UKC

If you are not listening to it right now, then I recommend you catch up on Steve Wright in the Afternoon.

He recounts his time on Everest.

Top chap.

When did Steve Wright climb Everest!?!

Well he is off at the moment and Ray Charles is standing in for him.

Ray Charles?? Ray Charles!!

you want to get your 'eyes' tested mate ; )

Hit the road, Jack, hit the road, Jack...

Thank god I missed it.

I'm glad I listened to it.  Ben was very honest in how the whole experience affected him both physically and mentally.

Out of interest... why?

The film made of the ascent is one of the most depressing mountaineering documentaries I've seen. Despite always being very much a  privileged adventurer, I always quite liked his gumption... the man rowed the Atlantic, amongst some other genuinely impressive achievements. Yet, based on a rich arab friend's money, he joined the Everest circus. Everest is always very hard work and a bit of a lottery how an individual's body responds to altitude but it's simply not a major achievement to be guided up this mountain on fixed ropes with such a team behind him.  The idea was  "He and Pendleton, along with mountaineer Kenton Cool, took on Everest for the British Red Cross in an attempt to highlight the environmental challenges mountains face". He is a UN patron of the wilderness. Risks of a death in teams like his, in the queues well illustrated in the film, are still high and too much due to crowds, a good portion of which is down to rich people's bucket list mentality. The environmental impact of the circus is very high, despite recent improvements... hardly well covered in the film. His celebrity partner Victoria had to drop out due to aclimatisation problems.. this was overblown but similar risks to others rather brushed over. Worst still, they had regulator problems near the summit and their sherpas had to descend without oxygen (increasing their risk) so that Ben could continue; the film completely ignored this extra risk to them and used the incidents to add tension to their 'will he make it?' narrative. The tears of love for his family, almost certainly genuine, came over as sheer delusion to me in the context of what he was supposedly there for. Such ascents have led to hundreds of deaths and produced shameful enviromental consequencies, too often down to money and hubris.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_died_climbing_Mount_Ever...

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/06/ben-fogle-i-climbed-eve...

Well Ben, I wonder what risk those sherpas take who climb up again to clear a so called $500 used bottle (really?). Isn't it best that there are much fewer bottles in the first place. Comparing a gale swept mountain path to one in England is also pretty dumb.

Why does being a 'privileged adventurer' have any bearing on your like or dislike of Fogle? If I was in his shoes I'd also make the most of it, as I'm sure you would. Your words really are at risk of sounding bitter.

To be honest, my point of view is very much live and let live. I absolutely know I do not have the mental fortitude to climb Everest guided or not, with money or not. Having spoken in depth with a friend who did it, it's a seriously impressive achievement. Maybe not a climbing achievement, and a very different level of achievement to new routing without oxygen, but an achievement nonetheless.

I appreciate your points on the ethical issues but I don't think they're particularly insightful given sadly 'that's just the way it's done' when it comes to the average 'climber' on Everest.

It doesn't...as I said I previously admired him. What I don't like is privaledged adventurers overclaiming adventure that isn't anything much (beyond the risk, hard physical work and the money). Your friends can tell you all they like about how seriously impressive it is to climb Everest but your friends are deluded: in good conditions and with a stong team (as he had) a good proportion of fairly ordinary people (in climbing terms) get to the top. These days the top companies get around 70% of clients to the summit. Now compare that to rowing the Atlantic in a pair.

The entire trip was to highlight environmental issues in the mountians... do you think the film did a really good job in that respect and that his article hit the right tone? I don't blame him for all of this as if his sponsors were serious they would have paid for better expert advice to keep Ben on message. Lets also retain some proportion.. he is far from the bs level of true privileged adventure exaggerators, like Bear Grylls.

I mean, I did specifically say it's not a climbing achievement, and I did even write 'climber' in inverted commas. But as a general achievement... it's pretty damn impressive from my POV. Regardless of what you may think, getting fit enough and mentally tough enough to be able to jug ropes at 8000m is a feat in itself. Let alone the high physical and mental strain of doing it.

It's easy to sit back having not experienced the debilitation that high altitude brings (though perhaps you have) and say ... "well it's just a walk with fixed lines for the posho's innit, X did it alpine style, naked, while new routing, with one leg, without oxygen therefore anything less is to be scoffed at". And I'd agree that there's a vast difference between what climbers have done on Everest and what tourists are doing on it. But nonetheless, the tourists plodding their way up there are still impressive in their own way. You may feel my friend to be deluded. I personally admire his devotion to the task. And frankly until you nip up there and show me how easy it is... I'll stick with his account given he's a hugely accomplished technical mountaineer in his own right.

Finally regarding Bear Grylls. I've never understood the hate there either. The guy makes entertaining tv shows that a loose with the facts. So what? Again, the dreaded bitter "privileged adventurer" phrase rears its head. Maybe it really is simply about jealousy. Live and let live mate. Live and let live.

Try to compare the accomplishment of your friend and that of the Sherpa's guiding him to the top of Everest. It's not jealousy, it's about honesty, recognising how much your achievement depends on others without your or my priveleges. I'll just stop now.

Just to be clear. All I've argued above is that getting to the summit of Everest on your own two feet is an impressive thing regardless of sherpa assistance with kit or fixed lines or whatever. And I stand by that. Yes, jugging ropes at 8000m may be a f*ck ton easier than breaking trail alpine style and without o2, but it's still extremely hard both physically and mentally.

It may not be 'climbing'. But it a notable achievement no matter how cynical armchair views may be.

(And for the record my friend is certainly not privileged. He's just driven. It took him 5 years to raise funds for the trip. Fortunately he netted a few decent sponsors towards the end.)

For anybody who actually wanted to, or listened to the interview then they will have heard Ben saying that the whole event affected him more mentally/emotionally than he expected.

Very humbling to listen to, when somebody opens up like that.