Life On The Edge

            Living on the edge today includes anything from skydiving to rock climbing; even climbing Mount Everest. Mt. Everest, the highest peak in the world, stands at 29,028 feet, (8,848 m), above sea level. The summit of this mountain rests at the same altitude that jets fly, where the oxygen is one third less than that at sea level. Once Everest was determined to be the highest summit on earth by Radhanath Sikhdar in 1852, it was only a matter of time before people decided that Everest needed to be climbed. After the North Pole and the South Pole had been reached, Everest, the so-called Third Pole, became the most coveted object in the domain of terrestrial exploration. Mountaineering experts from all over the world wanted to climb the mountain and they would get to the top no matter the costs. The cost included the lives of twenty-four men, fifteen expeditions, and a lapse of 101 years before the summit of Everest was ever reached (Krakauer 14). Climbing Mt. Everest is an ordeal that requires the strength of a gladiator and a much-disciplined work ethic. Until 1996, the lives that Everest took remained probable. Then on May 10, 1996, there were eight deaths, including four guides, two paying clients, and two sherpas. .
             At midnight on May 10, 1996, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer gathered their teams from the tents at Camp IV on the South Col and started ascending the last 1000 meters of Mt. Everest. With every star in sight in the raven black sky, the weather looked promising for the grand finale. With two expeditions so close in line with each other, the climb was slowed a considerable amount of time. The supplemental oxygen provided for climbers was supposed last the climbers twelve hours, enough time to reach the summit and descend to the South Summit where another canister awaited them (DeWalt 150). By 2:00 P.M., only six climbers had reached the top of the world. That left twenty-seven climbers either on their way or headed back.