Stuck on the mountain

Just as a side note there are many people that have died mountain climbing that are left up there forever because it is too dangerous to get them down.
 
Firstly, RIP to Robert.

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I think this is a classic example of someone talking out of their depth:

"We're talking about Mt. Shasta, not Everest," Shepard said. "We've got 12-year-old kids summiting that mountain."
Click to expand...

The east face of Shasta is known for being a particularly difficult face, and an alpine-style ascent of the face would be a worthy culmination to any hardcore alpinists career. Translation: this is one badass m-f'er of a mountain face and the risks are especially high.

It is quite sad that his body lies in "state", unable to be recovered. Hopefully, some day, the conditions will present themselves that facilitate recovery. And I am especially impressed that his daughter has such a pragmatic view on things. We activate SAR to pluck living people off the mountains, not dead ones.

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
Yeah I think Andrews got it. It is a shame though. I'm always intrigued by the comment " he / she died doing what he /she loved to do. I never got that. I think its something survivors make up to make themselves feel better. I mean he died slamming into a mountain not gently cruising through the air ( unless perhaps he had a stroke or heart attack inflight)
 
Anybody know what the rate of climb for an Archer at 11,400' is? I suspect it's not much.
 
Looks like someone is making reasonable decisions based on sound judgement instead of emotion and bravado. I've worked a SAR below a shedding glacier - it ain't fun folks :eek:

You could populate the national cathedral with the bodies of air crews, pilots and passengers left in place up here for safety or logistical reasons. It's just the way it is.
 
I wonder how long John Kennedy Jr. Would have been left on that mountain had he slammed into it instead of spiraling into the ocean.
 
I wonder how many of those 12 year old kids go up that chute with a shedding glacier hanging above them? I'm thinking exactly zero. I'd go as far as saying experienced climbers would decide they have better things to do elsewhere.

Even if one were daft enough to ignore the hanging glacier above, that obvious avalanche path starting above then going beside and below the plane sets the ground rules for climbing in that area. Looks really dangerous to me.

Alive, do whatever is possible. Dead, forget about it. The mountain owns him and the plane. Leave him there until he comes down somewhere accessable even if it is 100 years from now. I know I certainly wouldn't want anyone coming after me in the same environment unless I'm sitting there waving my arms around.
 
I just saw a Nova or such PBS documentary on the medical research into altitude sickness on a mountain climb. As they climbed past, they showed the bodies of several climbers that are permanently frozen where they fell. :hairraise:
 
The final irony:

In a possible scenario, extraordinary efforts are made to recover the pilot whose remains are turned over to the family. There is a quiet, solemn cremation ceremony. The ashes are then spread from a plane flying over Mt. Shasta.

Leave him in peace. He couldn't have picked a more beautiful place to finish it.

(BTW: My sister-in-laws ashes are up there already)

YB
 
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