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ExplorersWeb Week in Review – http://www.mounteverest.net/
Last week, a number of short stories went up at ExplorersWeb – raising a set of questions: Are clients rushed to failure on Everest; and made to pay tens of thousands for nothing more than a BC trek? Are they intimidated into silence, and how high do cover ups reach?
Clients fighting back: 2007 north side Everest climber sues commercial outfitter Races between high altitude climbers are against all mountaineering experience and medical expertise. Rushing it can cost you fingers and toes, at best. Volker Kuebler says his outfitter on Everest North side Kari Kobler pushed his clients to climb higher when they were ill, and used all available summit Sherpas for a favorite client and his own summit attempt. “To me this was an once-in-a-lifetime experience. I used parts of my life-savings for it and expected responsible guiding and treatment,” says Volker who now plans to sue.
Clients fighting back: Betsy Huelskamp’s Everest story Following her expedition with Himex, filmed and aired to the world by the Discovery channel, Betsy Huelskamp posted her own version of the events online. Mates and guides cursed at her, she says. The leader threw her things around and on camera accused her of misrepresenting her experience – an accusation Betsy disproved by posting her intro letter to Brice.
 "Everest Week in Review. /Version english/")
Winter Makalu: All lost, team evacuated “It was an inferno,” Luca recalled. The wind almost lifted the climbers up in the air, ripped their supply tents off the ground and scattered their gear over an area of at least 1 km (over half a mile). With little rest and nothing to eat, Nives injured her leg the next day en route to Hillary BC. In another long day, climbers hauled her to the lower camp where spare supplies were kept. Fortunately, the team’s doctor friend Manuel Julies (owner of the Infinite Knot agency) organized a rescue and in spite of winds of up to 100 km/h at the 6000 meter (20,000 ft) HBC level; a Russian helicopter managed to recover all three climbers and take Nives to a hospital in Kathmandu.
