Somehow I wound up getting videos of mountaineering disasters on Everest or K2 in my YouTube feed. I knew a little about Everest but didn't really know what all was involved with summiting an "8000er". K2 though not as tall is more remote and much more difficult to summit. Approximately 1 in 5 people die attempting to summit or while descending K2. This video is from 2019 and just seems totally insane to me. He summits carrying his ski gear, without O2, smashes a Red Bull, and then completes a 7 hour descent to base camp on skis.

If you get in decent shape and get a little experience, hire a guide and pay a crap ton you can have a shot at summiting Everest. Sure weather will play a role but it's doable.

K2 is another animal. The best in that world fail each year trying to summit K2.

I met Jimmy Chin who has skied down Everest. Super humble guy who's done some insane stuff.

Quintuple black diamond.

Nucking Futs!

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Quintuple black diamond.

More like Single Tombstone.

Kids now days. In my day, we would have done this on a toboggan. And no one would have noticed, except the 4th kid on the back that would have fallen off.
I'm kidding of course. While at the top, just the sound of his breathing, a constant attempt at catching his breath, it had me breathing deep just watching.

Was he skiing on one ski?

quote:

Originally posted by dsiets:
In my day, we would have done this on a toboggan.

The unsteerable sled of death!