Sandy Hill Pittman's Worst Disaster

High up on the summit of Everest a terrible disaster struck on May 10 1996. Three expeditions were all making a bid for the summit and once the majority of climbers were making their way back to the highest of the camps, a storm struck up with devastating ferocity. Thirty three climbers from three expeditions (Mountain Madness, Adventure Consultants and the Taiwanese Expedition) were all somewhere in between camp four and the summit. The storm trapped 19 people in the Death Zone. The Death Zone is a stretch spanning from 8000 m up to the Summit where the air is so devoid of oxygen that your body is actively dying. Bottled oxygen is a necessary for all but a select few climbers when traversing the Death Zone. Three group dissolved into just
She had joined the Everest expeditions to much fanfare from the celebrities who called her a friend. She was a member of the Mountain Madness expedition , led by Scott Fischer. From her first days at BAse Camp, it became clear she was in a detached world of her own. Coffee machines and monthly shipments of magazines were just a few of the questionable items brought by Pittman. Her decision to bring more comfort than could ever be practical was a highly selfish one on her parts. She did not carry items herself, or at the very least hire a separate Sherpa to carry what seemed to be everything but the kitchen sink. Instead, she made the Sherpas assigned to Mountain Madness carry them up for her and by doing so, exhausted them unnecessarily. The Sherpa’s seemed to view her as incompetent which may have in turn lead to a Sherpa short roping her and pretty much carrying her up terrain she should have very well been able to manage on her own. Perhaps, if she had only brought what was necessary (crampons, down suits and ice axes) instead of the frivolous items of her New York life, the Sherpas would have only done what was assigned to them rather than babysitting and picking up after her. Had the Sherpas been a little fresher when the teams made their bid for the summit, they may have been able to help out more with rescue attempts and the inevitable assistance given to those
New Zealand born and with a magnetic personality, Rob grew to be respected and well liked by very nearly everyone on the mountain. One of these people was Doug Hansen. Doug had been part of Rob’s team in the past but was forced to turn around just shy of the summit by Rob over health concerns. Rob was disappointed by the lackluster experience Doug had, and offered him a spot on his next expedition at a much lower rate. Doug accepted Robs’ offer and on May 10, 1996 he found himself atop the summit. Although, like before Doug was well past the turnaround time, Rob waited at the summit for him. By spending far more time than necessary at the summit and breathing precious bottled oxygen, Rob demonstrated a tremendous act of selflessness. Once Doug had spent a couple of minutes on the roof of the world, it became evident that he was too weak to climb down independently. Rob helped him down as far as he could before he came to a technically challenging place that he simply could not carry Doug for. Rob stayed with Doug, refusing to leave his side. Even when his own strength debilitated, he stayed with Doug refusing to abandon him to the growing storm. Pleading with him via radio, members of his team back at base camp as well as friends from other expeditions begged him to come down and save himself. Selflessly, he placed Doug first and remained on the South Summit. Ultimately