Best Videos on Youtube II: Come over and grind Ragnarok points Sephyuyx

**Insanecyclone** · 2011-01-01 15:02

**Moss** · 2011-01-01 15:51

^I liked the AVGN cameo

**Plow** · 2011-01-02 02:37

I dunno if people know much of anything about climbing around here, so I'm going to give a bit of info on this:

Climbing Everest has kind of lost its luster. With modern technology and more and more experience, people like to say basically anyone could be taken up it on the right day.

At the very bottom of the actual climb, just above the main base camp, is what's called the Khumbu Icefall. Essentially, there's a glacier that's continually forming about halfway up Everest, and then flowing down and out for miles and miles. An Icefall is exactly what it sounds like... a waterfal, but frozen.

It moves about 4 feet per day. There are avalanches in there constantly, and you're moving through, across, and under seracs the size of large buildings, and it's not all that uncommon for them to fall. About 1/3 of the people that have died on Everest died in there, another third died in 1 single storm near the summit in '96.

But here's what's really crazy... you have to climb up and back down the icefall at least 4 times each way during the acclimatization preparing for the summit attempt. Further, the course that's laid out, which you'll see much of in this video, is set up at the beginning of each climbing season, and maintained every single day by a group of sherpas. The ladders are actually rented from a guy in a village not too far away lol, and all the fixed ropes and whatnot are supplied by the team that's maintaining it. All the expeditions pay that group a pretty modest fee for the work. I'm not sure on exact number, but more than a couple of them have died doing it.

Anyway, that part of the climb is what you're looking at here:

I really want to climb Everest eventually, but I don't think I could go through that repeatedly lol.

Also, you're already over 3 miles above sea level at that point, which means like a bit less than half as much oxygen.

**Caiyuo** · 2011-01-02 11:34

holy fuck @1:44. Could those ladder bridges be any smaller?

**kareface** · 2011-01-02 14:58

I showed this to my friend and he just brushed it off as the Sherpas doing all the work. I wanted to punch him.

**Maguspk** · 2011-01-02 17:59

Your friend is right, it is the sherpas doing all the work. People who climb Everest on these trails are basically tourists who have a hard-on for mountains.

**Cream Soda** · 2011-01-02 18:36

**Builttolast** · 2011-01-02 19:10

We sure do love our racism in Australia

**Artemas** · 2011-01-03 10:26

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-mXNGANetI

aduidarnenye · 2011-01-03 14:16

And here's a kitten riding a turtle:

**zoobernut** · 2011-01-03 16:17

**6souls** · 2011-01-03 19:31

**Denchi** · 2011-01-03 19:38

@ Plow: I too have been intrigued with Everest. I read Bear Grylls' book, Seven Summits and Into Thin Air. I also picked up Minus 148 which was the story of the first winter ascent of Denali..... Anyways. Yeah, I really wanna climb Everest, and it's not THAT easy. My biggest fear is Cerebral Edema........I'll have to climb some 14's or, ideally, a 20+ before I knew my body could even take it. Highest I've climbed is 13