Posted: Feb 12, 2008 01:54 am EST
(MountEverest.net) It has been said that before you can stand up for others, first you must stand up for yourself - out of the two the latter by far the hardest thing to do.

History has proved time and again that it takes a very courageous spirit to stick up to a leader - especially in an environment where money, power and strength are the holy grails.

No1 rule in high altitude mountaineering: go slow

Here goes from Alldoc's online library: "The term altitude acclimatization describes the body’s adaptive responses that improve tolerance to high altitudes. Tolerance should be increased gradually, and full acclimatization will require time. The rapidity of acclimatization is altitude dependent, and some individual differences exist."

Compare to the following TV review written by an American viewer, once a big fan of Himex:

"Once again, I couldn't watch the second episode of the Discovery tribute to Russell Brice. He had the team doing some test ice climbing and then, his usual race to the North Col. Anyone who couldn't make it in five hours was off the climb."

The business plan

To rush it can cost you both fingers and toes, at best. Yet if you are patient, you will be rewarded with full acclimatization at retained strength - the perfect condition for a summit push.

While good outfitters do exist on Everest, Himex is not alone pushing clients. ExWeb has received several complaints, especially from Everest north side.

Why such a practice? Summit Sherpas, supplementary oxygen and high camps are among the biggest costs in an Everest expedition. Much like airlines overbook their seats counting on customers not showing up; some commercial expeditions overbook their climbs, counting on people not summiting. With this plan; rushing clients on altitude simply becomes profitable.

People are made to pay an inflated price for nothing more than an Everest trek. Most never complain, intimidated into thinking they simply are too weak.

Volker's points

Most, but not all.

Volker Kuebler says he is filing a law suit against Kari Kobler's outfit, after a spring 2007 climb on Everest north side. In an email to ExplorersWeb Volker stated his main points:

- When members of the expedition became sick in base camp the expedition leader would not allow a few days for recovery but demanded every member to go to higher altitude. (Time was not an issue at this early phase of the expedition.)

- Acclimatizing slower than other group members, I was requested to climb higher instead of descending to recuperate.

- The expedition leader would use all available summit Sherpas for a favorite client and his own third, personal attempt to reach the summit.

- Other clients were put on a backburner for a summit push one week later, expected to rely on Sherpas by then required to summit a second time.

"I used parts of my life-savings for this"

"As a matter of fact, I even paid an extra fee for a summit Sherpa. However, all experienced Sherpas were used by Kari Kobler himself!" Volker added, who now feels his outfitter risked the safety of his clients and significantly limited their chances to reach the summit.

ExplorersWeb offered Kari Kobler a chance to reply. The outfitter stated that Volker is threatening the company in order to gain a refund.

Volker admits he has indeed asked for some money back, "I feel that I was ripped-off and put at great, unnecessary risk," he says. Volker also says that his impression was that he was put on board mainly for monetary reasons, and this went for a number of commercial expeditions he observed up there.

"To me this was an once-in-a-lifetime experience. I used parts of my life-savings for it and expected responsible guiding and treatment."

Volker says he wasn't alone, and includes a complaint letter to Kobler by another climber, who asked for his name to be withheld. This climber too asked for a refund; that is 10% to be distributed to the Sherpas. "50% to Nima for doing your job and saving my life, the rest equally spread on all of them," he wrote to Kobler.

Volker has published his personal, unfortunate experience online. Check out his report here.

It's about more than a refund also for him, it seems:

"Good luck from the deepest of my heart! Make sure you survive. Don't forget safety and humanity up there! Think clearly. Congratulations if you then make it to the summit and safely back down," ends Volker's web report.

Update: Kari Kobler denies client’s accusations

Another problem with commercial outfits is their clandestine handling of information surrounding accidents. On K2 in 2004, an Andalusian team of independent climbers reported: "...As a proposal from Kari Kobler (ed: Kobler had earlier lost a client on the peak) it was agreed that, in the case of an accident, all information on the subject must be withhold for 48 hours, so that the climbers' families will be the first ones to get accurate and real news."

This agreement led to a situation where two climbers were stranded on the mountain for several days without knowledge to the outside world or even other climbers on K2. A later rescue attempt by mountaineers from another route was unsuccessful. Both stranded climbers died.

Last year on K2, Stefano Zavka's sister pleaded to climbers for transparency, stressing that it was the lack of news that made her family worried. Her plea was seconded by Don Bowie's relatives. On Gasherbrum II meanwhile, another commercial outfit suffered an avalanche killing several of their team members. Their upfront reports led to a situation of fast rescues saving one, and no complaints were received by ExplorersWeb from the relatives of the victims.

Volker has climbed other mountains; he did the Sardine Run in South Africa (incl. Great Whites) and many other adventures he says, but never before experienced such a bad guiding operation as the one he encountered on Everest.

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