Amputee Mountaineer Defends Leaving Climber for Dead
By Steve Casimiro, Adventure Journal on November 29th, 2011
Kiwi mountaineer Mark Inglis lost the lower parts of both legs after a climb on Mt. Cook, in 1982, and later Inglis devoted himself to helping amputees, successfully raised awareness for their cause with climbs on Cho Oyu and Everest. He became the first double amputee to summit Everest in 2006, but on summit day he and his team encountered a fellow climber, Brit David Sharp, who was dying, and, according to Inglis’s account, beyond help. Controversy has swirled ever since about why Inglis’s team didn’t quit their attempt and instead try to save Sharp. Inglis’s defense, in this BBC interview, still comes off pretty weak; he seems bummed about the incident, but there’s no compassion in his voice — odd considering what he’s endured.
but isnt that part of the deal when you climb something like everest. you must accept the fact that you ,may die there and i personally would not want others to risk their lives in that situation if i was beyond help
especially odd considering he was carried down the less technical parts of the mountain during the last half of his decent from everest.
He’s full of all kinds of BS. Two things that jump right out at me: He said members of his team helped Sharp out all night and much of the next day and stayed with the deceased until he died, but twice said they couldn’t stop in that weather at all. Also the bit about calling his team leader Russell Bryce(sp?) and being told to leave Sharp to die. Russell said he had never spoken to Mark that day. Mark says he “thought he’d called” but things are “hard to remember” and he “couldn’t be sure”.
It may have been that Sharp was good as dead, but Inglis here sounds like a callous, self-centered liar who *may* have contributed to someones untimely death in a manner that he himself was previously spared by the sacrifice of others.
It is very easy to judge someone from the comfort of your living room couch without being there. Climbing Everest is not like a walk in the park where you change your plans halfway or have time to reflect on things. Everybody who starts the climb knows they are on their own and won’t have any support if things go awry. That is also the reason why so many people don’t reach the top or even die. And that again is the reason why people keep coming; high risk high reward. People are starving for oxygen, half blinded by the cold and wind and exhausted from the climb. Not tired like we are when we climb the stairs, but exhausted. Carrying and rescuing another climber simply isn’t an option. If you listen closely to any climber you will understand that. Mark knows this and David certainly knew it and if you read any of the reports of other climbers of the conditions on that mountain you should know it too.
I’m under no illusions about how difficult Everest is. I was just pointing out the inconsistencies in his story that sound like lies/justifications to me. If he sounded more genuine or all his facts lined up I would cut him a whole lot of slack.