krakauer has been saying this for over 20 years. it's just been getting worse. even back when he made his disaster expedition, it was already starting to get more about warring adventure campaigns to rich people. now it's gotten so out of hand, this is going to happen pretty much every year.

douglas adams used to joke that everest was just a "smart jog" up from base camp to the summit. he was defending that Kilimanjaro was the real mark of a climber.

everest *was* an impossible mountain to climb until it became a resort with base camp. since then, it literally is just being taken along by sherpa who wind up being your valet to the summit.

i have zero sympathy for any of these climbers who are still paying up and taking these trips. if i really wanted to climb everest i'd wait until the tourists are cut off and it became about actually climbing again.

There should be some kind of qualification for being allowed to climb. But again, a lack of technical prowess is not really the issue here. It's the amount of people trying to summit in a very short window. Even if all of them were as skilled as Krakauer, there would be problems with people getting jammed up at high altitude.

Have you had your coffee? You are under the impression I am a weekly church goer?

I'm not going to judge you for your church going habits.

There should be some kind of qualification for being allowed to climb.

Like a sportcoat?

Our hotel smelled like dead hooker vagina (before you ask I had gotten a detailed description from beardown)