Just watched story on people climbing Mt. Everest. Some saw?

Question

a man dying and passed him. Are we obligated to help a dying person or are personal goals more important.

Answer 1

The problem is that the morality of climbers has changed in a generation. A generation or more ago it would have been completely unconscionable to walk past a dying man on any mountain anywhere in the world .
The problem is that many of those who climb big mountains today are not mountain climbers but rather people who pay others to help them climb big mountains..
The distinction is important because mountain climbers have always had a certain unwritten moral code that they followed and part of that code was helping another climber in distress.
So to answer your question yes we are obligated to help another person in dire straits even if it means not achieving certain personal goals -like the summit of Everest

Answer 2

I didn't see the show, but have been reading a lot about Everest expeditions ever since I read "Into Thin Air", the story of the multiple tragedies on Everest in 1996.

Could you share what show this was and which climber they were talking about? Last year, there were two incidents. One involved a man who tried climbing Everest "on the cheap" -- without guides or professional help. He collapsed and several people passed them. One of them was a man who, IIRC, had artificial legs and was climbing Everest. He saw the man and radioed back but was told to continue. Others passed him and it is questionable if they saw him or not. Someone finally stopped but they could not get him down the mountain, as he was too close to death. There were a lot of discussions on various forums about the morality of putting an ascent of Everest ahead of human life. Several people said the same thing others have said here -- if he was in the death zone, he couldn't be saved. That was disproved just a few days later. One man was left on Everest by people who thought he couldn't be saved. He was found the next day by another party WHO GAVE UP THEIR SUMMIT ATTEMPT to save his life (emphasis intended). They brought him down and doctors were able to save him. He then called his wife, who had already been told he was dead.

I think part of what happens is that people spend a fortune -- about $60,000 -- to climb Everest. For most of them, this will be their only chance. So it may be a hard choice for them to give up that summit that they have been striving for on the chance of helping someone else. That said, I still think it is the right think to do and hope that if I were in a similar situation -- on Everest or elsewhere -- I would have the moral fiber to put a human life ahead of my own ego (because that's what it really is).

Answer 3

Our morals and values are what make us obligated to stop and help. I saw the same show on Mt. Everest and was kinda upset about the calm nature of these people talking about how they left their friend behind. There comes a time when your personal goals need to take a backseat to a greater priority

Answer 4

If you're speaking of "Into Thin Air", I saw it too. Things are a bit different at the top of Everest, which, I was shocked to learn, has altitudes in the jet stream. This is much different than, for instance, if you saw someone in trouble at sea level. A person rendering help to a dying person on Everest, unless they are specifically undertaking a rescue mission with appropriate clothing, oxygen, and in the right weather conditions, would most likely die themselves.

By the way, in the movie and book "Into Thin Air", that is precisely what happened to several of the guides; they died trying to protect and/or save their clients.

Answer 5

People Die ALL the time Climbing & descending that Mt. The climbers Know that its Dangerous, and I read where they have to leave them behind because its virtually impossible to carry them down.. Something about the extra Baggage.

Answer 6

I watched that, too, and I was sickened by it. I can't imagine passing anyone by who was dying, regardless of species, without trying to help, or at least be with them, hold their hand, talk to them. I've even taken dying birds home so they wouldn't have to die alone. I wonder how those who did not stop to help would feel if they were in that situation. I'm still shaking my head over it.
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Answer 7

That's ****** up. I'd help, but my ego isn't so big I'd try to climb the ******* mountain in the first place. See, it's the type of person who would do that, that would also pass somebody by. I guess the only reassuring thing is he probably passed an *** such as himself.

Answer 8

I probably wouldn't help if the risk of me dying very high, I'm not one for heroics. If it's a kid I just might do something stupid like help, I've always been partial to those who haven't been jaded and turned into cruel tools by society yet.

Answer 9

If you were on the side of the road, dying, would you want help or would you be ok with everyone passing you by?

Answer 10

I saw that too.

I don't think I could have just walked by him if he needed help.

He was in the death zone for many hours and had been left for dead by his own climbing party. The people that stopped to help are heroes, because he did survive thanks to them.