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Cursed Knowledge is our podcast that explores how narratives, for better and worse, have shaped our world without us noticing. The world is full of people pushing their version of reality on us and it’s time to expose the truth. No matter how much you might wish we hadn’t.
Mt Everest is a death trap. Everything about the mountain is designed to kill you. So why are so many people going up there? Why do we ignore the very real and very dangerous narratives that are right in our face.
I’m all for a new expedition company which will train and assist apologetic Westerners (such as myself) to climb up to Mt Everest’s base camp, with the goal of picking up the garbage of Mt Everest tourist climbers and packing it down to lower altitudes for disposal/recycling.
Also: Peak Poop: The Feces Problem on Everest Needs a Solution - Outside Online
I should clarify: “apologetic” about fellow Westerners generating so much trash.
I’m actually pro-guided climb companies, particularly if the businesses can find a balance between helping the economic situation for Nepalis, providing safety standards for clients, and promoting conservation and appreciation for the beauty of the Himalayan area.
(Spoken like a tourist who has been to the Antarctic, the Galapagos, and other interesting places that birdwatchers flock to.)
To what degree does clothing material and technology change the accomplishment? If more and more people want to claim they have ‘stood on top of the World’, there is opportunity for helping them and engaging in economic activity. Possibly, over a long enough period of time, the journey will become ever more civilized by the tourists, albeit currently ones with elite levels of determination, and their financial means to purchase services. Who would it be a good advert for to have an eco-facility somewhere near base camp?
I can’t help but see a vague parallel to space tourism, even though rocket ships involve sitting down in a warm cabin. Mr Musk might already have done rough sketches of Teslas with snow tracks.