Funny - I had this debate with Chossy just over a week ago.
I do a lot of hiking, but never really any climbing. I've always wondered why you always see signs on coastal paths telling you stay away from the cliff edge, but when it comes to mountains (or lets say - treacherous paths up hills!) you never see ANY signs warning the family of four in flip-flops that this is not the place for them.
Chossy's stance is no signs. Let them all die horrific, bloody deaths he said.
I'm undecided.
- Natural selectionFariska
- I vote for bloody horrific deathsflashbender
- THIS WAY FOR HORRIFIC BLLODY DEATH »max_prophet
- BLOODY FUCKmax_prophet
- 23kon0
hehe thats true about signs, yeah you get warnings everywhere else in life put up by councils etc not wanting to be sueud.
so being a hiker moth, what do you think of the idea of having to pay some kind of insurance premium each year to cover and pay for any medical or rescue help you need to get if you got into trouble?
- moth0
23kon - aren't the UK Lifeboats and Mountain Rescue funded purely by public contribution? There is no taxpayer.
- moth0
And like at sea - experienced climbers and experienced seamen can STILL run into trouble. It isn't always negligence.
- 23kon0
I dont know if its publicly funded or not
(when you said that i pictured a lifeboat RNLI charity box actually)
so maybe they are.Ive heard them on the news saying its a waste of resources having to send so many people out to a unequiped climber.
and yeah i know that even experienced people get into trouble.
but wouldnt it be a good deterrent to fuckwits going up into the hills unprepared if they were forced to pay for their rescue if they hadnt taken out an insurance policy?it could be made into a very simple way of applying for it, you could get like 5 day cover if you were thinking about going up north for a wee holiday etc. same as youd buy travel insurance.
not only would it put fannies off from going up unprepared, it would also provide funds to be able to improve the rescue services - more helicopters, more dogs, more people, more technology
- Carl_Weathers0
I assure you those guys were insured to be there. They have to pay for climbing permits which cost thousands too etc, deposits so nothing is left behind (yes if a body is left behind they don't get their deposit back etc). The guys who died last weekend were all elite climbers from around the world who live to climb. Some of them on their 2nd and 3rd attempt on K2. Statistics after last weekend were that of the 285 summits on the mountain 77 have died trying... Which is pretty insane. (There have been thousands of summits on Everest, you can pay people to hold your hand all the way up)
- aye, thats for K2. im talking UK mountains here where any fanny can go-a-wandering23kon
- janne760
I find mountain expeditions fascinating and love to read their stories and see docu's about it. So I am not going to be narrow-minded about my tax money spent on saving people.
If you are having an accident on your bicycle i am not going to blame you either for choosing to take your bicycle. It's ridiculous.
Thanks for the link, Mal.
- Mal0
Humans feel compelled to do challenging things and I for one play it pretty safe but disaster can take many forms and it's the telling of the story that interests me. I can't imagine going on a trip with a bunch of friends and then going through the wrenching task of packing their belongings and returning home without them to tell loved ones they wont be back.
- Carl_Weathers0
People can get killed walking to the shop too (more people I imagine), it's all about assessing the risk and dealing with that risk successfully. What happened this year was a freak accident involving a huge piece of ice which came away taking people with it and ruining a decent for others. K2 is called the 'Mountaineers mountain' for a very very good reason... Only the very most experienced climbers go near it, and they all know the risks.
- max_prophet0
moth you're not turning into one of these people that needs a warning sign for everything are you? What happened, burn your little kissers on the coffee cup?
Fuck littering places with stupid signs, get some common sense idiots.
I suppose I should chuck in a little sign for you so you don't bite my head off now too:
;)
- 23kon0
Janne76
dont even get me started on cyclists! lol!they should have some kind of accountability too so that you can report them for breaking the law.
license plates maybe.
cycling proficiency tests are voluntary in the UK but they should be made compulsory before you can go on the road
cyclists should have to have insurance too.
not just for themselves, but for others.Janne76 - what happens if you are walking along the pavement and a cyclist comes flying along and hits you, knocking you to the ground in a bad way, say you are in hospital for a long time and have to be off work - whos to blame? fuckin sure the cyclist is going to fuck off quicksmart and no one around will be able to take down any details other than "yeah they were on a bike" to the police.
If it was a car driver that did the same then their reg would be taken down, theyd be prosecuted for being a dodgy driver and their insurance would cover your medical bills and loss of income.
- 23kon0
The amount of cyclists i see every day breaking the law by shooting red lights and using the pavement as a road is absolutely rediculous. Ive been nearly hit by quite a few in the past and now i'll actually go out of my way to be stepping in front of them if the lights are at red or of they are on the pavement.
What id LOVE to see is the police cracking down on this and fining them. Ive seen on tv that theres cycle police in london who crack down on this. id love to see this in edinburgh.
I'd actually stand and watch and laugh.
- 23kon0
I hear cyclists moan about drivers saying they dont give them enough respect.
The reason for this is because cyclists break so many laws and are so unpredictable. for one they shouldnt be "undertaking" , i mentioned shooting red lights and also mounting the pavement.
All breaking laws.
Imagine if other road users - car and van drivers started "just breaking the law slightly - just bending it to suit themselves to get them to work that little bit quicker"ok i know that some dodgy drivers actually DO, lol, but certainly not the same percentage as cyclists
- fooler20
You climb the K-12 dude, and girls will go sterile just looking at you!
- 23kon0
not if it looks like you shop at Millets!
http://www.millets.co.uk/Mens-Cl…
lol