Guided trips
One of the issues raised by the 1996 disaster is the false sense of security that having a guide provides.
I hike a lot and have done so for years, but I don't have the high altitude rock and ice experience that would qualify me as a true mountaineer. The closest I get to that kind of stuff is reading, "Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills."
So, there is this tendency to think, "I'm in great shape, and I love mountains. I could do it with a good guide." And - from everything I've read - I think any of us could do it under perfect conditions. But when things go South, the guides will be fighting for their own lives.
For myself, I've always wanted to hike up onto the Western Cwm, maybe all the way up to the base of the Lhotse Face. But I know that (as of 1997) 19 people had died in the Khumbu Icefall between Base Camp and Camp I (South Col Route). And the thing about the Icefall is that it isn't a matter of skill. If a 100 ton block of ice decides to break off the glacier when you are passing underneath, your number is up. And even though the number of people summiting is now up around 1000, I think there is still around one death for every five or six summiters.
I don't play Russian roulette and as much as I love mountains I don't want to take those odds. So, if I'm ever lucky enough to get over there, I guess I won't be going above Base Camp.
