The Challenge of Physical and Mental Limits The Seven Survivors of Snowy Mountains must Bear in Mind

Climbing common dangers of snow-capped mountains

- Avalanche - Rockfall - Ice seam - Other crash events (including crashed by a falling climber)
- Severe physical exhaustion and dehydration - Zero visibility due to snowstorm - Storm at altitude of 5000m - No campsite found - Frostbite - Acute altitude sickness - Pneumonia

The death rate for climbing Mount Everest is around 5%, but you can do as much as you can to reduce this statistic to save yourself.

First of all, no mountain is absolutely safe. In the area of ​​Mont Blanc (the highest peak of the Alps, the birthplace of modern mountaineering), hundreds of deaths from mountain climbing occur every year. All the peaks are unpredictable, and sometimes neglecting them will bring unforgivable calamities.

note! By careful preparation and keeping a vigilant attitude to the surrounding conditions, you can firmly grasp your destiny on the Mount Everest and on any other mountain.

1. Be sure to put your safety first

Even if you join a commercial mountaineering team, you cannot expect to rely on anyone else in such a dangerous environment. You should keep a firm grasp of your own equipment, oxygen, and mountaineering decisions. Timely renunciation of mountaineering will retain new opportunities for you to try because failure to return is always better than death.

We have been staying in the Everest region for three years, as are many outstanding climbers on Mount Everest. It's no surprise that 3-5 attempts were made before the successful summit. And it is wise to try a few more times if the objective situation requires us to do so.

In fact, the more inexperienced climbers, the more likely they will be successful on their first attempt. This is only because we ignore luck and seize luck. Of course, this is very dangerous. You may escape luck once and twice with luck, but it doesn't make any sense for long-term climbers. The summit rate in the Himalayas is 1:3.

2. Respect the weather

Bad weather can turn a climb in the sun into a terrible, deadly journey to hell. Changes in the weather are often very rapid.

Suddenly, you can't see anything. The cold wind makes your blood seem to condense. You seem to lose your ability to think and lose your way. Suddenly, you feel the pain of death tighten your heart, you feel extremely helpless. Your fingers and toes have lost consciousness. The ice cubes condense on your pale, dying facial tissue. You and your companions desperately interact with each other in snow and snow.

Call sign. Everything is too late!

Do not put you in the above situation. Read the weather forecast carefully to ensure that you understand the forecasts and consider the weather carefully. Without these, the security that comes with climbing a group of climbers is just an illusion.

In the long climb, contrary to the Yamashita, which has a good predictive environment, bad weather in the mountains may come unexpectedly. The mountain has its own law of the weather. This weather change cannot be accurately predicted based on the weather conditions today. We cannot build a weather station on the top of the mountain. Therefore, on the one hand, we must trust the forecast of the mass weather forecasting system, but we must always pay close attention to the changes in the mountain itself.

Place a fixed rope where possible and bring a compass. The camp must be protected by safe lighting. Do everything possible to reduce the danger.

3. Use ropes

Don't worry, hang yourself on the master rope anytime, anywhere. During the technical climb stage, if the old ropes are used, several master ropes should be hung at the same time. Almost every year, climbers die in the Himalayas because of the use of old ropes. Always check the cones and ropes. Never try a large group of people to climb a rope at the same time.

Do not rely too much on ropes. When using a slope like Lhotsewall, use your crampons and legs to climb.

In the stage where there is no rope protection, it is best to protect the ropes from each other. Learn hail braking technology. Some climbers don't like to be tied to someone (if one falls, others will drag it down). In any case, if you and your companions have mastered the technology of hail braking, we find that it is worthwhile to protect each other.

4. Drink plenty of water

Please note that we use a lot of words. Many high-altitude diseases such as headache, edema, and frostbite are often caused by dehydration rather than oxygen deficiency.

5. Understand yourself

Many strange feelings, reactions and symptoms occur at high altitudes. For example, if you move from low altitude to high altitude, your brain will be deprived of oxygen and hypoxia will be caused by low pressure.

In past times, when people lay on velvet curtains around a four-story mattress, they were often deprived of oxygen during the night. This is why this time in history is called the nightmare. This is a phenomenon with hypoxia. In the evening, due to a nightmare, the brain causes hypoxia due to a bad mood during the day.

When this happens, the most correct approach is to move to low-altitude areas in a timely manner. Providing oxygen to the brain can make you excited, but supplying oxygen to the brain can also cause mental illness.

In a dangerous environment, each of us performs differently. Some people are calm, some are panicky and some people are sensible. What about you?

Knowing more about the situation at high altitudes and how you react to these situations is important to your own and basic survival. This is why survival at high altitudes is so important for Mount Everest.

6. Learn about your equipment, oxygen and alpine medicines

How much oxygen do you need to reach the summit? Are these oxygen bottles? How to control the flow? What is your alternate solution if the operating system fails? How do you change the cylinder?

What if the throttle valve is blocked by ice? What if the ice is caught? What if it feels like snow blind? Why does this happen? Why do people with low body temperatures take off their clothes and fold them neatly?

Find knowledge in practice and books. Careful preparation is the source of success. This is also the way to survive in Everest.

7. Avalanche

Although some methods can help us to observe whether there is an avalanche, there are some excavation survival skills in the avalanche. In fact, we have no more solutions for avalanches.

Avoid climbing after a heavy snowfall, pass quickly through dangerous areas, and do not climb icefalls during the day and at night. Be alert.